Probably better than Star Wars

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2008)

Call me blasphemous, but cinematically, The Empire Strikes back is far superior to the original Star Wars. We pick up shortly after the destruction of the Death Star. The Empire has dispatched probe droids to find the rebels. One probot finds a base on the remote world of Hoth. Frustrated, the rebels must bug out. Commander Luke Skywalker and his flight team make their stand against giant AT-AT Walkers and Imperial Snow Stormtroopers. Meanwhile, Leia cannot get to her transport, so Han Solo must get her out on the Millennium Falcon. Darth Vader is obsessed with finding Skywalker so he wants the Falcon. He will stop at nothing--even asteroids. Vader tracks them to Bespin where Han hopes an old friend, Lando can help out. However, Vader beat them there and force Lando to turn them over. Luke ventures to Dagobah to meet Yoda, the Jedi Master. There he undergoes training to be a Jedi. As he learns to focus the Force, he has a vision of Han and Leia suffering in a city in the clouds. He leaves training prematurely to face Vader. He is not ready. And he learns of Vader's secret. Star Wars was an introduction and The Empire Strikes Back goes deeper. At the outset, we learn more about the Force and how it can help. It was only vaguely touched on in the first one. We also learn more of Vader's sinister side. In the first one, his presence and appearance exuded evil. In this one, he demonstrates it through dispatching the Empire officers who fail him. We also get to see Leia and Han grow closer. Their love blossoms and grows. They had real chemistry. Finally, Luke really grows. He is the impatient, naive, and adventurous boy. He suffers for his decision. This forces him to mature. While some people found Chewabaca's incessant howling over the fate of Han Solo, I found it touching, giving the great side-kick alien depth and soul. The magic of Star Wars is unmeasurable. It was great swashbuckling fun with age old themes of good triumphing over evil. It allowed us to escape and be struck with wonder and awe. Empire, though, is thoughtful, deep, analytical, and fun. The audience will identify with Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie all the more because of their suffering. At this point, they were no longer larger than life, but human. I compare this to falling in love. With Star Wars, the infatuation and lust begins. With Empire, the love deepens and becomes solid. If it never happened, the love would not mature. This is Lucas truly at his best. I hope he recaptures this someday.