Why "The Empire Strikes Back" is the Best Star Wars Movie
Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 7:34 am
Sorry, couldn't resist a bit of a rant. I was looking at some of the polls and noticed that Phyco thinks Ep V sucks. That's cool an' all--I'm not trying to troll or anything--but like many I've been a Star Wars fan for a long time, and I'm strongly opinionated on this point. Don't let that stop you from ripping my opinions to shreds, if you like. Constructive feedback is welcome.
There are going to be tons of spoilers here, in case you somehow haven't seen all of Star Wars dozens of times already.
Without further ado, my Top 5 reasons why Ep V is best:
#5. Boba Fett
Before the prequel movies messed with him (and even somewhat after that), Boba Fett was the most badass looking bounty hunter in sci-fi movie history. The costume design is excellent (that helmet!), the low raspy voice, Vader telling him off personally ("no disintegrations!"), and the way that he stalks the Millennium Falcon to Bespin were all details that made a huge impact on fans, otherwise he might never have been more than a bit character.
It's a small part of the movie, after all, but it's so well done that the imagination of fans went wild over it. The next thing you know, he's a huge part of the cannon. I'm willing to bet that prior to Ep V being released, Boba Fett wasn't a major character in Lucas's vision for the prequel movies. It's hard to say, though--Lucas makes some pretty amazing claims, and I haven't researched this at all.
#4. The Battle of Hoth
Okay, yeah, no epic space battle in Ep V to match what Eps IV and VI offer, but the Battle of Hoth is what we get instead, and it measures up. I've had Star Wars friends who liked The Battle of Hoth even better than Yavin or Endor (personally, I liked Endor better) and it's a widely shared sentiment, as evidenced by the many times that the Battle of Hoth has been depicted in Star Wars merch, including video games like Shadows of the Empire. This is also one of the few focal Star Wars battles that the good guys ultimately lose, which lends to the overall dark tone of the movie.
Also keep in mind that Lucas's production reference for the battle scenes of Ep IV were from World War II footage, particularly of air combat in the Pacific Theater. The Battle of Hoth continues in this vein, somewhat, by trying to define what the equivalent of ground/trench warfare in the Star Wars universe looks like. It's ambitious, and maybe it didn't hold up in some ways three decades onward, but it blew a lot of minds at the time.
#3. Luke & Vader
The confrontation between Luke & Vader in Ep V is thoroughly satisfying in this movie, and in my opinion much better than the fight they have in Ep VI. Of course, if you're looking for the uber-ninja Jedi lightsaber fighting of Eps I-III, and I know how much we all love and crave that stuff, then you're going to go home empty-handed. Lucas's original vision for lightsabers / laserswords was for them to have a heavy center of gravity and be very dense, and besides that I don't think any directors thought that a martial arts style Hollywood stick-fighting movie could be made at that time. Were sci-fi fans even ready for that back in the early 80's, I wonder?
But what you do get is a poignant battle of wills, with Vader being genuinely terrifying, and the environs of Bespin feeling creepy and industrial. Mark Hamill's reaction to the news that Vader is his father is perhaps the only time in the whole trilogy that he actually pulls of a natural-looking performance, thereby cementing that scene's place as an iconic moment in movie-making history. It's the scene that non-fans of Star Wars are most likely to know about.
#2. Yoda
Yoda is only truly Yoda in Ep V. It's the first movie to have Yoda in it, and it's the movie that best characterizes him. He's wacky, sagely, playful, and dark all in this movie. No other Star Wars movie has Yoda show this much emotional range.
He's not just an small old guy with Jedi powers in Ep V--he's somewhat alien, too. When the audience first encounters him, it's not immediately clear how friendly or dangerous he might actually be, but you can't help but love him almost immediately. I just don't see him having that kind of charisma in the new trilogy.
Most of the best Yoda lines come from Ep V. "Do or do not," "the force is my ally", etc. And that bit where he sends Luke into the trial cave? Totally badass.
Also that Yoda puppet is amazing. He looks perfect in this movie.
#1. Han & Leia
The love story between Han & Leia in Ep V is the best love story in the whole Star Wars saga. From them bickering on Hoth, Leia worrying that Han won't come back after he goes out to rescue Luke (because, really, you can tell enough to suspect that she doesn't actually feel that way about Luke), them being forced together in the asteroid field, and building to that grand finale where Han is frozen in carbonite, the whole arc is a perfect sci-fi love story. Both Han and Leia have their best lines in this movie (well, Han is arguably better in Ep IV, but still, it's close.)
This is vital, too, because it's some of the only comic relief that the movie has. Bad stuff is happening to the heroes throughout this movie and the only real upside of it is Han & Leia falling for each other, which makes it supremely bittersweet in the end when the bad guys escape with Han held prisoner. It's like the only refuge of comfort that the audience had is taken from them, leaving a true sense of how cold and bitter the rebel's struggle against the empire is.
