One of the few times the second picture is as good as the first

Rating: 10/10 (15 December 2019)

I went to see Empire in an "Enclosed" theater this time, drive-in were slowly starting to vanish at this point and just were getting less popular.
Those cool, scrolling, yellow words come in and give us a "this is what has happened since you were gone" update and the camera pans down to the planet Hoth. The great thing about Lucas was the yellow wording, if helps prepare you for the desperation of the situation.
The rebels are like the band Wings, they are always "on the run".
Han and Leia are still at each other, Luke is still following his VERY bumpy path to being a Jedi, and the droids well, like always, are caught in the middle. We are introduced to LOTS of new alien species as well as one of our favorite non-Mandalorian "Mandalorian" bounty-hunters "Boba Fett".....yeah, i'll explain that one later.
And i have to give props to Billy Dee Williams, who plays Land Calrissian, one of the "smooth" dudes in the galaxy. He is, as they say on Family Guy, the "cool" side of the pillow. Lando is forced into a role he doesn't want to play and, for a moment, is viewed as unfriendly until things reveal themselves.
And yes, this is the entry point of Yoda, the wise Jedi master that Luke finds in order to continue his training. Yoda is voiced and puppet-ed by Frank Oz, one of the most under-appreciated talents in the entire galaxy. I mean this man helped bring all the muppets to the main screen for Yoda's sake. He was a STAPLE of my childhood and i never even knew his name until i saw "The Blue Brothers" and "Trading Places" and he was an actor in those and i started going to the library and finding out what else he had done.
Frank, in his own way, was a Jedia master.
"Luke! It's a trap!" is one of the more memorable lines and Carrie Fishes won't let go of that wall until they hand her off of it. LOL!

All the elements are there: Relationships, arguments, comedy (very little but when it's needed), stress, action, fear, excitement and even a desperate "i love you!" and the coolest response to that ever "....i know".
Fisher and Ford really carried a lot of this movie because of their in-between moments and arguments were so unforgettable. The droids, as well, should be given their credit for something of comedy relief.
By the end of this movie, you've got both hope and dread and you might be feeling like things are all but lost.
But it's like Ben Kenobi says, "Your eyes can deceive you, don't trust them.
And THIS is part of the reason the first movies were great. Luke Skywalker, very down (but not out) wasn't going to give up and THIS is why i disliked the XII-IX (what i call the evil Kethleen Kennedy trilogy) vs this trilogy....we all know LUKE DOESN'T QUIT.....his friend is frozen and taken away, the rebels are in worse shape than before, but Luke will find a way....
And that, folks, is why you are wanting to see that next movie so badly.
A word about Princess Leia and gender politics - I know I've not said much about her even though she's been all through this and in the middle. Leia's a fighter, a leader, and as true of a hard-case (when necessary) as it gets. I've seen future female studio leaders "claim" there were a "lack" of strong female leads up until their time and that's total BS. Carrie Fisher was "the line" when it came to holding that sort of role down. She was a female actor but she played it like what she was, young and stressed because of the situation. She was unsure of her feelings because a lot was going on and it showed in the character but she was ANYTHING but weak.