Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980); An emotionally complex, dark, intense, mysterious, action packed, well-written + perfectly paced masterpiece that makes for the best installment in the Star Wars saga!

Welcome back to my Star Wars reviews, everyone! For those of you who don't know, I'm reviewing each installment in the Star Wars original trilogy (Episodes 4, 5, 6), and The Force Awakens (Episode 7) leading up to The Last Jedi (Episode 8) in theaters now. I already have my review for Star Wars (Episode 4) up on my blog, if you want to check that out. As always with my reviews, this is going to be a spoiler-free film analysis.

The Empire Strikes Back (Episode 5) is the sequel to the smash hit Star Wars (1977) that practically revolutionized filmmaking, sci-fi storytelling/characters, musical score, special effects, set designs, etc. The film takes place 3 years after the events of the original where it tells the story of the evil Imperial Empire, led by the ruthless Darth Vader, going after the Rebel Alliance in retaliation for what happened earlier.

From left to right (Luke, Chewie, Han, Leia)

It also continues the adventures of Han, Leia, and Chewie as they are pursued by the Empire throughout the galaxy, while Luke is separately training to become a Jedi Knight. The film highlights the certain trials each person goes through to show their care for each other, adding more to their individual character journeys. There are even a couple of awesome supporting characters that are introduced (more on this later).

When you have a film like Star Wars (1977) that exploded on screen + became an instant pop culture phenomenon that millions of people adore still to this day, it's almost unthinkable to make a follow-up that can possibly match or even surpass that original film's level of success. Well, The Empire Strikes Back is not only considered the best Star Wars film by many fans (myself included), it's regarded as one of the best sequels of all time + one of the greatest films ever made (by the way, you're gonna hear the phrase "the greatest... of all time" a couple times in this review).

There so much about The Empire Strikes Back that I can just continuously praise for hours. Once this movie starts, it never slows down. There is not a single dull or uneventful moment due the film's well-crafted pace and never ending feeling of tension/excitement.

From right to left (Chewie, C-3PO, Leia, Han)

One of my favorite things about Empire is how it truly heightens everything that viewers had resonated with in the original film while adding more to the saga's mythology + emotional character development. The film manages to recapture the unique feel of Star Wars (1977) by delivering more exciting action setpieces, great music, and snappy dialogues. But it also integrates proper escalating tension with tough situations involving the main leads, engaging interactions from newly introduced characters, and higher emotional stakes with Luke, Han, Leia, and Vader.

In this movie, the Empire is displayed in a very different manner than in the original film (where we had a only basic general idea of their harsh nature). Their strength and power serve as a driving factor for many character's actions out of fear of the Empire or just on survival instincts.

This adds to the darker tone and change in atmosphere (compared to Episode 4) because now the villains get to be put in the spotlight and on a high pedestal equal to that of the main heroes; here the Empire is (as the title suggests) striking back.

With Darth Vader in charge, the Empire is solely focused on destroying the Rebels by any means necessary. I loved how the film expanded more on Vader's merciless personality as he plays a bigger role in controlling the Empire, exceeding that of what viewers had perceived of him while watching the original.

Here, Vader is once again focused and disciplined in tracking down the Rebels but rather than simply sitting down to give orders, Vader sees to the tasks personally. He's able to figure out where the Rebels are hiding and firmly commands his officers to follow his orders. If his officers screw up on the job or are too inefficient in following his decisions, Vader quickly chokes them out and replaces them with the next officer, warning them to not fail him. At the same time, Vader is obsessed with finding out who Luke is + his connections to the Force (based on Luke's actions in the ending of the original film and his mysterious family ties), slowly building to their final confrontation and one of the greatest twists in film history.

The main characters are all given an equal amount of dramatic depth as the audience gets to see them interact with others and their growing sense of attachment to one another; all thanks to the actors' wonderful performances.

With Han, he properly develops from the rogue smuggler introduced in the original film to a loving, caring badass who is trying to protect his friends. He risks his life earlier in the movie to rescue Luke from the cold, he has to go through torture by the Empire without any questions when the characters are captured. Han is skilled at flying the Falcon and fixing up the ship, but at the same time he shows a layer of fear + uncertainty of what is about to happen since he can tell that the Empire is more dangerous and is hunting his friends.

Han even has a sweet relationship with Leia as they both get to bond over the tough situations they're dealing with and find a more human side in each other, adding more depth and resonance to their characters. Both Han + Leia have great chemistry through their witty back-and-forth dialogues ("Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking, nerf herder!--"Who's scruffy looking?"), but also show a pure sense of love + care for each other in the more emotionally intense scenes leading up to the film's climax (and of course, there is the iconic "I love you"--"I know" line that still brings goosebumps to many viewers like myself). Rest in Peace, Carrie ;(

We even get to see more interactions from Chewie and the droids C-3PO + R2D2. Chewie shows his human side by repairing a damaged C-3PO, and R2D2 is a great companion for Luke on his separate journey across the galaxy.

