I am so excited! This year, for my resolution project, I’m rewatching the Star Wars franchise. I chose it because I love Star Wars, and I thought it would be fun to re-watch the movies in order of release date, with perhaps a bit more of a critical and appreciative eye than I have before.
This month’s installment: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
The Premise:
After the rebels are brutally overpowered by the Empire on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader.
When I first saw this movie as a kid, I don’t think I understood half of what was going on. In particular, I didn’t know why Han Solo was running, and why they were putting him in carbonate. Most likely it was because I was too young to understand the whole bounty hunter business and Han Solo owing Jabba the Hut money from the first movie.
What I did know, was that Yoda was adorable and hilarious. Teaming up Yoda and R2-D2, whom I already loved, well that was just too good to be true! In that way, George Lucas was right when he said these really were kids movies. Watching it now, though, I hadn’t realized what an asshole Yoda was when we first see him. I suppose it was meant to be a persona to disguise that he is a great Jedi Master, except that anyone who knew that about him, knew what he looked like, except for Luke. And I suppose he was meant to be funny, to be a flash of brevity in an otherwise tense-ish movie and good entertainment for the kids, which he was. Still, when he does settle into his Jedi Master role of training Luke, he does give one of the best lines: “No. Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.”
One thing that really, really bothers me, is the Luke/Leia/Han pseudo-lovel-triangle. It is quite obvious by the barbs between Han and Leia, that they are the ones who are going to hook up. That’s fine. I get why Leia kisses Luke, to bug Han. Except SHE’S LUKE’S SISTER! For God’s Sake! I’ll give Lucas the benefit of the doubt and believe he hadn’t fully developed the familial connection yet. But by God, then don’t throw that in there in the third movie when you’ve had them kiss and flirt in the first two. I’ll likely rant more about it when I talk about Return of the Jedi, but he had to know that would creep people out! And once you’ve seen the third movie, and you find out they’re related, then the first two movies just have a certain ick factor.
Let’s talk about Lando Calrissian for a moment or two. Billy Dee Williams was soooo smoooooth. I’d forgotten how cool he was. I’m now looking forward to seeing the movie Solo. I enjoy Donald Glover’s work as an actor. Now that I’ve re-watched The Empire Strikes Back, I’m actually curious to see how well he does playing a young Lando.
In conclusion: As a whole, there is a lot to love about this movie. Much like A New Hope, it carries with it a lot of fond memories for me. I can definitely see what would now be considered generic fantasy tropes used, and they were probably considered fairly generic back then too, just told with different kind of technology. I have to say, this one reminded me a lot of The Lord of the Rings with the At-At’s being like the Oliphaunt’s in the Battle of the Pelenor Fields, and the separation of the main character on his own quest led by an unreliable wizard. Which, as long as I don’t take the movies too seriously, can be a fun exercise in comparison.
What holds me the most throughout this movie, and the others, is the exploration of the Light and Dark sides, and the implication that anger, frustration, dissatisfaction with your lot in life, is a sign of the darkness within you.
Have you had a chance to watch or re-watch The Empire Strikes Back? What did you think?
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