The Most Spectacular Outer Space Fantasy Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2006)

Although "Star Wars" set a new, spectacularly high standard for movie effects & action, it was also a remake that featured a cast of unknowns & semi-retired character actors. Even with a big budget and built-in audience, it would have been easy to make a second-rate follow-up or even a dud bad enough to kill the franchise. Leigh Brackett's clever script, Irvin Kerschner's directorial craft, George Lucas's unprecedented production values & the energy & intensity of the cast allowed "The Empire Strikes Back" to set a standard for outer-space adventure that has never been equaled. Lucas's first original "Star Wars" story emphasizes the series's two great strengths: fantastic action & the wily, wicked Galactic Empire. After their hidden base is found & destroyed, the Rebel Alliance flees in disarray, with Solo (Ford), Princess Leia (Fisher), Chewbacca & the droids hotly pursued in the damaged Millennium Falcon by an Imperial fleet. Luke (Hamill) vanishes into a jungle planet to find Jedi mentor Yoda & complete his training. Story flaws, including the fact that Luke's training takes place in the same amount of time as the Millennium Falcon's pursuit & the introduction of important characters near the end of the film, are unnoticeable unless you're looking for them. The action starts early & never lets up, with the battle of the ice planet alone more than enough for any action film. But there's plenty more where that came from, with the amazing flight through the asteroid field & the lightsaber duel in the cloud city standing out. Ford makes the most of his opportunity of developing Solo as a charming "scoundrel," with Fisher game as his reluctant love interest. Hamill, who isn't really leading-man material, is sufficiently believable as the peasant hero growing into an elite warrior. The New Age, Oriental "Force" (rarely called a "religion") gets more prominence in "Empire" but never bogs down into hokiness or boredom. All these elements combine to give the film a never-failing theme of harried heroes hounded by an evil force that is so vast, powerful & diabolically clever that the viewer is moved almost, but not quite, to despair--exactly where Kerschner wants us. This is outer-space fantasy, not science fiction, so don't look for any science. And despite "The Force" as a plot device, there's no point in looking too deeply for Heavy Themes or Subtle Meanings. In fact, subtlety of any kind was pretty much killed off by this and other Lucas & Spielberg films. All you get with "Empire" is a couple of hours of straightforward, nonstop, matchless thrills without condescension or manipulation that you can enjoy again & again without ever getting tired of it.