Stop me if you've heard this before--The best of the Star Wars movies

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2005)

Generally regarded as the best of the 5 Star Wars movies(so far, the sixth and final one comes out in May 2005), The Empire Strikes Back is everything Star Wars wasn't. Back in 1977, George Lucas brought us the first story from a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away, Star Wars (Now known as "A New Hope"), and it was a bright, cheerful Saturday afternoon serial with some great special effects. Three years later, George Lucas' story about Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo took a decidedly darker tone in The Empire Strikes Back. None of the good guys win in this second chapter of the 3 film saga that makes up the Original Star Wars Trilogy, the film acts as a dark bridge from the light, fun action of A New Hope to the concluding Return of the Jedi. Even the last scene of this film reeks of "To Be Continued," without actually saying it. The rebel forces, after blowing up the Death Star, are forced to hide out on a the ice planet Hoth. Darth Vader tracks them down, and our heroes are forced to flee. Han and Leia go one way, Luke has to find the Jedi Master Yoda on his secluded swamp planet (voice of Frank Oz). Yoda may be the most lifelike character in "Empire," and that's a pretty good compliment to a Muppet. We see Luke fail to master his Jedi powers, and we see him leave in haste to try to save Han and Leia who walk into a trap while visiting Han's old card playing friend, Lando Carisian (Billy Dee Williams). How Luke tries to save his friends is unimportant, as the single most shocking movie revelation comes during the final duel of the movie between Luke and Darth Vader. Unsuspecting movie goers have been blindsided by this scene for decades now. The tone, set by director Irvin Kershner, is darker and more serious, lends an adult feel to what is basically a kid's movie. The special effects are again top-notch, especially in the beautiful Cloud City and the fantastic looking asteroid field chase. Who knew in 1980 George Lucas had reached the pinnacle of his Star Wars franchise with a movie starring a green little troll voiced by the same guy who voices Miss Piggy?