***Spoiler Warning***
The Empire Strikes Back came out three years after the original Star Wars and six years after The Godfather: Part II, the Oscar-winner that changed movie sequels forever; and Empire had some BIG shoes to fill. This film showed that the Star Wars universe was a cinematic world that had real grit and 'teeth' to it: even after the triumphant ending in the previous movie this one is defined by The Empire relentlessly pursuing The Rebellion in the wake of The Death Star's destruction during the Battle of Yavin 4, and it shows that 'fairy-tale endings' always have a deeper aftermath to them than you think and that hard-won battles need to keep going if the enemy is to give up. Battles may be won, but wars are different beasts altogether.
The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel that came to be THE golden standard for movie sequels; without it there'd be no necessary sequels that are thought out for creative reasons as opposed to purely financial reasons. This film also proved to be quite the shocker when it came out in 1980: we finally found out what happened to Luke's father, and he wasn't killed by Darth Vader; HE became Darth Vader. This soon became THE greatest cinematic plot-twist of all-time, and forty years on it's still a hard one to top (if not outright impossible). It was Star Wars' equivalent of Citizen Kane's 'Rosebud' moment and both those twists are still inspiring narrative pillars for filmmakers today.
Empire Strikes Back plays like an 'after happily-ever-after' ending that feels neither forced nor inauthentic to its world; everything is given real purpose, development, foreshadowing and closure like any self-respecting movie can attest to having. Its deliberate pacing and sense of menace is a nice contrast to Star Wars' more swashbuckling space-adventure, and the simple choice of not recycling the same plot (like so many prior sequels to other movies) as last time was another inspired choice this film took. Empire earns all its wings with all the good stuff it knowingly doesn't take for granted, like making sure the characters are the same as before but not totally unscathed either. You can also FEEL like they're in a much larger world too.
Star Wars has become inseparable from cinema: it's a legacy of a franchise that came from George Lucas' desire to pay homage to the Flash Gordon serials of the 30s, and just like cinema itself people still actively discuss the series and medium to this day in ways that people dissect philosophy and religion to their heart's content. It's fun to look deeper into the things we love, and it's life-changing when you find newfound wisdom to make your mind and will stronger in life. Cinema may not be the same as it was decades ago (neither is Star Wars), but there's still plenty of new changes that show old and new techniques can become harmonious with one another: technology is not substitute for hard-earned storytelling or wisdom, but progress can help expand one's understanding of what they couldn't comprehend before.
The Empire Strikes Back is one of cinema's all-time titans, and this is what sequels dream to become: an immortal experience that's set a bar so high it takes something truly incredible to surpass it (whoever may dare try to do so that is). 5/5 stars.
P. S. When's Disney gonna release ALL the cuts for this movie? They're all fantastic; originals, Special Editions, you name it. Disney+ NEEDS to give us the option.
The Empire Strikes Back came out three years after the original Star Wars and six years after The Godfather: Part II, the Oscar-winner that changed movie sequels forever; and Empire had some BIG shoes to fill. This film showed that the Star Wars universe was a cinematic world that had real grit and 'teeth' to it: even after the triumphant ending in the previous movie this one is defined by The Empire relentlessly pursuing The Rebellion in the wake of The Death Star's destruction during the Battle of Yavin 4, and it shows that 'fairy-tale endings' always have a deeper aftermath to them than you think and that hard-won battles need to keep going if the enemy is to give up. Battles may be won, but wars are different beasts altogether.
The Empire Strikes Back is the sequel that came to be THE golden standard for movie sequels; without it there'd be no necessary sequels that are thought out for creative reasons as opposed to purely financial reasons. This film also proved to be quite the shocker when it came out in 1980: we finally found out what happened to Luke's father, and he wasn't killed by Darth Vader; HE became Darth Vader. This soon became THE greatest cinematic plot-twist of all-time, and forty years on it's still a hard one to top (if not outright impossible). It was Star Wars' equivalent of Citizen Kane's 'Rosebud' moment and both those twists are still inspiring narrative pillars for filmmakers today.
Empire Strikes Back plays like an 'after happily-ever-after' ending that feels neither forced nor inauthentic to its world; everything is given real purpose, development, foreshadowing and closure like any self-respecting movie can attest to having. Its deliberate pacing and sense of menace is a nice contrast to Star Wars' more swashbuckling space-adventure, and the simple choice of not recycling the same plot (like so many prior sequels to other movies) as last time was another inspired choice this film took. Empire earns all its wings with all the good stuff it knowingly doesn't take for granted, like making sure the characters are the same as before but not totally unscathed either. You can also FEEL like they're in a much larger world too.
Star Wars has become inseparable from cinema: it's a legacy of a franchise that came from George Lucas' desire to pay homage to the Flash Gordon serials of the 30s, and just like cinema itself people still actively discuss the series and medium to this day in ways that people dissect philosophy and religion to their heart's content. It's fun to look deeper into the things we love, and it's life-changing when you find newfound wisdom to make your mind and will stronger in life. Cinema may not be the same as it was decades ago (neither is Star Wars), but there's still plenty of new changes that show old and new techniques can become harmonious with one another: technology is not substitute for hard-earned storytelling or wisdom, but progress can help expand one's understanding of what they couldn't comprehend before.
The Empire Strikes Back is one of cinema's all-time titans, and this is what sequels dream to become: an immortal experience that's set a bar so high it takes something truly incredible to surpass it (whoever may dare try to do so that is). 5/5 stars.
P. S. When's Disney gonna release ALL the cuts for this movie? They're all fantastic; originals, Special Editions, you name it. Disney+ NEEDS to give us the option.