finest of the trilogy because Lucas didn't write the script

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2005)

SPOILERS Three years after "Star Wars", creator George Lucas released the second part of his trilogy. Giving scripting credits to Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasden, as well as directing to Irvin Kershner, Lucas made his smartest ever decision and as a result was able to release the finest film of the trilogy by a mile. Considerably darker and more mature than it's predecessor, "The Empire Strikes Back" is a masterpiece of modern film. It is an intense, powerful, entertaining film with the ultimate cinema twist and with a script worthy of it's potential.
After the events of the first film, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) are now members of the rebel alliance. Hidden on a frozen planet, the rebels hide from the domineering glow of the Empire. All is not well however as the evil Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones) is on his way to find them.
Easily the best of the trilogy, "The Empire Strikes Back" has so much going for it. A wonderful plot, an equally good script with some brilliant lines (even actor Harrison Ford joining in with a line or two of his own) and special effects to match, this film is a glowing example of why people love the trilogy so much.
Since George Lucas passed on the major responsibilities for this film, we are given a more professional, well made film for our attention and Lucas's vision is better off for it. With it's recent remastering, it is also the only film in the trilogy to not be damaged by Lucas' tampering. Extra images are added, graphics are honed, but nothing major is changed. As a result the film appears to us to be no different from it's original self.
Darker and more mature as well, this sequel is better than the original "Star Wars" because it isn't so black and white. Presenting the evil Darth Vader as a more balanced individual, we don't quite have the confused Vader of the final chapter, but we are beginning to get signs that he isn't quite as we expected.
This second part also gives us the finest performance ever by one of the universes most important characters. Still a rubber puppet with bendy ears, Jedi Master Yoda is introduced in this film as a creature of wit and intelligence. Voiced by Frank Oz, Yoda is brilliant because of his lines. Legendarily possessing of an obsession for splitting sentences up and rehashing them together, Yoda very often speaks normally throughout this film. Occasionally demonstrating his penchant for bad English, he does make a few minor errors, but ultimately it is up to the later scripts of George Lucas to corrupt Yoda's style and turn this wonderful character into an annoying figure of fun.
There's no real way to fault "The Empire Strikes Back". The finest part of the original trilogy, this film is amazing because it is professionally done. Nobody would ever deny that George Lucas did something wonderful when he thought up "Star Wars", but unfortunately for a lot of the films, Lucas always insisted on too much control. A dire writer of scripts, Lucas can destroy his films by making them infuriating to watch. In this part though, Lucas didn't get involved and as a result, "The Empire Strikes Back" is a masterpiece in it's own right.