A landmark in the history of Hollywood cinema

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2019)

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back marks the beginning of a new age of cinema. It is the sequel and instalment in the Star Wars franchise that revolutionised the way Hollywood perceived the stories it envisioned and changed the movie industry in ways both positive and negative. The film itself is a magnificent second chapter in the greatest blockbuster trilogy of all time, arguably overshadowing its predecessor and effectively wrapping its audiences up in the characters, folklore and plot that the Star Wars trilogy had created.
In producing the greatest blockbuster sequel of all time, however, Irvin Kershner unintentionally changed the face of Hollywood production forever, giving birth to both brand-new ways of telling more layered stories through cinema, such as today's Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the trend of money-grabbing through endless remakes and sequels. Film properties became profitable assets, rather than a one-off form of art.
Today, every franchise worth its salt, and even some of the ones which aren't, spawns at least one sequel. But in 1980, Kershner's follow-up to 1977's A New Hope was a shiny new concept that drew record box office crowds through the sheer innovation of the idea of a second chapter in the Star Wars story. But, while the crowds it drew are perhaps credited to the novelty of the idea, Kershner should be credited as well. The Empire Strikes Back is an exemplified exception to the rule of sequels always losing the artistic integrity of the original concept.
The dialogue is as classic as ever, the performances from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones among others are superb, and Kershner's space opera is masterfully constructed with beautiful practical effects and a tightly-knit concept. In all of the above aspects, The Empire Strikes Back even arguably outshines its predecessor.
Furthermore, The Empire Strikes Back utilised its existence as the middle chapter in a larger story to perfection, allowing itself to present a twist on the expected narrative in which the antagonists triumph. We are left with our heroes scattered, the Rebellion all but crushed, and the Empire with the upper hand. While A New Hope and Return of the Jedi remain classics, The Empire Strikes Back was a defiance of the cliched narrative trend and a revolutionary piece of cinema in more ways than one.
Whether you are a Star Wars fan or not, it is beyond debate that The Empire Strikes Back changed the face of Hollywood cinema forever and is indisputably one of the greatest film sequels and blockbusters of all time. A film cannot spawn as many iconic quotes as this one and still not be considered a true work of cinematic genius and a piece of art in itself.