Man's Finest Achievement!

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 1998)

In 1982, when I was the lowly age of four, I was introduced into the world of movies. The first film I saw was to have a profound effect on my life: The Empire Strikes Back.
No other film can, and never will compare to this motion picture. It is simply the finest film committed to celluloid that I have ever witnessed. The first thing you notice about it is the rich characterisation. Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Darth Vader etc. are all superbly realised and the characterisation goes deeper into their emotions and psyche than 'Star Wars: A New Hope' and we care even more about the characters as their journey continues. The visual style of 'Empire' is awesome. Irvin Kershner's direction is masterful and we see beautiful sights, such as the cold but immense landscape of Hoth, or the inspiring sunsets of Bespin. Every setting, scene, vehicle, weapon etc. looks so realistic and some of the things you see in this film in the background or for a short time (such as the AT-AT walkers) would be used as a centerpiece for a lesser movie. The narrative moves along well and the story is extremely well plotted. Some of the scenes in the film are filled with such grandeur (Yoda raising Luke's ship from the swamp, Han and Leia sharing a final kiss as Han is frozen, Darth Vader revealing who he really is) and they bring tears to my eyes every time. The ending is a shock to anyone seeing it for the first time (and still, sometimes, for veterans such as me) and thankfully, we don't have to wait three years this time.
Looking nowadays, at films such as Jurassic Park and Titanic, none of these movies have been or are likely to be embedded in our culture as much as the Star Wars trilogy has. Films like 'Empire' and the two other chapters, 'Star Wars: A New Hope' and 'Return of the Jedi' are one of a kind movies; they bring out fears, give us a sense of adventure and grandeur that only a few films have (such as 'Jaws', the 'Indiana Jones' trilogy, 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. The new Star Wars films will soon be upon us, and I for one they have the same qualities that made the original so good. But no matter how good they are, they will never compare to 'The Empire Strikes Back', which has a place in my heart, as the greatest film ever made.