Greater than the original star wars by miles - The ChThe Empire Strikes Backroni Reviews

The original ?Star Wars? was only the warm-up, and ?The Empire Strikes Back? was the payoff. In this brilliant sequel, there are more characters, larger sets, and bigger fun. Clearly, ?The Empire Strikes Back? is greater than the original ?Star Wars? by miles. Rare is it that a sequel can triumph this much, but with a movie like this, it can be done. George Lucas endured a lot of pain when he directed the original ?Star Wars?, and during a flight back to San Francisco, he suffered chest pains that eventually made him say that he never wanted to direct a film again. He was tired of studios pushing him around and taking his movies away from him, which had happened not just with the original ?Star Wars?, but also his two previous films, ?American Graffiti? and ?THX 1138?. This is why the director of ?The Empire Strikes Back? was Irvin Kershner, along with Gary Kurtz once again being the producer, and Lawrence Kasdan and the late Leigh Bracket being the screenwriters. Lucas only served as the executive producer this time. Irvin Kershner?s direction did not fail. Because of it, the movie has an exciting beginning that goes to the ice planet Hoth, where a battle is scheduled to take place. During the time on this planet, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his macaroni-and-cheese-guts riding creature (known as a Tauntaun) are attacked by a snow monster in the snowy wild, and after Luke kills it and escapes, he suddenly sees the ghost of his elderly friend Ben Kenobi (Alec Guinness), who tells Luke that he must go to a planet known as the Degobah System and meet ?Yoda?, who will help Luke begin his training. Luke passes out in the cold after Ben?s ghost disappears, then suddenly Han Solo (Harrison Ford) quickly comes to Luke?s rescue. Both of them are then rescued by a fighter craft. After that, the battle of Hoth begins, and the soldiers fight gigantic, four-legged steel machines called AT-ATs. This incredibly visualized battle is given life by Joe Johnston?s visual effects and Dennis Muren?s effects photography. The good guys win the battle, and when it?s over, Luke and the droid R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) set off for Degobah. They later find out it?s really nothing more than a bunch of grim swampland, and suddenly they?re encountered by a strange green creature, who tells them he knows the way to Yoda. They follow the creature to his house only to discover that the creature actually IS Yoda, and he notices that Luke is an impatient person; that he may not be ready to begin Jedi training. The voice of Ben Kenobi then convinces Yoda (Frank Oz) that Luke is ready, but Luke doesn?t know how hard it will be. ?I?m won?t fail you,? Luke says, ?I?m not afraid.? ?Oh, you will be,? Yoda whispers, ?you will be.? Meanwhile, Han Solo, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Princess Leia (Carrie Fischer), and the droid C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) are making their way to Cloud City, where Han hopes that his old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) will provide them shelter. During the trip there, a romance forms between Han and Leia, which is odd, since you would believe Leia to be in love with Luke. In fact, she?s in love with both of them. They arrive at Cloud City and Lando greets them all with a good laugh and some smiles; unfortunately, he is secretly being forced to lead them into a trap conducted by the dark lord Darth Vader (David Prowse; voiced by James Earl Jones). The surprises in the movie set their own paces and own thrills, all adding up to the best scene in the entire movie: the lightsaber duel between Luke and Darth Vader, and when Luke?s hand finally gets cut off, Vader reveals something to him that Luke never could have thought possible. Now I am faced with the question of whether ?The Empire Strikes Back? is the best of the Star Wars movies. Critics think so, and so do others who strongly believe that the great humanity in it makes it the best. Unfortunately, when I watch a Star Wars movie, I?m too absorbed into the thrills and visual effects. Therefore, I am so stubborn that I think ?Return of the Jedi? to be the best Star Wars movie. To me it is the most thrilling, and it has the best sets (not to mention it has the funkiest creatures you?ll ever see). If I were to explore the characters in the films more, I would call ?The Empire Strikes Back? the best of the films. It?s just that the Star Wars films are films that I watch mainly to have a good time. Hold your horses, though; I still believe ?The Empire Strikes Back? to be the second best of the Star Wars Trilogy. If I were asked why it?s called the darkest of the first three films, I couldn?t give a good answer. I do agree that it?s the darkest, though. Maybe it?s because of the swamps of Degobah, the cave in the huge earthworm that swallows the Millennium Falcon, and the battle of Luke and Darth Vader all mixed together; that would give you darkness. Some of the stuff in the film that isn?t dark is also cool too, such as the setting of Cloud City. And the battle on Hoth? Just glorious. The whole movie is. By Adam Zanzie (icebox482000)