Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Year:
1980
Directed by:
Irvin Kershner
Rated:
PG
Country:
United States
Runtime:
2 hrs. 7 min
Production Company:
Lucasfilm
Written by:
George Lucas
Leigh Brackett
Lawrence Kasdan
Starring:
Mark Hamill
Harrison Ford
Carrie Fisher
Billy Dee Williams
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The world's best space opera continues.
The first-released Star Wars (episode IV) blew its audiences away with imagination and adventure. It also established a full living, breathing universe. This sequel tones things down a little. Now that we know the characters and are used to their world, we can concentrate more on drama and a little less on excitement. George Lucas realized this well. Star Wars: Episode V -- The Empire Strikes Back is another riveting installment of the Star Wars saga and deals with more serious themes than its predecessor.
After the Rebellion's victory in episode IV, the Empire has uprooted the Rebels and forced them to flee to different parts of the galaxy. One group of Rebels is led by our main character, Luke Skywalker, and they have built a small base on the snow planet Hoth. Luke is told (it would be a small episode IV spoiler to say how and by who) to go to a planet called Dagobah to further his Jedi training under an exiled Jedi master named Yoda. In the meantime, Han Solo, who now shows a distinct romantic interest in Princess Leia, still has his debts to pay off to the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, but his leaving to pay them off is delayed yet again. When the Empire finds and destroys this Rebel base, Luke and R2-D2 head to Dagobah to seek out Yoda. Han and Chewbacca evacuate Leia, whose escape route to a Rebel transport was destroyed in the attack, and C-3PO tags along. Due to a defunct hyperdrive unit, though, the group only narrowly escapes the Imperial brigade and is forced to hide out on a giant asteroid. The plot settles here for a bit, while the characters try to collect themselves and prepare for the trials they will have to face.
Episode IV was all fun and excitement, but The Empire Strikes Back switches to a more serious tone. This installment is about failure, consequence, and maturation. This is made clear from the start when Luke and the Rebels on Hoth fail to defend their base and are forced to flee. Then, when Luke arrives at the swamp planet Dagobah, he crash-lands, and his X-Wing (his ship) becomes stuck in a slough. During a vital and revealing part of his training under Yoda, he fails to overcome his proclivity toward fighting and adventure, even though Yoda has warned him that his impatience will hurt him. When Yoda challenges Luke to use the Force to lift his X-Wing from the swamp, instructing him with that famous line, "Do or do not; there is not try," Luke's lack of faith in the power of the Force causes him again to fail. Luke's impatience finally leads him to leave his training early to confront Darth Vader, despite Yoda's warnings against doing so. For this failure to heed wisdom, Luke will pay both physical and emotional consequences in one of the most memorable and oft-quoted scenes in cinema history. There are no triumphs in The Empire Strikes Back, only difficulties.
The other characters face failures, too. When the fleeing Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive does not work (because Han and Chewie failed to repair it while on Hoth), even their precarious hideout in a cave on an asteroid turns out to be a mistake. After attempting to use the hyperdrive again to no avail, Han has to use his wits to escape the Imperial fleet that is waiting for them in the asteroid field. After finding a place of refuge run by an old friend, Lando Calrissean, Han still fails to protect himself and the others, and he pays dearly for his failure.
This new character, Lando, also fails. He fails to outsmart Darth Vader and the Empire as he makes a deal that was meant to keep him safe from them forever quote. This leads to consequences that both he and other characters are forced to pay and for which he must redeem himself in the final Star Wars episode, Return of the Jedi.
Through these failures come learning, though, and this proves crucial to maturation, particularly for Luke. In Luke's case, the lesson learned is the importance of patience. For this reason, there is less action and more learning for the viewer as well. The Empire's attack on the Hoth base is the only military battle in the film, and the final lightsaber showdown turns out for Luke to be really more a contest of willpower than of physical ability. Much of the film's time is spent on Luke's learning and training and on the others' hiding from the Empire. We, like the characters, learn that fighting for justice is not all fun and games. It often entails grief, loss, and pain, and it requires great patience. The film ends on an optimistic note but not a happy one. One character is captured, another is injured, and another is disgraced. Not even C-3PO makes it through in one piece.
