REVIEW: STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back (Released in 1980) [40th Anniversary]

DIRECTOR: Irvin Kershner

PRODUCER: Gary Kurtz

WRITERS: George Lucas (story) & Leigh Brackett & Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay)

PERFORMERS: Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher Billy Dee Williams Anthony Daniels

Kenny Baker Peter Mayhew David Prowse Clive Revill with Alec Guinness and Frank Oz

The 1980's was a golden age for moviegoing, specifically pop culture and all things associated with them. 1980 however, was a golden year of cinema from what I heard and for good reason. With the success of the 1977 space film 'Star Wars' a sequel was not only inevitable, it was bound to happen. The heroes saved the princess, destroyed the death star and were rewarded for their heroic actions, but the story didn't end there. In fact, it had only just begun and so had George Lucas in his quest to make the films that would forever change the course of cinema history. Star Wars set the pace for the way films are made, but it's this film that set the standard for the way sequels should be made!

The Battle Continues...

Set 3 years after the original film, this chapter continues the adventures of Luke Skywalker (HAMILL), Han Solo (FORD), Princess Leia (FISHER), Chewbacca (MAYHEW) and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 (DANIELS & BAKER) as they, along with the rebel alliance, fight against the galactic empire. In this entry however, it's a different ballgame and as the title suggests the empire does indeed... strike back and very, very hard. But as they do, our central characters are split up into different groups: Luke, along with R2, journeys to a planet to seek Jedi training from the wise master Yoda while Leia, Solo, Chewie and 3PO evade the empire all across the galaxy. It's literally one race to another until the climatic confrontation between Luke and Darth Vader (played by PROWSE and voiced by JONES) which also ends with the most shocking revelation ever uttered in cinema history! Who would have ever thought that your sworn enemy could be your own parent? That was never done before and this was the first of it's kind to display it. After seeing some YouTube videos that displayed people's reactions to it, I can see just how relevant it is today.

This entry in the saga had a few elements: darkness, character and relationship developments, romance, revelations, new characters as well as new worlds and even tragedy. Back then, Sci-Fi films weren't known for that sort of thing but this changed that. One scene in particular was when Solo was put into a carbon freeze chamber as a sacrifice. To this day, that scene still gets me, the mood, the action of what's happening and the music to back it up, just so dramatic and sad at the same time. You feel Chewbacca's pain and you may not understand right away what he's saying but it doesn't matter because you're feeling what he's feeling: a sense of loss and frustration. It hurts to see your best friend slip away or go away but in the end it's the heart behind the friend's actions that make it worth going on (JOHN 15:13-14).

Out of these pivotal elements other sequels would carry that same tradition in the Sci-Fi genre such as 'STAR TREK II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)' when Spock dies for the sake of the crew, something inside just really gets at your emotions and leaves you with tears. It's almost as if you're watching Jesus die in front of you and it hurts so badly. We're always cut to the heart when something bad happens, I know I am. Another thing this movie is known for is it's cliffhanger ending, that sense of wonder and hope as the main characters look on the galaxy thinking about that one comrade who was supposedly lost somewhere and you're thinking 'We'll find you, whatever it takes' and despite the film's ending you just know there's going to be more. If anyone remembers 'AVENGERS: Infinity War (2018)' the way that movie ended was a serious throwback to cliffhanger endings and while I consider that the mother of them all, I consider this one the start of it all. Why? Because it was the first I had ever seen at a young age, the only good thing is I didn't have to wait three years to witness the endgame of it all.

The performances were awesome as always, having Hamill, Ford and Fisher back for this one was what made this worth the viewing and (at the time of it's release) worth the wait. The Star Wars films in a way is like a family affair, without the ones who made the first entry possible, you couldn't make further entries like this work! Yet at the same time you still take it in a different direction, hoping that it doesn't steer away from what made the first one work. This film completely avoids that pitfall and manages to keep us entertained and at the edge of our seats. that's how you make something like this work for audiences and critics. Director Irvin Kershner definitely made the film work with his range of character driveness and genre elements. If you think back to his past films he did before this you might see what I'm talking about. The writing behind the film is also genius, in fact this is exactly why Lawrence Kasdan was hired for 'Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)'. That is one writer who knows how to write a good story whether it's part 1 or part 2 to an already amazing storyline of epic proportions told in more than one entry. As far as characters, Yoda was probably my most favorite entry in the saga. He's wise, experienced, faithful and most of all... someone you can learn a lot from. He may be small, but he is certainly powerful with the force. One thing I learn from this character in almost every viewing of this film is that having the right heart and mindset behind the desire to do the right thing always counts, regardless of size or uncertainty of the outcome. My father's favorite motto come from the shoe label Nike: "Just Do It", the word "try" is not even in it. Like Yoda says "Do or do not. There is no try". There is so much truth behind that saying because when faced with a task that seems impossible to accomplish, we can either do something or nothing at all (PROVERBS 12:24).

The effects of this film are very original, in fact, you think they are real because they look that way. When you're seeing the ice planet battle for the first or millionth time, it looks real because it feels real. Even though the rebels lose badly, the scene is so epic that it's the first thing you remember when you talk about it, alongside the other scenes that take place including the confrontation at the end. Of course, one that stands out to me is the city in clouds where Solo and co. are captured by the Empire. When Luke is hanging for his life above the clouds, calling for help you can't help but feel scared for him. When he's rescued, you have that sense of relief that he's okay and everybody is finally reunited after being separated throughout the entire 2/3rd's of the whole picture. The scales are beyond comparison, the marriage between the built sets and digital ones are out of this world you would think it's no wonder this is considered the best entry in the original trilogy. You're seeing things you hadn't seen before, places you never heard of and people you just never forget even if you meet them for the first time. All this and more equals to the end result that comes out to be perhaps an experience that stays with you forever. The Star Wars saga has a very precise way of doing that, whether it's old or new, it gets to you at one point then sticks to you like glue. When you see something just as good as this, you can't lose sight or focus.

An Empire that will Never Die

In Conclusion, it's hard to believe that this movie is 40 years old today and even more so, still remains as one of the most best films ever made. It won 2 awards for the technical stuff in effects and sound mixing and became the top grossing film of the year at just $547.9 million worldwide! I first saw this movie while I was still in Junior High School (only 17 years after this film came out), the artwork on the VHS prints still have a lasting impression on me, as do the ads behind the film. I just remember what it was like to grow up on these films, one of those must haves, no collection would be complete without kind of thing. That's just how effective these kind of movies are, in addition to it's 40th anniversary today, for those who were fortunate enough to see it back in 1980 must have been in the right place and time would know exactly how it felt and the experience taken away from it. Thanks to this film, sequels were now being shown in the kind of light they needed to be seen in and it also showed that not every story ends well, but in the Star Wars universe you just knew there would be more regardless of the ending and you couldn't wait to see what happens next. This sparked the cliffhanger endings from part 2 to part 3 if you will for future films to come. Other sequels like Back to the Future II (1989) or Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), with every ending you knew there would be more to tell and more to see. But The Empire Strikes Back, like I said, set the tone for that concept and as a result kept us wondering and hoping for more. I can only wonder what the future holds for the Star Wars franchise at this point in time, especially with what's happening in the world today. All in all, Happy 40th Anniversary to the best entry in the original trilogy of the Star Wars saga. An empire that will continue to strike back for many more years to come!!!! #TheEmpireStrikesBack40thanniversary #StarWars #ESB40 #filmsof1980 #anniversaryreviews #filmreview #maytheforcebewithyou

***** out of ***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!