For people who grew up during when Star Wars first came onto the big screen, they had to wait three years for the highly-anticipated sequel.
I personally struggle to remember the first time I watched 'The Empire Strikes Back'. However, I now see it as one of the greatest films of all-time along with A New Hope.
I know a lot of people have this as the best of the series, but I wouldn't. However, it still deserve to rank among the best in film history.
The opening sees go straight into the action and are in a completely new environment, space battles during the daytime and in a snowy landscape.
Back then, that was very risky and usually action set-pieces using models have a dark background to mask the strings used. But with everything in white, that was definitely a risk that paid off as we have one of the most popular battle scenes ever.
The performances continue to shine in all departments. Mark Hamill's character Luke Skywalker goes on an emotional journey that gives us something different to all the action that is going on elsewhere. The most interesting characters in this episode are Harrison Ford's and Carrie Fisher's as Hans Solo and Princess Leia. Solo has been given more depth into his care for Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and his other new friends. We also get to see great development with Solo and Leia as their hate for each other ends up being sexual tension.
Darth Vadar as the main villain manages to becomes his most sinister and ruthless. You can see the fear in the Imperial soldiers anytime he walks by or talks to them. His contribution to the climatic battle scene sees him at his most evil.
There are a lot of new characters that certainly make an impact. The introduction of Yoda was definitely a risk at the time as he was puppet and taking a puppet seriously takes great skill. However, unlike Jar Jar Binks, Yoda has become a pivotal character in the Star Wars saga. His wise and noble presence gives the film a wider scope. The scene that confirms that he is a great character is the scene that shows his impressive power with the force that shocked Skywalker and all of us.
We also see the introduction of what is mine and many others favourite character, Boba Fett. This ruthless bounty hunter becomes an interesting minor character. Billy Dee Williams also gives us a great character in Lando Calrissian who bounces off really well with Hans Solo.
The only questionable moment I have with it is the one scene that does divide people on first viewing that involves Skywalker and Yoda. But re-watching will make you understand it, as it is nice piece that shows what could have happened in Return Of The Jedi.
This sequel manages to bend the rule-book and be as good as A New Hope. Director Irvin Kershner gave Star Wars a refreshing new look and still managed to keep the ball rolling. I honestly would not think this would have done well if it came now as it probably would have been over-hyped.
The writing is probably the best of the series. When re-watching this, I did not realise that there is a surprising amount of arguing in this film throughout and yet the script makes it highly entertaining whether it be emotional or highly amusing.
And finally, the action is non-stop. The combination of the chase scenes in space between the Millenium Falcon and the Star Destroyers and the witty dialogue are pure entertainment. And finally, the tension of the light-sabre battle between Skywalker and Vadar is great and emphasizes the fight itself which has that feel have genuine fight rather than being over-choreographed.
Like with A New Hope, I decided to watch the original cut. However, a lot of additions George Lucas do make the film look a lot more complete. Sadly, there are two changes he makes for the worse at important moments and it was enough for me to go back to the cut that everyone saw at the cinemas in 1980.
Rating: 9/10
Rating: 9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment