Vader’s Revenge: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
This is the second in a series of reviews I’ll be writing for each of the live-action theatrical Star Wars films. I’ll be reviewing the films in release order in order to give the proper historical context for each film. I’ll also be grading and ranking each film as I go. This review will contain spoilers.
In my previous review, I explained how 1977’s Star Wars isn’t perfect, but might be the perfect film. What’s remarkable is that The Empire Strikes Back is an even better movie. Not only did it prove the original film wasn’t simply a rare case of capturing lightning in a bottle, it’s the perfect sequel and the sequel that all movies since have looked back upon, for better or worse.
Like the mythology of Star Wars itself, the story behind how Lucas devised the saga is equal parts myth and reality. If you listen to Lucas himself, he will tell you he had the series planned out from day one – and the otherwise excellent documentary Empire of Dreams (now available for free with an Amazon Prime subscription) indulges this myth. In reality, the story is a bit murkier. When Star Wars was originally out in theaters, Lucas was very concerned the film would flop. In order to ensure a sequel could be made, he ordered a novel, Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, be published. The first novel in the now non-canon Expanded Universe (or EU for short), it would have been an ideal candidate for a low-budget sequel – Harrison Ford’s character was cut, the film was set in a low-tech environment, and the heavy effects shots were limited.
Of course, once Star Wars became the biggest film of all time, plans to use Splinter of the Mind’s Eye as a sequel were dropped. Instead, the new film would double-down. Visionary filmmaker Irvin Kershner was brought on to direct, and it was planned to be bigger, bolder, and darker. Writer Leigh Brackett was brought on to write the script, and while the overall product contains the skeleton of Empire, Lucas found her work to be sub-par; however, he was unable to ever tell her as she had developed cancer, which she ultimately died of. Interestingly, Darth Vader was not Luke’s father in this draft, Leia was not his sister, and the film was given the designation of Episode II! Instead, he hired Larry Kasdan to re-write it and the rest is history – from the corpse of the Brackett script came what might be the best sequel of all time.
From the very start, Empire is clearly the film in the series with the best direction in my opinion. Kershner had a clear vision of what he wanted to make and did it – he did it so well, in fact, that there was little left for Lucas to tinker with (perhaps a reason why Lucas chose a more malleable director for Return of the Jedi). The film clearly benefits from a consistent vision not unlike that seen in Star Wars, but also a superior script and improved special effects. The film’s standout sequences – the epic battle of Hoth, the intense chase in the asteroid field, and the final confrontation of Luke and Vader – blow Star Wars out of the water on a technical level. Also improved is Williams’ score. While I think the original film might still have the most iconic sound, The Empire Strikes Back takes everything established in the first film and makes it even better. The three new, major themes – Han Solo and the Princess, The Imperial March, and Yoda’s Theme – are maybe the best the series has to offer.
What also are improved are the film’s themes. Star Wars is a very simple story with basic, transcendent themes of good and evil, and The Empire Strikes Back is very much not that. Every single character benefits from increased depth, and the addition of Yoda and Lando offer two complex characters that truly help the film shine. What’s remarkable is how The Empire Strikes Back makes the middle film of a trilogy seem so effortless: in the grand scheme of things, what happens in the film is less important than the original. There is no superweapon or evil device to destroy and no princess to save. It’s purely a chase with the Rebels barely managing to escape a seemingly omnipresent galactic evil. Done wrong, this film could have dragged – instead, it practically soars. Both major plots in the film are equally interesting and equally investing, but the sequences on Dagobah where we learn more about the force truly shine. By taking a more personal, character-driven approach, the film actually becomes far bigger than any number of dull, action-heavy sequels.
It’s also worth noting that, even as the film adopts a darker and more serious tone where the good guys actually lose, it retains the energy and spirit of the original. It doesn’t come off as a dramatic shift, but rather a natural progression from where the original left off.
Of course, like the other films in the original trilogy, the elephant in the room is the Special Edition releases. How does The Empire Strikes Back fare? Well, it’s the film that is most intact, and the Special Edition version isn’t really bad. A few elements are actually slight upgrades, like adding Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor for continuity and adding windows to Cloud City. Do I prefer the original edition? Of course. But for all but the biggest fans, there isn’t much in the Special Edition to detract from the film. It’s a lesser version, but not an offensive one, and you can’t really go wrong with the modern Blu-Ray release.
If it’s not already clear, I absolutely adore The Empire Strikes Back. I’d be hard-pressed to name even one thing I dislike about the film. There’s a reason it’s widely cited as one of the greatest films of all time, and that’s because it absolutely is one of them. It’s probably not a spoiler to say it’s my favorite Star Wars film, and it sits very, very comfortably at the top – a spot that might never be threatened, let alone surpassed.
Star Wars saga rankings:
- The Empire Strikes Back – A+
- Star Wars – A+
Empire is utterly brilliant. The last 30 minutes, from the time Han is frozen in carbonite, are some of the best stuff in the entire series. And it rewards rewatching. There are subtleties in it: such as how Vader toys with Luke at first, is surprised by how well Luke fights back and then completely overpowers him at the end, showing that Luke never stood a chance (an echo of which is seen in TFA). And, as you note, Williams’ has his best score.
