A dissenting voice

Rating: 5/10 (22 October 2002)

Spoiler alert! (I write that just to protect myself in the event that I reveal anything to the 15 people left on the Planet Earth who have NOT seen this movie).
The original Star Wars was brilliant, full of humor, adventure, and astounding special effects. It was a worthy tribute to the spirit of the old movie serials, the cinematic equivalent of the World's greatest rollercoaster ride.
But "Empire" is faced with the unenviable task of filling in the cracks, of providing exposition, of tying up loose ends and establishing subplots. As a result, the film is uneven and not as much fun as the original. The special effects are fantastic, especially the Battle of Hoth sequences, but the humor is gone and the timing is off. Even Chewbacca's howls, so funny in the first movie, serve only to grate on the nerves.
Many people cite this movie as being "dark," and thereby more weighty by default than the original. But "Star Wars" was a fairy tale, not a dark drama. We're talking homage to Flash Gordan and Wizard of Oz, not Blade Runner or Alien.
The most egregious flaw is the introduction of Yoda, the wise seer, the most powerful of all the Jedi Knights, the mysterious being that everyone wants to see!...but who unfortunately turns out to be a Muppet. How could they follow Obi Wan, played by the distinguished Sir Alec Guiness, with GROVER from Sesame Street? It was a flaw I could never get past. The "cuteness" of R2D2 was bearable in the original Star Wars because of the movie's light touch. But Miss Piggy-Yoda-Grover only foreshadowed the adorable awfulness yet to come in future movies, particularly the Ewoks and the hideous Jar Jar.
Add the lame "to be continued" ending and you get the beginning of the end for the Star Wars movies. Empire was truly a "dark" movie in the sense that it served notice that the original Star Wars magic was gone.