The best in the trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2019)

This is no doubt the best of the three Star Wars films. I don't count the 'prequels' or recent 'sequels', spin-offs and such.
The original film was lots of fun, but it was also trying to find out what it was, to establish a distinct tone, to define the universe it was played in, and so on. Also, a limited budget impacted the production in tangible ways. Now, for 'Empire', they had all these things in place. The characters were developed, the universe defined, the budget was there. Also, a better film director was employed this time around.
The film further develops the characters, in most enjoyable and interesting ways. There is drama here, that neither the first nor the third film ever came close to. And the scenes on Hoth remain the most memorable for me personally.
But there is a problem here: the exploration of the 'force'. It never went anywhere. It got bogged down in the swamps of Dagobah, and became incoherent drivel that seemed to randomly pick up elements from various philosophies. Yoda's teachings have all the depth of a 'How to find peace with the universe' booklet you can buy for a dollar. I hated Yoda and everything about him. When they realised they were dealing with quasi-philosophical nonsense, the filmmakers tried to compensate for it by making Yoda arrogant and pretentious, as he makes silly demands on his pupil. Also, the return of Obi Wan was annoying to me, and totally unnecessary. But another problem is created by turning Luke's training into his mess: he remains an alien character. We emote with Han, Leia, Chewie, and the droids, but not him. He never becomes intriguing or relevant for our emotional investment in the film. Until the end of the third film, he remains this alien figure that exists to push forward the plot about the 'force', while everything truly interesting and emotionally engaging revolves around the other protagonists. His confrontations with Vader remain sterile and feel like something the film is obligated to deliver, but no one truly enjoys. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Han Solo. Luke never became a hero, and nothing he ever did moved me the way the adventures of Han and the other protagonists did.