People understate how much of this was Lucas. Kershner was great but he never made another truly great film. It was Lucas’ vision all along.Report
You could argue neither did Lucas. It is a pairing I wish we had had more of.Report
It is a shame the relationship didn’t continue, but Kershner didn’t trust the early script for Jedi, there were issues with the union (who wanted an opening credit, leading Lucas to quit and that limited his hiring pool), and it’s a long process to make the film. As much as I would love to have seen a Kershner Return of the Jedi, it wasn’t ever really viable.
I will say that Kershner loved the Empire Strikes Back Special Edition. Why? They added windows to Cloud City. This was something he wanted the whole time, but it wasn’t technologically viable. It was basically Lucas’s gift to Kershner. They had a good relationship.Report
Good points. I think there is definitely an argument that Star Wars worked best as Lucas as mastermind but then collaborating with someone to make it really work, like in Empire, and the other films, especially the prequels, suffered from Lucas perhaps not trusting anyone else with the material enough to let them reel in his lesser impulses. Also, bonus points for working “Splinter of the Mind’s Eye” in.Report
I think Lucas and Stan Lee occupy a similar spot of being fantastic in collaboration with other talent that balanced them, initially over-credited as singular geniuses when they were really key cogs in a collaborative effort, then latter under-credited due to the backlash against singular genius myth, as the backlash tends to underplay how critical what they brought to the table was to the work’s success.Report
Lucas has astonishing breadth of vision and a good feel for the language of film. The thing I noticed about the prequels is how clear everything is. He doesn’t do jump cuts, he keeps the action centered and oriented so you know what’s going on. You would not expect less of a an admirer of Kurosawa.
Where he fails is with actors. He doesn’t direct actors well. In the prequels, Christianson is terrible and Portman is dull. These are both good actors. I think Lucas storyboarding and someone else doing the directing works best.Report
Leigh Brackett’s screenplay didn’t hurt either.Report
Brackett’s screenplay was definitely a mixed bag, but it has many of the pieces the final film contains. It was a good baseline to work on.Report
For what it’s worth, after having absolutely loved the first (Episode 4) film, I came out of “Empire” with a positive impression based on, as I said at the time: “That was a great second chapter of a trilogy. Whether it’s really any good will finally depend upon how well the third installment works.” For me, “Return” really, really sucked, so I lost a lot of respect for “Empire.” YMMVReport
At the time of Return of the Jedi, I was probably 10 years old and I loved every minute of it. But now that I look back, I agree that it was the worst of the first 3 episodes (by which I mean 4, 5, and 6).Report
Empire was my favorite, too, but I wish the plot had been slightly different. Toward the end, as Leie, Han, et al. are escaping Cloud City, R2, who has rejoined them, helps open the last door before they all can get to the Millennium Falcon.
I wish R2 hadn’t and that they found another way to open the door.
The reason: that would have underscored the futility of Luke coming to “rescue” his friends. As it was, Luke’s decision to quit training* and rescue everyone was 1) a rejection of his promise to his Jedi teacher and 2) probably meant to be pointless and demonstrate that Luke was wrong to go anyway. With R2 helping out toward the end, that point isn’t driven home.
But then again, as one of my literature professors said (I paraphrase), “if you want the story to say that, then write your own book.” Perhaps the point was that even good came out of a potentially colossal mistake?
*However, we learn in Jedi that he had already completed his training and all he had to do was face Vader.** But he already had faced Vader at that point. So much for part 3.
**Interesting how “Vader” doesn’t come up as incorrect on spell check.Report
I think the point is that training and skills are pretty much secondary when it comes to the Force. What really matters is emotional state. Luke wasn’t psychologically ready for the test of facing an opponent like Vader. He was still locked into his preconceptions, that he wanted to be a magic all conquering superhero. That’s enough of a self-sacrificing notion to do some tricks with the Force and Luke is naturally clearheaded and resourceful in a tight spot but it isn’t enough to match the practiced rage Vader can bring to bear to a confrontation.
To win a confrontation as a Jedi, Luke needed emotional skills that he didn’t even know were his strengths. Empathy, intuition, and a strong moral center. He had these qualities in Empire, but it wasn’t until Return of the Jedi where he was emotionally mature and disciplined enough to use them as psychological weapons and defenses.
So it was never really about the training and skills. Luke had an initial seminar worth of training in the first film and still could use to Force to win. It was all about the mindset to use the Force.Report
That sounds like a good explanation of what the creator(s) intended. I might quibble that we don’t see/don’t know how and why Luke in Jedi is emotionally more mature than the Luke in Empire. However, I suppose the actual first encounter with Vader might have been, paradoxically, what made him emotionally mature enough to face Vader again.Report
If you have 20 minutes, Cinema Wins has a great episode on Empire, including a strong defense of Lucas’ vision.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFYDFDI7CAgReport