The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - film review

The destruction of the Death Star by the Rebel Alliance is followed by a swift retaliation from the Galactic Empire, with Darth Vader leading the offensive.  Luke Skywalker and his rebel friends are driven from their base and forced to take refuge on the inhospitable ice world, Hoth.  But even here they are not safe.  Vader has located the rebels and sends a force of imperial troops to attack them.  Han Solo, Chewbacca, Princess Leia and C-3PO escape in the Millennium Falcon and, having been chased through an asteroid belt, head for Cloud City to make essential repairs to their ship.  Meanwhile, guided by his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke  arrives on the planet Dagobah, where he is to be trained in the use of the Force by the Jedi Master Yoda.  Before his instruction is complete, Luke has a premonition that his friends are in danger and insists on leaving Yoda so that he can rescue them.  Luke’s intuition is correct.  Solo and Leia have walked into a carefully laid trap and are to be the bait that will lure Luke Skywalker to a fateful meeting with Darth Vader...

The almost unprecedented commercial success of Star Wars in 1977 meant that a rematch between the Rebels and the Evil Empire was inevitable, although it would take three years before audiences could enjoy that eagerly anticipated follow up.   When The Empire Strikes Back finally did explode onto cinema screens in 1980 it received a mix reception.  Although it performed remarkably well at the box office, this long-awaited sequel was generally considered inferior to the first film, mainly because, being the middle film in a trilogy, it lacked both a beginning and an ending, and so many spectatators felt (understandably) short-changed.  Today, a different view prevails.  The Empire Strikes Back is not only regarded as the best of the Star Wars films, it is also widely acknowledged to be one of the best science-fiction films ever made, a benchmark against which subsequent films in the genre are often compared.  

After the pressure he experienced on the first Star Wars film, George Lucas was reluctant to direct the sequel, so he hired his former teacher at the USC School of Cinema-Television, Irvin Kershner (then in his fifties) to take on this burden.  Likewise, he handed over the scripting duties to Leigh Brackett, an experienced screenwriter who had worked on such classics as The Big Sleep (1946) and Rio Bravo (1959).  When Brackett died from cancer in 1979, the novice screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan took over and completed the screenplay.  Lucas was thus able to focus on those areas of the production where he could deliver most value, which included the management of the visual effects.  A series of unforeseen production problems (including a studio fire at Elstree Studios) caused the film to run seriously over budget and it ended up costing around 33 million dollars, three times what the original Star Wars film had cost to make.  Fortunately, despite some negative reviews, the film proved to be another runaway hit at the box office, grossing over five hundred million dollars.  

Star Wars may have broken the mould in 1977, creating a mass audience appetite for blockbuster action adventure films and setting new standards in design and effects, but The Empire Strikes Back is unquestionably a better film (although it is probably less suitable for young children).  Better directed, better scripted and with much better performances from the leads, this is a far more sophisticated and adult piece of cinema, one that explores more complex themes and portrays characters more convincingly.  There is even a marked improvement in the quality of the special effects, many of which still rival (and even surpass) what can be achievd with today’s CGI technology.

Most surprising is how much darker The Empire Strikes Back is compared with its predecessor.  Whereas Star Wars was a jolly adventure film in the tradition of the old Flash Gordon serials, its immediate sequel is relentlessly grim, relieved only by some moments of black comedy.  The pace of the film is equally extraordinary.  It may be a cliché to say it, but The Empire Strikes Back genuinely is a roller coaster.  From the spectacular opening, right up until the heart-thumping climax, the pace barely slackens for a moment, making this one of the most exciting and thrilling cinematic adventures of all time.  And what a cliff hanger!  We (the first generation Star Wars addicts) had to wait three long years to discover whether the evil Darth was telling the truth about his relationship to Luke.  Three years!   Mercifully, all was revealed in the Return of the Jedi...

© James Travers 2009

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