Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back
Do or do not. There is not try.
Summary:
The Empire is slowly closing in on the rebellion who is currently based on the ice planet Hoth where we once again find Luke, Han, and Leia.
After narrowly escaping the Empire who attacks Hoth the group is split up. Luke and R2-D2 journey to the swamp planet Dagobah where Luke searches for an old Jedi called Yoda who trained Obi-Wan Kenobi. The other half of the group are on the Millennium Falcon as Han, Leia, Chewie, and C-3PO try to escape the Empire who is hot on their trail.
Characters
In Star Wars Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back, Luke, Leia and Han return for another adventure. Besides these three characters, some other prominent characters appear. After the battle of Hoth, Luke arrives on Dagobah and he trains with Master Yoda. From their first encounter, Yoda seems to be a senile creature, but after revealing his identity, he becomes the wise Jedi Master. Following the story of Han and Leia, the two arrive in Cloud City for repairs and meet Lando Calrissian. Although he originally betrays Han to the Empire, he proves to be a vital asset for Leia’s escape.
Sebastian: 10/10
The second Star Wars film to be on my top 20 favourite movie list and my personal favourite Star Wars film. The Empire Strikes Back is regarded by many to be the greatest sequel of all time and while I have never ranked sequels before I can say it would definitely be in my top three. Almost every aspect of this film surpasses the original which is hard to do as the original is quite good in its own right. The film is tonally darker than A New Hope which adds to the stakes of the events that take place as well as this constant sense of dread that is ever-present throughout the film. The returning characters all continue to be well developed with Luke (played by Mark Hamill) continuing his journey to learn about the Force and the Jedi as his learning had taken a backseat to his responsibility to the rebellion. We get to see him train and learn more about the Force than we have ever learnt as Master Yoda provides the best explanation of the mysterious surrounding energy that Jedi use. Han ( played by Harrison Ford) continues down his path towards being a better man as he has stuck with the rebels and we see his instinct and piloting skills come of much use as Harrison Ford steals most of the scenes he is in one again. Leia ( played by Carrie Fisher) really gets much-needed development as A New Hope didn’t have time to do too much and here we see that she is quite a leader and a fighter through and through. Darth Vader gets much more of a role this time around and we get to see that he is a skilled combatant and we see why others fear him. The new characters that are introduced are all very memorable as well with the wise and unassuming mentor Master Yoda, the ruthless bounty hunter Boba Fett and the other smuggler in the mix Lando Calrissian while our other side characters like 3PO, Chewie, and R2 continue to provide many funny and memorable moments. Another aspect of the film that makes it work so well is that both storylines are quite simple to follow and while not always connected neither ever lost my attention I was always captivated. The lightsaber duel in this film is my favourite of the saga and the emotion behind each attack feels earned and makes it even more suspenseful. The twist at the end of the movie may be well known these days but the way it was revealed and its impact on the story is still iconic. The galaxy that George Lucas created is still full of many wondrous planets and creatures and I love that we see new planets in each film.
All in all, this is arguably the best Star Wars film and I highly recommend that you either have a repeat viewing or if you haven’t seen it check it out again it’s worth it. So hop on Disney+ and get transported to that galaxy far far away.
Nathanyal: 9.3/10
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a lot like its predecessor. Similar to the first movie, the characters were all fun to watch again, the musical scores were memorable and mesmerizing, and contrary to the last movie, I enjoyed the plot of this one a lot more.
For a 2-hour movie, this one starts with a 30-minute action scene, which helped establish the tone for this movie. The movie started at high tension, with the Empire striking the Rebel base, which backs up the title about the Empire striking back. After the assault is over, there is some down time in the movie to give the audience a chance to breathe. This is the area where I think this movie did better than the first. I liked the pacing in this movie more. The downtime between high tension scenes were long enough and provided enough context for the following scene. I also enjoyed the new characters introduced, such as Yoda. I never realized how funny his first encounter with Luke was. I also enjoyed the duels between characters as well. The fight scenes kept me on my toes and it also demonstrated the powers of each character. It was a fair fight, and the outcome was expected from the experience.
Overall, this was another solid movie that I enjoyed more than the first. The pacing was better, and I enjoyed the plot of this movie more. As usual, the characters were on point, and the music was incredible. If you have any doubts about continuing the series after the first movie, I recommend to keep watching.
Austin: 9.0/10
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a fantastic movie. For anyone worried about the “sequel effect”, it doesn’t exist here. Episode V is better than Episode IV, and it is a wonderful middle piece in this trilogy. We get a variety of locations, and events, and just a ton of action once again. I loved the characters in Episode IV, and the development continues well into this movie.
The plot behind Episode V brings a lot of depth to the series, and it also brings us some of the best action scenes yet. Not only are they awesome, some of the action scenes are soooo long. The constant high emotions make for such an entertaining movie. We get to see some awesome locations, multiple planets, and a handful of characters that we hadn’t seen much of. The Empire Strikes Back’s story is super engaging, and the developing story that carries over will keep fans entertained. All the aspects I loved from the first, space warfare, the lightsabers, the awesome characters, are back in full power in this movie.
The characters that made Episode IV awesome are just as good, if not better, in this movie. Luke and Han continue to develop and become more well rounded characters, but we also learn quite a bit more about Leia. She receives more screen time in this one, and her importance in the series continues to grow. While our main protagonists continue to be the focus of the film, it is great to watch two droids grow into their own characters. C-3PO and R2-D2 are some of my favourite characters, and its quite funny to watch 2 droids develop into more and more important characters. They have been crucial comedic relief characters since the beginning, but their growing roles are super entertaining to watch. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back takes the great parts of Episode IV and builds upon them. It’s a fun movie that shows sequels don’t have to be worse. One of Star Wars’ best fights spices up the back half of this movie, and the huge character development of Luke makes for a great movie start to finish. If you loved the first two movies, the finale of the trilogy is much watch tv.
