This is the movie I’ve been waiting to review. Many regard
this has the best Star Wars film. Honest trailers even called it a “perfect
movie”. To some of us the end of the duel on Bespin must rank as the greatest
movie scene of all time. But does the film hold up to the nostalgia?
The Rebels have set up a base on the ice planet of Hoth. As
Luke Skywalker is out on patrol he is ambushed by a Wampa: a giant snow beast that knocks him out. Taken
to its cave Luke awakens, fights the creature off and escapes into a snow storm
where he collapses. In his delirium he sees a vision of Obiwan Kenobi who tells
him to go to the Dagobah system where he can find the Jedi master Yoda.
Meanwhile at base Han solo resigns for the rebellion; saying
he has to pay off Jabba the Hutt. Before he leaves however he notices Luke has
not returned and goes into the snow storm to find him. After surviving the
freezing night both are picked up by Rebel speeders and Luke is taken to the
medical bay to recover from his injuries.
In the meantime the rebel fleet has been grounded; keeping
Han on base. Furthermore Rebel sensors detect a strange signal on planet. Solo
discovers it coming from an imperial probe droid which he destroys, but the
probe has already alerted Darth Vader to the presence of the Rebel base.
As the rebels prepare to evacuate Darth Vader enters the
system with a fleet of star destroyers. Unable to penetrate the bases shields
from orbit they begin a ground assault.
As the rebels attempt to break through the imperial blockade the empire
attacks the base with AT-AT walkers. Luke Skywalker’s Rouge Squadron attempt to
hold the empire off with snow speeders but are no match for the walker’s thick armor.
Soon the walkers destroy the rebel shield generator and imperial troops take the
base.
As the rebels flee the Hoth system Vader’s destroyers pursue
the Millennium Falcon which is having problems with its hyper drive. They take shelter in an
asteroid field while they make repairs.
Vader is still looking for them when he his contacted by the emperor who fears
Luke Skywalker could destroy them. Vader convinces him that Luke could be
converted to the dark side. Meanwhile Luke Crash lands on Dagobah where he
encounters a small, annoying alien who claims to know Yoda. The alien takes
Luke to its hut as Luke grows increasingly agitated until the alien reveals
himself as Yoda and judges Luke unworthy of training. However Luke and the
voice of Obiwan manage to convince him to take Luke as a student.
The Falcon manages to escape the asteroid field and star
destroyers, and limps its way to Bespin: a mining colony owned by Solo’s old
friend: Lando Calrissian. But with the help of the bounty hunter Boba Fett
Vader had already figured out their destination and beat them there. He captures
Han, Leia, and Chewbacca and begins torturing them to attract Luke via the
force.
In the midst of his training Luke has a vision of his friends
in trouble. Obiwan and Yoda urge him to stay and complete his training but he
rushes to Bespin. In the meantime Darth Vader has frozen Han Solo in carbonite
and given him to Boba Fett. Fed up with the ever changing terms of Vader’s deal
Lando frees Leia and Chewbacca and escapes with them from Cloud City. Luke arrives
and confronts Vader who attempts to freeze him. When this fails they fight and Vader
cuts off Luke’s hand. Vader attempts to
convince Luke to join him in over throwing the emperor, revealing that the
story Obiwan told Luke was a lie and that he is Luke’s father. Luke refuses
Vader and is rescued by the Falcon; together with the others he escapes the
Empire and rendezvouses with the Rebel fleet at the edge of the galaxy.
I don’t think this movie is perfect. I think it has a few
pacing issues and some unclear parts. Between the battle of Hoth and the
showdown at Bespin the movie feels slow. It’s also unclear how long the time
period the movie is covering. Did the Falcon jump right to Bespin? Did it have
to slowly limp there because if it’s damaged hyper drive? How long did that
take? And how long was Luke with Yoda? A few days? a week? A month? Its left ambiguous
and only cleared up in Star Wars material outside the movie itself. Worse than this,
Luke’s frustrations in the middle of the movie come off as annoying. He wines,
he complains, he gets angry and he ignores the advice of his elders. While he
never comes off as dangerous this does foreshadow his potential to turn to the
dark side, so it does serve a purpose storytelling wise, but it’s hard to
watch.
But despite its small flaws Empire Strikes Back is perhaps
my favorite Star Wars movie. It balances action, world building, and character
development in a way the prequels tried for but never achieved. It manages to
keep the vision on point. The writing is excellent. The characters were iconic
in a New Hope but this takes them to the level of modern myth.
The Effects in ESB are superior in every way to a new hope.
You can see ships large and small maneuvering around. Effects look real except
in close up. The choreography has also
come along way. Luke and Vader slash and parry each other somewhat
convincingly, and the choreography tells the story, Vader toys with Luke at first
but is forced to get more and more aggressive as the fight goes on until he
removes Luke’s hand in a fit of rage.
This film is the seminal Star Wars, the film that throws you
into the galaxy and makes you want more. I doubt it will ever be topped.
9.4 out of 10
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