The Empire Strikes Back

Fun, imaginative, iconic space adventure with a kick-axx cast "Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back" (1980) was the anticipated follow-up to the initial mega-hit blockbuster from 1977. It’s an epic, but simplistic space fantasy about an evil empire and the noble souls who dare to fight it. The main cast features Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Alec Guinness (Obi-Wan Kenobi) and the voice work of James Earl Jones (Darth Vader), Frank Oz (Yoda) and Clive Revill (Emperor). This is an amusing, inventive, iconic space adventure with a stellar cast. While I prefer the adult-oriented space science-fiction of Star Trek, I can’t deny that this space fantasy grants you an entertaining two hours with lots of sci-fi action, space ships, a snowy planet, asteroid caves and mysterious swamps. I also...

It's a dark time for the rebellion; and us the audience as well. Luke, Leia and Han are fighting with the rebels in the hope of defeating the Imperial forces. But Luke gets a calling to the planet Dagobah, where under the tutelage of Jedi Master, Yoda, he hopes to become a Jedi himself, but that also brings him closer to his, and Leia's, destiny. Lets tell it as it is, The Empire Strikes Back is a better film than Star Wars, not as impacting of course, but most definitely better. Technically, in story telling and in tone, it holds up well today and certainly warrants the amount of times it crops up in best sequels debates. That it's not actually a sequel is irrelevant, it is of course the filler in a wonderful sci-fi sandwich, because as second instalments go, Empire has few peers. With Empire Strikes Back we get all the whizz bang adventure strewn heart of Star Wars, but George Lucas...

A masterpiece of cinema. The film transcends the franchise, seamlessly combining elements of myth, science fiction, fantasy, war film, romance, bildungsroman, epic and tragedy in a way that its sequels have been unable to replicate. It is a move without a moment of fluff. Cut anything and the film would suffer. Story, character, effects, cinematography, music, screenplay, acting, editing and action are all superb. One of the most artistically poignant films ever made. And because its style cannot be replicated, it will continue to appreciate with age. This was a time when George Lucas still had integrity, as evidenced in this 1980 Rolling Stone interview (he has since contradicted much of what he espouses in both word and deed): https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/the-empire-strikes-back-and-so-does-george-lucas-19800612 Here's a blog article shows Empire's cinematic chiasmus, or...

Overrated An enjoyable film - just not as engaging as parts IV and VI. The argument that Jedi was ruined by little furry creatures is laughable as this instalment features a little green muppet. I was expecting Kermit and Miss Piggy to show up. Once we get the impressive Hoth battle over with the film meanders and crawls along - padding out its running time with predictable romantic sparring and an extended and dull sequence on Degobah. Things finally pick up again at Cloud City but not enough to justify the worship this film receives. I much prefer Return of the Jedi to this one - at least Return of the Jedi gets the emotional juices flowing. This one leaves me as cold as the snow on Hoth. - Ian Beale