 Star Wars Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980, 1997) We start on an ice planet, move to a giant swamp and an asteroid field (!), then a floating city, and conclude at the moving rebel fleet. Each location is stuffed to the gills with incredible details, and each is a place we've never seen before. As with A New Hope, the most intriguing elements are only hinted at: evil bounty hunters, Vader's bizarrely scarred head, the Emperor's hidden face, Yoda's 800 years of experience, the "other," a giant slug that somehow survives in outer space, etc. And the visual imagination is stunning: Imperial Walkers, Twin Pod Cloud Cars, Snow Speeders, Imperial Probe Droids, and especially the incredible ballet of the Falcon navigating the asteroid field, one of my all-time favorite sequences in any film. As for emotional impact, we have Han Solo being frozen in carbonite – a tense and even sad moment – and Vader's revelation that he is Luke's father. (Oops, sorry for spoiling it for you.) The end of the film is a poignant mirror of the conclusion of Star Wars, with Luke, Leia, and the Droids hopefully watching Lando and Chewie take off in search of Han. It's also the most shockingly violent of the films, with the Wampa attack, a disemboweled Tauntaun, Han's torture and freezing, and Luke getting his hand chopped off! Empire is easily the most intriguing of the films, and leaves the strongest impression afterwards. It demands that you to watch the next one (I recall years of breathless anticipation of Han's fate, Vader's identity, and who the "other" was). Maybe that's where the film works best – by creating anticipation – because there is definitely a middle stretch (the Falcon in the asteroid cave, Luke on Dagobah) during which I was, frankly, bored. I can't explain this boredom, since the film moves like gangbusters, other than to say it's probably just a product of having seen the film so many times. Then again, it could actually be a boring stretch in an otherwise great film. Despite my sense of the Dagobah scenes as lacking in energy, I am increasingly intrigued by the Force, and am only now beginning to understand its relationship to "Earthbound" belief systems. While as a child the coolest possible "spiritual" notion was making objects move with one's mind (think of the implications! The Cube™ would be SO much easier to solve!), the Force now seems a more mature notion than I ever expected in such a populist creation. Still, sitting by a river contemplating the Force isn't nearly as cool as cooking dinner without leaving my couch. Hm, evidently if I actually WERE a Jedi, I'd be pretty fuckin' small-time. For the "Special Edition," Lucas wisely kept the "improvements" to Empire to a minimum, cleaning up obvious matte lines, and adding a few nice details to the Cloud City sequences. I've found myself in a pitched and ongoing psychological battle (thanks to my collegue La Fée's repeated taunts) to determine whether I think Emprie is "better" than Return of the Jedi. For me, it ultimately boils down to what's more watchable, and I must admit that with Empire, I consistently find myself struggling against a yen to fast-forward through the slow parts, trying, monk-like, to stay true to my roots and give props to the Force. In my heart of hearts, I might acknowledge that Jedi is a whole lot more fun. But Empire is relentlessly striking and original, and furthermore, doesn't have those goddamned teddy bears.
Review by Crimedog |
