Zooming Through Those Asteroid Belts

Rating: 8/10 (21 May 2006)

Episode 5, or the middle one of the first (now second?) trilogy of the Star Wars saga, has a great rep these days. It wasn't met with the same delight when it first came out in 1980 and I still don't believe it's quite as good as the original Star Wars (or episode 4-A New Hope). Somehow, despite a much larger budget, the epic scope and fabulous feel of a new universe (a new galaxy far away) is not quite there with this entry. Maybe you can accomplish such a feeling only once. The rebels and heroes flit from the icy world of Hoth through an asteroid belt and end up in the cloud city of Bespin, but it strikes me as a very small, enclosed universe here. I also noted some overacting on the part of the main characters during the first sequence on Hoth, especially from Ford and Fisher - or maybe their lines were just poorly written. The easygoing charm of the first film was gone; yes, this episode was meant to be darker, more somber by comparison. But that doesn't mean the characters need to be awkward, rough shadows of their previous incarnations.
This filmed episode seems to copy the adventure serials of the bygone era (the '30s & '40s) a bit too literally - note the abundant use of 'wipes' as transitions from scene to scene. It switches back and forth, back and forth, from the heroes, to Vader in his usual dark mood, to Luke meeting Yoda - not the smooth narrative of the first film. Each individual scene, of course, is a success, usually spectacular. The FX were state-of-the-art for the time. The Empire's vast vessels look great, inside and out. The entire sequence in the asteroid belt is almost mind-blowing. Then they meet Lando, played by Billy Dee Williams, who doesn't make an easy fit; he seems to hold back, saying his lines through a clenched jaw, as if saving himself for a better performance later. The entire story here appears to be a prep for when Vader encounters Luke helmet-to-face, or at least to when Vader first shows up at the cloud city and snatches Han's laser pistol.
There are some nice touches, as well, with repetitive motifs, which usually can be tiresome but add a flavor of sophistication here. I especially liked Vader's method of replacing his admirals and captains - he wastes no time and makes it clear he really will not be trifled with. In fact, it says something that the more interesting scenes take place on the Empire's ships, with the villains - this seems to happen when the villains are well done. Williams' score, including the Empire's theme march, is fantastic. Of course, almost everything hinges on the connection between Vader and Luke, a hidden aspect of which remained secret until the very end of this chapter. It's a startling revelation that remains possibly the biggest surprise for an audience in film history and, to this day, when I hear Vader utter those words, a familiar chill still races through me. Next up it was wrapped up in episode 6-Return of the Jedi(83).