“Try not. Do... or do not. There is no try.”
In 1977, Star Wars became the highest grossing films of all time. Under the hands of George Lucas, it became an instant classic, and one of the first major science fiction adventure films to be nominated for Best Picture. It took these classic characters from old westerns and samurai films and threw them into a space adventure that was completely out of this world. Even watching it today, the action scenes are still intense, the beauty of the visuals remains, and now has a complete culture surrounding it. But then came The Empire Strikes Back, which managed to topple everything Star Wars accomplished.
The Empire Strikes Back is the heart and soul of the Star Wars trilogy. The characters are more developed, the visuals are the most gorgeous, the actors give the best performances, and the story is the most complicated. Written by Lucas and directed by Irvin Kershner (one of Lucas’s USC professors), The Empire Strikes Back is a film of mythical qualities that brings the characters to the darkest parts of the galaxy and in their souls. It doesn’t compare in terms of action with the original Death Star sequence, but is the most compelling to watch. And finally in the greatest twist of all time (if you are one of the few not to have seen this or don’t know), our greatest enemy, Darth Vader, is actually the father of our hero Luke Skywalker.
Although The Empire Strikes Back lacks the space battles, the action sequences are just as thrilling. The Battle of Hoth brought the land walkers, which are almost as frightening as the Death Star. The asteroid chase (which Industrial Light & Magic was constantly bashed on by Lucas until they got it right) is a poetic dance through space. The light saber duel between Luke and Vader near the end of the film remains the most frightening battle in the trilogy, simply for the power that Darth seems to posses.
The Empire Strikes Back also introduced us to one of the most inspiring characters in the trilogy: Yoda. Small in stature but wise beyond his years (all 900), Yoda is the preacher of the force. His teachings somehow not only relate to Luke’s training to become a Jedi, but also can be applied to our own lives at points. “Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda tells Luke at one point. Yoda’s performance is almost too human-like to be believed. Created and voiced by Frank Oz (“The Muppet Show”), Yoda shows emotions in both his facial reactions and his voicing. This may actually be the best performance in the series.
The other brilliant plot that The Empire Strikes Back contained was the romance between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Leia (Carrie Fisher). In a word of fantasy, Lucas wrote a beautiful and realistic romance to fill his story that never ends in clichés. Take Han’s moment right before he is frozen in carbonite. Though the original script had Han responding to Leia’s “I love you” with “I love you too,” Harrison had it changed to “I know.” It feels so much more in character and simply more real. It’s a truly beautiful moment.
With a real budget this time around, The Empire Strikes Back contains the most beautiful images in the entire trilogy. Cloud City for one is a dream come true. The swamps of Dagobah are a curiosity. The slick and ordered rooms of the Star Destroyer are haunting and menacing. The Empire Strikes Back is also the funniest of the trilogy. None of the jokes feel forced, unlike in Return of the Jedi. There’s a great subplot of Darth Vader always force chocking his commanding officers that instead of coming off as scary, its genuinely funny.
Of course nothing prepares you for the ingenious twist of Darth Vader being Luke’s father. Unfortunately, it has become too much of pop culture for anyone who hasn’t seen the film to not know it but when released in 1980, it drove people crazy. Not only did this come as a complete surprise by almost everyone (only nine people actually knew about it) but they would have to wait three years to find out how this was possible.
The Return of the Jedi, released in 1983, would officially close out the beloved series, but Empire will always remain the greatest. It’s humanistic without losing entertainment. It has the best characters, the best moments, the best visuals, and the best of everything else a Star Wars movie should have. It took everything that was great about the original film and turned it up a notch. Its funny, romantic, frightening, and ultimately it marks the adventure of a lifetime.
