Beautiful, dark, touching....perfect.

Rating: Null/10 (16 February 2003)

Star Wars itself is without a doubt the greastest saga of all time, and Empire Strikes Back is the best of Star Wars.
It is not the fun, bang-em-up-shoot-em-up story with some extra depth that A New Hope was.
No, this one is a exercise in subtle. This one takes what ANH started and builds upon the characters and plot that we have come to love.

Its much darker then any of the other Star Wars, yet is somehow filled with a atmosphear of hope. This is contained in the struggle of the Rebel Alliance, despite the odds. But what I believe really captures the spirit of this movie is two characters: Han Solo and Princess Leia.
These to characters are played to perfection by Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford (but lets face it, does he EVER do a bad job? Nope.)
Han Solo is one of the greatest characters ever created, and the chemistry between him and Princess Leia sizzles. In the begining of the movie they appear to hate eachother, but their every line is loaded with subtext and underlying tension.
From their witty bickering on Hoth, to the kiss on the Falcon (which I firmly believe is one best written kiss scenes in the history of movies), to their heart breaking parting in Cloud City where Han Solo is frozen in Carbonite. "I love you." "I know." Classic lines. Han Solo's reply to Leia's "I love you." is beatiful and perfect, not over the top and sappy. It is also a tribute to Harrisson Fords acting, it was orignally scripted as "I love you to."
But Harrison didn't like it and changed it. Thank the Force that it was allowed to stay!
But I have a bit of a obsession with Han and Leia, I could go on about them forever, Han Solo is the perfect scoundrel hero, complex with many contradictions. Throughly real and believable. Unlike so many of the stereo types we see today. Han and Leia's romance is the best movie romance ever. Period.
The rest of the movie is surperb as well. Yoda seems so real, even though you know he's a puppet you feel like he exist SOMEWHERE. You just have to find where. And he delivers profound wisdom in a funny voice and reverse syntax, yet still it sounds profound. Not THAT is genius.
And Mark Hamil as Luke Skywalker is greatly improved here, his scene in the cave on Dagobah is eeiry and cuts very close to home when he realizes the darkness in himself.
And Darth Vader takes his place as the greatest movie villian of all time, becomming not just some mechanical terror, but a real and toremented person, you start to wonder whats going on under the mask. "Luke, I am your father." the most startling pronouncment in movie history.
What can I say. This movie is beatiful,sad, dark, perfect..... This movie will live forever.