Feb 17 2009
“Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) *****
Preview
Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Frank Oz, Peter Mayhew, Jeremy Bulloch, Alec Guinness, Denis Lawson, and Ian McDiarmid.
Directed by: Irvin Kershner.
Story:
At the end of ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’, the rebel alliance successfully destroyed the evil Empire’s greatest asset - The Death Star - Thanks to the help of Luke Skywalker. But the tragic truth of it all that we learn from ‘Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back’ is that the good guys may have won the battle but not the war. ‘Episode V’ takes place three years after ‘Episode IV’, the Rebel Alliance is being pursued by Darth Vader and his most elite forces of the Empire.
Their new base on the icy planet of Hoth is infiltrated completely and they are forced to evacuate, but the main characters are split up in the process - Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3P0 are hunted by Imperial starships across the galaxy while R2-D2 joins Luke Skywalker in his journeys as he seeks out Master Jedi Yoda to further his studies of the force and complete his training as a Jedi. All the while, Darth Vader has a secret trap he’s been plotting for Luke Skywalker to fall right into, a trap that involves the use of Han, Leia, Chewie, and 3P0 as bait, a trap with an earth-shattering revelation waiting to be unveiled.
Characters:
*Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill): Farmer farm-boy turned commander in the Rebel Alliance, Rogue Squardron leader, and a Jedi in the making.
*Han Solo (Harrison Ford): Smuggler and good friend of Luke Skywalker’s, here he is working for the Rebellion in exchange for money so that he could pay off his long-time debt to Jabba the Hutt.
*Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher): Han Solo’s love interest whom happens to be a high ranking official in the Rebellion’s chain of command.
*Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew):
*C-3P0 (Anthony Daniels): Leia’s British accented protocol droid - He’s a barrel of laughs too.
*R2-D2 (Kenny Baker): Luke’s astromech droid and 3P0’s partner in crime - they make a great couple.
*Yoda (Frank Oz): The ancient Jedi Master who has been hiding in exile for more than a decade on the swamp world of Dagobah.
*Darth Vader (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones): Dark Lord of the Sith and Apprentice to Emperor Palpatine. He turns out to be Anakin Skywalker, Luke’s father, in the end (oh come on it’s no longer a secret) so that explains his obsession with tracking him down throughout the film.
*Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch): Badass Bounty Hunter hired by Vader to capture Han Solo and friends.
*Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness): Luke’s teacher from the previous film who was killed by Vader in a duel on the Death Star. He continues his presence here in the form of Luke’s visions.
*Wedge Antilles (Denis Lawson): Pilot in the Rebel Alliance who often flies alongside Luke Skywalker.
*Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid): The vicious conquering ruler of the galaxy and of the Galactic Empire, also known as Darth Sidious, he is the Master Sith Lord to Darth Vader.
Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams): Administrator of the Cloud City on Bespin and a long time buddy of Han Solo.
Overall:
“Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” continues to draw from many mythological stories, figures, and worldly religions much like the previous chapter. ‘A New Hope’ exceeded all cinematic expectations one can imagine and ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ does the same and even more, it proves itself as an extraordinary sequel in the vein of “The Godfather: Part II”, “Rocky II”, “Jaws 2″, and “Dawn of the Dead”. This time around, the bad guys have the upper hand and it makes the story all so much more interesting as our lovable heroes are thrown into the heat of danger and the bleakest of situations.
Lucas stepped down as director, replacing Irvin Kershner in the seat, due to the fact that he was too busy, pretty much involved in almost every aspect of the film’s production as well as the overseeing of his special FX corporation ILM (Industrial Light & Magic). “Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back” tops its previous entry, putting the bad guys in the front seat, putting our heroes on the run, introducing us to new worlds and environments, and delivering the most tragic, climatic, and vicious confrontation ever on film.
Rating: *****
