Stunning Science-Fiction Classic

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2005)

The Star Wars saga continues as the Rebel heroes are forced to flee their new base on the ice planet of Hoth; Luke Skywalker travels to the swamp world of Dagobah to learn from Jedi master Yoda, whilst Han Solo and Princess Leia flee from Imperial pursuers to the cloud city of Bespin. The three are ultimately reunited, but with terrible consequences ...
The sequel to George Lucas' Star Wars is that extremely rare thing - a sequel that is better than the original movie. Having created the fantastic universe and the cast of comic-book heroes in the first film, this movie is free to develop the characters, drama, humour and wildly imaginative worlds. It has a truly fantastic script (by Lawrence Kasdan and veteran screenwriter Leigh Brackett, from a story by Lucas) with an almost unique structure - there's no beginning, no ending and the story splits in two at the end of the third reel and then reunifies for the last two reels. It also redefines the use of special effects again, expanding on the eye-popping visuals of Star Wars with a breathtaking variety of dazzling shots. The opening battle sequence on Hoth (shot in Finse in Norway) is fabulous, with walking robot monsters pounding across glaciers to the strains of John Williams cracking score (his Imperial March theme is perhaps the most memorable of all his Star Wars music). The intimate scenes of Luke's Jedi training are just wonderful - Yoda is perfectly realised by puppeteer Oz - and the quasi-philosophy of the Force, brilliantly captured in a scene where Yoda rescues Luke's ship from the swamps, is profoundly moving. Equally stunning is the characterisation of Darth Vader, arguably the greatest screen villain of all time (and with the biggest, baddest killer spaceship ever); there is a fantastic moment where he uses his mind-control powers to invisibly throttle an incompetent general whilst simultaneously barking orders to another !! His unforgettable voice, supplied by the incomparable (and shockingly uncredited) Jones is one of the movie's great assets. The cast are uniformly terrific, throwing themselves into character with abandon - I particularly like Hamill's anguished heroism, Williams as the suave but slippery Lando Calrissian, and Colley as the twitchy Captain/Admiral Piett. The movie features brilliant production design by Norman Reynolds and photography by Peter Suschitzsky, but is simply top-notch in every aspect. An astonishingly brilliant sequel to one of the greatest movies ever made. This review is of the 1997 re-release, featuring some new effects shots (most notably in the scenes on Bespin) and a re-recorded version of a crucial scene with the Emperor, here played by an uncredited Ian McDiarmid (he was originally played by Clive Revill).