Review of The Empire Strikes Back (1980) by Jeff B — 07 Jan 2016

Darker, more emotional, and more complex, Empire improbably builds on everything that makes Star Wars so great and does away with the slight pitfalls that kept its forebear THISclose from perfection. Undeniably a great idea man, American Graffiti writer/director George Lucas knows enough to hand over the reins of his genius-potential franchise to better skilled craftsmen including a scribe (Lawrence Kasdan, The Big Chill) and helmsman (Irvin Kershner, The Return of a Man Called Horse) who flesh his ideas into pure brilliance. The result sits before film history, a rich nuanced space opera without the operatic tendencies (juvenile dialogue, hammy acting) of its predecessor.

In this PG-rated sci-fi adventure, the rebels get brutally overpowered by the Empire on their newly established base, Luke Skywalker takes advanced Jedi training with Master Yoda, and Darth Vader pursue his friends as part of his plan to capture Luke.

Changing the story and landscape of the (now) series from a galactic knight's tale to an absolute space epic, this high point of the franchise develops its characters beyond character types and the storytelling gets deeper, expanding the allusionary qualities along the way. Take the empirical angle for example. This big bad outfit exhibits more Nazi-esque and/or Communist overtones than in Star Wars, while the rebellion more resemble freedom fighters dying for democracy and the end of tyranny. The fact that these allusions share a canvas with some of the greatest special effects ever is why The Empire Strikes Back is an improbable sequel that bests its predecessor. Simply put, it improves upon something that was already great.

Bottom line: Empire Stately.