In this movie, we also get to see Luke taken to a new direction as he is training to become a Jedi on a separate planet. This is where we meet Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz), one of the greatest mentor characters of all time. When Yoda is first introduced, he has an odd but comical presence based on his inverted way of speaking (famously dubbed as "Yoda speak") and his strange mannerisms towards Luke. As the film goes on, Yoda is revealed to be a wise old Jedi master who has remained in exile for many years and is reluctant to teach Luke because of Luke's inexperience. There are so many iconic lines from Yoda ("Do or do not. There is no try", "Judge me by my size, do you?", "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter") that are not just important for Luke's development, but serve as great discipline lines that numerous people (myself included) still follow today.

Another character that's introduced is Han's old friend Lando Calrissian (played excellently by Billy Dee Williams). When Lando comes on screen, he's shows off instant charisma through his interactions with Han and Leia, but also displays an inner conflict as he has to protect his town of Cloud City from the Empire and has to make tough decisions involving the main characters. He was a nice addition to the roster of already wonderful characters and we get to see his character arc build in the next Episode as well.

Of the many great things about Empire Strikes Back, there are the awesome action setpieces and fight scenes. In Episode 4, we got to see our heroes fight the Empire mainly through exciting space battles and the Rebels' final assault on the Death Star. In this film, there is more of the adventure in space but there is also a wonderful balance of action on earth (not Earth, but you know...on the ground).

There is the famous battle of Hoth sequence where the Rebels have to face off against the massive AT-AT walkers. This battle is intense for a lot of reasons: the Empire gets to expand more on their power, Luke shows more of his strategic maneuvers when flying, and Han is trying to get Leia, Chewie, and C-3PO to safety simultaneously.

In space, the intensity builds as the crew aboard Falcon has to escape multiple Imperial Stardestroyers by going through a dangerous asteroid field, escaping the mouth of a giant creature, and hiding in plain sight of one of the Stardestroyers.

And of course, they need to escape the infamous bounty hunter Boba Fett. Boba Fett is one of the most interesting Star Wars characters because although he is quite dangerous and looks menacing, the audience doesn't know anything about him (aside from a small, but important clue given by Vader) and his mysterious nature compared to every other Star Wars character only adds more to his popularity and intriguing personality.

But if we're talking about the action, I briefly have to mention the lightsaber fight between Luke and Darth Vader. The climactic battle between Luke and Vader is super intense and dark (not just literally). The fight is better constructed with a clever balance of choreography and realism (unlike the prequels). Luke has become a little more skilled in regards to using the Force, but he's easily overpowered by Vader (who's simply taunting Luke for his relentless nature). Luke is determined to protect his friends but he doesn't have a proper idea of who he is going up against and what is the real story behind his + Vader's conflict. This adds to grounded and somber tone that the film cleverly balances.

That's not to say that the film is completely dark or joyless. There is surprisingly a lot of comedic moments because of the film's clever writing with great back-and-forth dialogues + well-established characters. Out of all of the Star Wars films, The Empire Strikes Back is perhaps to most quotable thanks to the excellent witty lines that each character has regardless of any tough situation they're in.

As always, John Williams' musical score is nothing short of pure beauty and is arguably the best out of all the Star Wars films. Yoda has a great background theme as he's instructing Luke and does something extremely vital for Luke's understanding of the Force. The music when the Falcon is going through the deadly asteroid field to escape the Empire is quite gripping and adds another layer of excitement. Han + Leia's theme is very sweet and conveys their emotions properly.

However, the standout music is the "Imperial March" which is the theme for the Empire. Not only is this theme one of the most iconic of the franchise, it's well-regarded as one of the greatest symphonic pieces of all time. The piece is wonderfully introduced during a long establishing shot of the Stardestroyers with Vader to emphasize the sheer strength of the film's villains and show the audience the dark direction the filmmakers are going towards. This piece used effectively used in all the other Star Wars films and it's also been integrated numerous times in pop culture to portray something ominous or dramatic.

In the end, The Empire Strikes Back delivers the fun thrills, exciting action, great characters, and wonderful music that made the original film so great, and then some. It's a prime example of how a sequel should be done (along with The Godfather Part II and The Dark Knight) by retaining the same elements that many people love about the original film, but also raising the emotional stakes by taking our characters to different directions, expanding the horizon of the villains, and providing new revelations for the audience to reflect on as they learn more about this vast world. It's not just a fun sci-fi action movie, it's a great film on it's own thanks its tight script, developing characters, musical score, great set design + beautiful cinematography, and suspense from a different established tone.

My rating: 5/5 stars :)

Thanks for reading my review, guys! I'm sorry it's taking a while to get all of the remaining Episode reviews out. I'm trying to make these analyses as detailed as possible while also getting some other work done. Look forward for more reviews soon :)