Well, that's it, that's my rant. If I had the time, I'd turn this whole thing into a Youtube video.
There are going to be tons of spoilers here, in case you somehow haven't seen all of Star Wars dozens of times already.
Without further ado, my Top 5 reasons why Ep V is best:
#5. Boba Fett
Before the prequel movies messed with him (and even somewhat after that), Boba Fett was the most badass looking bounty hunter in sci-fi movie history. The costume design is excellent (that helmet!), the low raspy voice, Vader telling him off personally ("no disintegrations!"), and the way that he stalks the Millennium Falcon to Bespin were all details that made a huge impact on fans, otherwise he might never have been more than a bit character.
It's a small part of the movie, after all, but it's so well done that the imagination of fans went wild over it. The next thing you know, he's a huge part of the cannon. I'm willing to bet that prior to Ep V being released, Boba Fett wasn't a major character in Lucas's vision for the prequel movies. It's hard to say, though--Lucas makes some pretty amazing claims, and I haven't researched this at all.
#4. The Battle of Hoth
Okay, yeah, no epic space battle in Ep V to match what Eps IV and VI offer, but the Battle of Hoth is what we get instead, and it measures up. I've had Star Wars friends who liked The Battle of Hoth even better than Yavin or Endor (personally, I liked Endor better) and it's a widely shared sentiment, as evidenced by the many times that the Battle of Hoth has been depicted in Star Wars merch, including video games like Shadows of the Empire. This is also one of the few focal Star Wars battles that the good guys ultimately lose, which lends to the overall dark tone of the movie.
Also keep in mind that Lucas's production reference for the battle scenes of Ep IV were from World War II footage, particularly of air combat in the Pacific Theater. The Battle of Hoth continues in this vein, somewhat, by trying to define what the equivalent of ground/trench warfare in the Star Wars universe looks like. It's ambitious, and maybe it didn't hold up in some ways three decades onward, but it blew a lot of minds at the time.
#3. Luke & Vader
The confrontation between Luke & Vader in Ep V is thoroughly satisfying in this movie, and in my opinion much better than the fight they have in Ep VI. Of course, if you're looking for the uber-ninja Jedi lightsaber fighting of Eps I-III, and I know how much we all love and crave that stuff, then you're going to go home empty-handed. Lucas's original vision for lightsabers / laserswords was for them to have a heavy center of gravity and be very dense, and besides that I don't think any directors thought that a martial arts style Hollywood stick-fighting movie could be made at that time. Were sci-fi fans even ready for that back in the early 80's, I wonder?
But what you do get is a poignant battle of wills, with Vader being genuinely terrifying, and the environs of Bespin feeling creepy and industrial. Mark Hamill's reaction to the news that Vader is his father is perhaps the only time in the whole trilogy that he actually pulls of a natural-looking performance, thereby cementing that scene's place as an iconic moment in movie-making history. It's the scene that non-fans of Star Wars are most likely to know about.
#2. Yoda
Yoda is only truly Yoda in Ep V. It's the first movie to have Yoda in it, and it's the movie that best characterizes him. He's wacky, sagely, playful, and dark all in this movie. No other Star Wars movie has Yoda show this much emotional range.
He's not just an small old guy with Jedi powers in Ep V--he's somewhat alien, too. When the audience first encounters him, it's not immediately clear how friendly or dangerous he might actually be, but you can't help but love him almost immediately. I just don't see him having that kind of charisma in the new trilogy.
Most of the best Yoda lines come from Ep V. "Do or do not," "the force is my ally", etc. And that bit where he sends Luke into the trial cave? Totally badass.
Also that Yoda puppet is amazing. He looks perfect in this movie.
#1. Han & Leia
The love story between Han & Leia in Ep V is the best love story in the whole Star Wars saga. From them bickering on Hoth, Leia worrying that Han won't come back after he goes out to rescue Luke (because, really, you can tell enough to suspect that she doesn't actually feel that way about Luke), them being forced together in the asteroid field, and building to that grand finale where Han is frozen in carbonite, the whole arc is a perfect sci-fi love story. Both Han and Leia have their best lines in this movie (well, Han is arguably better in Ep IV, but still, it's close.)
This is vital, too, because it's some of the only comic relief that the movie has. Bad stuff is happening to the heroes throughout this movie and the only real upside of it is Han & Leia falling for each other, which makes it supremely bittersweet in the end when the bad guys escape with Han held prisoner. It's like the only refuge of comfort that the audience had is taken from them, leaving a true sense of how cold and bitter the rebel's struggle against the empire is.
Well, that's it, that's my rant. If I had the time, I'd turn this whole thing into a Youtube video.