With Empire, George Lucas gives his Star Wars universe staying power by showing that the first film was more than just a one-off adventure flick. After all, blowing up a space station in the remote stretches of the galaxy would hardly bring the Empire to its knees. The audience is drawn deeper into the lives of Lucas’s characters. Luke is called upon to develop the Force sensitivity he displayed in the first film while Han Solo is forced to scramble against all odds to protect Princess Leia from the Imperial forces hot on their tails.
Pretty much everything in The Empire Strikes Back is better than the original Star Wars. There, I said it. The world did not come to an end, so let’s all agree that Empire improves upon its captivating predecessor. Lucas used his own money to produce the film and his doubling of the production budget is evident just about everywhere.
Shooting for an authentic look and feel over studio fakery, Lucas once again starts a Star Wars film out on location. The snowy wastelands of Norway provides a spectacular landscape for the Rebel Alliance’s secret base. I think shooting in the elements helps the brain buy into what it is seeing because the finer nuances of nature just can’t be faked. Lucas does pretty well at fooling us by crafting Yoda’s swampy Dagobah hideout though.
Speaking of Yoda, what an accomplishment! In our world he is just a puppet but you’d never know from watching the film. Between Frank Oz’s puppeteering and careful cinematography, Yoda is a fully believable and powerful presence in this film. I always wonder what it is like for actors to deal with inanimate costars on set. Obviously there are dozens of set crew members around but to be able to completely buy in and commit to interacting with a puppet takes skill. To make it all work out believably on screen is something special.
Had this film been another caper film like the first, Empire would have been a bust. Thankfully, Lucas and his co-writers push deeper into the lives and emotions of our main characters. Luke’s journey to study under Yoda draws out the awe and mystery of the Force while Han and Leia’s attempts to evade Imperial Forces has all the action we loved from the first film plus a little romantic heat. It really is great to have Han and Leia stuck with each other for much of the film. Their head-butting banter from the original was brilliant and getting more of it this time around is a pleasure. It reminds me of old school Hollywood like Rhett Butler and Scarlet O’Hara’s bickering when all they really want to do is lock lips with each other.
The Empire Strikes Back is a darker, deeper, and all-around more mature film than Star Wars. The fact that it lacks a triumphant ending like its predecessor may leave some viewers feeling deflated but without the dual cliffhangers of Darth Vader’s revelation and Han Solo’s imprisonment, the good guys would just be lucky to escape. Both cliffhangers force more action and emotion from our characters immediately and it also sets up the events for the eventual sequel. Even the music of Empire shows growth over the original film’s fantastic soundtrack (which I somehow failed to even mention in my Second Helpings review for Star Wars). John Williams gives us a second signature piece for the series with Darth Vader’s theme, “The Imperial March.”
I personally may still prefer the story arc and high adventure of Star Wars over Empire but I can no longer deny that Empire is an improvement over the original in many ways. But I still cannot grant it equal status on my rating scale just yet because without Star Wars, Empire never would have even existed. Maybe that means I am giving Star Wars a little extra credit because of its impact and influence on the industry and pop culture after all. Sue me. Maybe after a few more viewings I’ll be able to determine if Empire works as a stand-alone film. If it makes sense without the context of the first film, maybe it will slide up a notch. We’ll have to see.
ORIGINAL RATING: 4.5 out of 5
NEW RATING: 4.5 out of 5
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