‘Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back’: the good, the bad, and the downright iconic
From Disney+ and Lucasfilm Ltd.
Hello! I hope, whoever and wherever you are, you’re having a most beautiful day and that you’re staying sane inside amidst the chaos of COVID-19. For those who are still working, I hope you are safe and well. Before anything, I’ll admit that there was a lot about this film I’d forgotten. I remembered key moments here and there, but the core of it? So much of it was absent in my brain – which made for a fun rewatching experience. I think most people would place The Empire Strikes Back as their favourite film, or at the least in the top three. Not bad for a movie that came out 40 years ago! I did indeed wonder where it would place in my ranking of the films. Having put together my thoughts on the movie, I have a pretty good idea.
The Empire Strikes Back had a lot to live up to. After the overwhelming success of A New Hope, expectations were high for the next instalment. Curiously, though, aside from the Sequel Trilogy, this is perhaps the film George Lucas had the least amount of direct involvement in, opting to be an executive producer rather than director or writer. I won’t lie when I say that George Lucas not writing the screenplay is probably one of the best things about this film – I think I’ve been rather vocal on my issues with his dialogue-writing skills. That’s not to say he isn’t a good story-maker; I see them as different things. You can have the most in-depth stories drawn-out, explained, thought through to as far as one can go, but the second you sit down to write it out, suddenly it’s like writing in a foreign language. As a writer, this is a genuine dilemma; some are simply better at this translation than others. For Episode V, sure, the dialogue had a very Star Wars-esque feel to it, but the cleanness of it, the nuance (with one glaring exception to which I’ll soon return) is notably better than in his other films. It felt crisp, with any expository dialogue not so bluntly expository. Best of all, it embellished the characters, allowing their charm or wit or power (to name a few) to shine.
And that’s not to forget just how many iconic lines there are to find in here. It’s like Where’s Wally but Wally’s every third guy.
Most of the heroes aboard the best ship in the saga — the Millennium Falcon. Taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Lucasfilm Ltd, cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
Speaking of the characters, if Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader were good in A New Hope – and they were – then they were incredible in The Empire Strikes Back… for the most part. I am so thankful they mellowed out Luke’s character, allowing him to have some proper non-whiney agency this time around. Here, he’s determined, he’s capable, and his desire to help and ease in leading others make him the character I want to support. All that, and he’s still got space yet to go (pun absolutely intended). Leia is still someone of whom I think Padmé would be proud – truthfully, she’d be proud of both her bubs. She continues to lead, to stand tall and fierce… best of all, the movie allows Leia to be vulnerable without compromising her character, and I will never have too much of that in any story. Chewbacca is still awesome, as is Darth Vader, who the film reveals as being Anakin Skywalker (that part I will also return to) and Luke’s father – they have not yet shown that Leia is also a Skywalker, but all in good time. We get to see more of Vader without overplaying him, which is a definite risk with villains such as a Sith Lord. While he is undoubtedly menacing, we also get to see snippets of his more human side. Personally, I read his actions upon learning about Luke as him just wanting to have his son in his life, though his means of getting to that are… about as shaky as can be expected. Still, a great character. A quick shout-out as well to C3PO and R2-D2, who are decent enough in this.
Han, meanwhile… I won’t lie, I have conflicting feelings about him here. On the one hand, he’s an incredibly charming and likeable guy who has a clear desire to be good but is very rogue-like in going about it – with mostly positive, if not slightly mixed results. On the other hand, I really didn’t like just how bluntly pushy he is with Leia. Liking someone and wanting to be with someone is one thing, but I feel like they could have done more in A New Hope to lead to his interest there. And by that, I mean more than an offhand comment about wondering if she’d ever go for a guy like him. I personally think that a lot of movies and books romanticise overly pushy (often male) characters who are rewarded with their love interest. And I’m sorry, but I’m really not interested in seeing any more of that. There’s nothing nuanced about his actions, and nothing particularly likeable about his efforts towards getting with Leia, repeatedly going off about how in love with him she is. Flirting’s one thing, and Han not only took the idea but dialled it up to an uncomfortable degree. I personally dont see this as much more than a more charming version of Anakin and Padmé in Episode II. Craziest of all, Han is gifted with perhaps the most amazing and badass love confession, and indeed, I am conflicted.
Han gets antsy about how much Leia is obviously in love with him. Taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Lucasfilm Ltd, cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
Still, we’re not only given these memorable characters returned from Episode IV, but we have new ones (more or less) to embrace. We have newcomers such as Lando Calrissian, who could be argued as the better version of Han, but for the most part, we have returned characters. Back for more are the Emperor – who appears as powerful and domineering as ever – and Boba Fett, now considerably more menacing than he or his father ever were in the Prequels (the Fetts are still one of the biggest letdowns in the saga). But most of all, we have one character back for his fourth foray into the films, one that is the primary reason I mentioned earlier that I’d forgotten a lot about this film. Yoda is back and a lot more quippy than in the first three Episodes, and dear me, oh how I forgot just what a boss this character was. Indeed, I was so taken aback by his awesomeness that I ended up feeling retroactively disappointed in the Prequels for not doing more in his character’s favour. The closest we get to seeing how great a Jedi he is in Revenge of the Sith’s climax, and now I can only argue it’s almost not fair that we were deprived of such a character. I had chills when Luke, having failed to lift his submerged X-Wing out of a body of water, watches in awe as Yoda calmly raises it and moves it to dry land. What follows is perhaps one of my favourite moments in all the movies:
*Shivers*. Taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Lucasfilm Ltd, cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
The Empire Strikes Back also falls under the same lines as The Phantom Menace, solely featuring entirely new locations. Here, we’re gifted with Hoth, home to the opening battle and the next major hint of Luke’s gifts with the Force. Second is Dagobah, introduced to Luke by Obi-Wan Kenobi as he reveals his ‘more powerful than you can possibly imagine’ element – occasionally showing up, having conversations with Luke and Yoda, and being a little fibber. As someone who personally hates the idea of immortality, the notion of Obi-Wan using the Force to find a variant of it only goes so far for me. Dagobah, though, is quite cool, being a swampy planet where mist is everywhere and mysterious evils lurk just beyond the horizon. Lastly, we have Cloud City on Bespin, which by a special effects standpoint of its time is incredible. We don’t see much of it, though it does indeed stand out from other locations in the franchise.
The action is again one of the better elements of this film, though here I’m primarily referring to the larger battles rather than any duels that occur. The asteroid field, the opening Hoth fight against AT-ATs and AT-STs, the escape on Cloud City… all immensely enjoyable whilst progressing the main story. The brief “duel” between Luke and Darth Vader on Dagobah I liked because it features some brilliant foreshadowing to the legit fight between them later on. Still, though story-wise their real match is on point, the fight choreography is almost as flat as Luke’s wrist by the film’s end (too soon?).
A duel between father and son. Taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Lucasfilm Ltd, cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
Also, they mention stun settings on their guns again! In other words, every shooter in this film is seriously just interested in killing some folks. Honestly, it’s kind of frightening that Darth Vader may just be the most restrained and non-lethal character where guns are concerned (just forget the time he blew up a reactor and likely killed hundreds with gunfire, that’s not important right now).
Just a quick point is that for each of these films, I’ve taken notes to help me better condense my thoughts on each instalment. For the music in this film, I had just one: DUN DUN DUN DUN DA DA DUM DA DA DUM. Anyway, moving on.
One thing I sort of noticed in Episode IV and rightly saw in Episode V was just how much happens with so little. A lot happens in each of the Prequels, primarily given they’re setting up the Original Trilogy. Yet here, the plots for this film and its predecessor are really simple and straightforward. Not to their detriment, mind you; A New Hope faithfully followed the Hero’s Journey and gave it new life. The Empire Strikes Back similarly follows a rigid three-act structure, acting out three main events (Hoth Battle, Dagobah, Cloud City escape). The good part about this method is it allows the characters to take the lead; after all, a bad story can be kept afloat with great characters, but no one’s gonna sit down for a great story if the characters are crap. So even though not a lot of plot happens here, there’s three times the amount of story, and I really like that about this movie.
One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb, however, is the matter of Luke, Leia, and Darth Vader. And I’ll concede that if I were to introduce someone to the Star Wars movies, I would potentially begin with the Original Trilogy. It’s the age-old question: order by release date, or order by chronology? Both have their pros and cons, and one of the cons to watching it Episodes I-IX is this movie ends up feeling just a little bit creepy. The two kisses between Luke and Leia is uncomfortable, to say the least (there’s one right at the very end, quite brief but still a kiss), and I have to wonder… Why oh why oh why does Vader not call the Emperor out when he reveals that Luke is his kid? Never mind his minor oversight of not realising Luke Skywalker may have been a relative (that’s easy to forgive), but going back to Episode III, Palpatine clearly states Anakin killed Padmé in his anger. Why is his first question not, “But you said I killed her – how then is Luke a thing?” Surely, he’s lived with unimaginable guilt of not only killing Padmé but his unborn child for decades now. Honestly, the fact that Vader doesn’t immediately start plotting Palpatine’s death upon discovering the Emperor lied astounds me. Still, I do believe this is only an issue when you sit down and really think about it – that, and the awareness that these films came first. Beyond ideas and possibilities, George Lucas was likely not thinking all three Prequels far ahead, here. And so, I will remain minorly frustrated with nowhere to go on these thoughts, and I’ll love the films anyway – plot holes and all.
Luke is looking pretty happy to have just been kissed by his unknowingly younger twin sister. Taken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back by Lucasfilm Ltd, cinematography by Peter Suschitzky
So… yeah. Episode V is worthy of being beloved. It was the film that exceeded expectations and proved better than its previous instalment. There are things I didn’t entirely like – namely Han – but for the most part, The Empire Strikes Back is an experience worth having. I don’t think it’s as dark many people say, but it does definitely leave the heroes in a precarious place fit for fixing in Episode VI! That being said, it still doesn’t quite overtake my love for Revenge of the Sith. And with that…
1. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
4. Episode IV: A New Hope
5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
So there we go! I loved almost everything about this film, but what about you? Did you enjoy it? Hate it? Somewhere in between? Let me know in the comments!
But that’s all from me today. I post (temporarily) on Tuesdays and Fridays! All the same, thank you for reading, and I hope you have a most beautiful day!
— Charis.
