Skip to main content

The Star Wars Saga: Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back *All Spoilers*

Continuing my series of posts, as one of my local TV stations shows every Star Wars movie in order, every Saturday, for the next six weeks leading up to the release of Star Wars, Episode VII, The Force Awakens, here is my response to and thoughts on the fifth movie in the series Star Wars, Episode V The Empire Strikes Back.

Prior to re-watching these films I probably would have said The Empire Strikes Back is my favorite in the series but now it comes in second to A New Hope. Mainly because A New Hope is more of a complete story but also because this film suffers at the hands of both the prequels and Return of the Jedi.

Before I get into the problems I'll run through some of the things I like...



Firstly, the battle of Hoth is hands down the best battle sequence in any of the Star Wars films. It's got everything, all of the films main heroes, the rebel army fighting an imperial onslaught both in the air and on the ground, Snow Speeders, AT-ATs, AT-STs, a real sense of urgency and Darth Vader personally almost catching up with the Millenium Falcon.

There's a real urgency about the Battle of Hoth and, it's the one battle that the Empire actually demonstrates the strength that put them in control of pretty much everything.

What's even better is that the pressure for our heroes on the Falcon rarely lets up for the whole film. Any quiet moments are short lived before they're back in the thick of the action. From start to finish, Empire is pretty much a chase film.

Like A New Hope the story is small and focused on the characters. There's no grand, sweeping political game playing or boring Jedi Councils (if you've read my previous Star Wars reviews you might be detecting a theme in my dislike of the prequels).

Within that there is the growing love story between Leia and Han. Unlike the second prequel there's no awkward, vaguely creepy, declarations of love. Every moment is streamlined with just enough dialogue to make the point that Leia is either still in denial or starting to come around. It's so much better written. Maybe George Lucas should've taken a back seat on writing the screen play for Episode II like he did for this film.

The humor of Empire is better written too. Particularly with C3-PO who gets plenty of funny lines that occur naturally without feeling forced. There's also none of the distracting background attempts at humor like those inserted into the Mos Eisley scenes of A New Hope Special Edition.

Chewbacca really comes into his own as a central character of the trilogy in Empire with a full range of emotions from laughter to anger to real concern for Han and Luke. All without any discernible dialogue or subtitles. Even though the team of Han and Chewie were likeable in Episode IV it was this film that really gave some depth to both characters.

This was also the first time we meet Boba Fett in live action (well, it was pre special editions) and are introduced to Lando Clarision. Lando had the potential to be a great, friendly, competitive rival to Han but unfortunately how the films panned out we only ever heard of their exploits and never really got to see much of them in action.

There's so much to like that I'm basically listing every scene in the film and nearly convincing myself all over again that Episode V is better than Episode IV. Even when the film slows down it never drags and always seems to have something to say before things pick up again.

So, to finish up with things I really liked... actual Puppet Yoda... way better than CGI Yoda of the Prequels. Not least because Episode V Yoda was funnier, more intriguing and less up himself with all that Jedi Council nonsense. He's basically little green Ben Kenobi from Episode IV. Also Yoda gives a more complete description of the force... not a single mention of Midichlorians.

So what's not to like? Unfortunately this film suffers at the hand of it's sequel, Episode VI and the Prequels making certain scenes less re-watchable.

Before we get into that, I noticed the opening crawl mentions that Darth Vader is specifically trying to locate Luke Skywalker, even though the Emperor doesn't tell him anything about Luke's relationship to Anakin Skywalker until the middle of this film. The Emperor then talks about Anakin as if he's someone other than Darth Vader to Darth Vader... weird?

All of this is the result of the Prequels and re-release of the original trilogy special editions. The Empire Strikes Back is the only film of the original trilogy that I saw at the cinema when it was released and I owned the original theatrical version on VHS tape. I'm pretty sure the Empire was trying to track down the rebels, post battle of Yavin and not just Darth trying to find Luke Specifically.

Also the conversation with the Emperor features new lines (and the new Emperor from Jedi and the Prequels who hadn't been cast for this film). I don't remember what was said in the original version but I know it wasn't as specific.Though I'm sure that's the point in the original film when I think Darth is told about Luke being a potential threat. There is no mention of Anakin.

One scene that loses all it's humor is Leia kissing Luke in front of Han in the medic centre on Hoth. The first time I saw this scene it was one of the funniest parts of the film. Unfortunately in Return of the Jedi we find out Leia is Luke's sister, forever condemning the scene to creepy weirdness. Especially since, in Jedi, Leia says she thinks she's always known they were brother and sister... WTF... and you still smooched him?

What's kind of worse is that Luke starts calling to Leia at the end of this film and she hears him (presumably via the force since he's not literally within earshot). This suggests that the film's writers knew Leia was related to Luke somehow yet they still let her kiss him on Hoth?

I'm one of those people that really became a big fan of Boba Fett after seeing this film. He didn't say much but he looked cool, had a cool ship and when he spoke it sounded menacing. We didn't know much about him and didn't really need to know anything about him. Boba Fett got completely short changed by the prequels.

I think it's Episode II that we first see a young Boba Fett, a full clone of his 'father' Jango Fett. At some point Jango is killed and young Boba sees it happen. I'm fine with all that. Boba didn't need a back story. Just because he wears Mandalorian armor doesn't mean he needed to be a clone or related to the clone army in any way but whatever.

Special Edition Empire Strikes Back, we now know Boba's early back story, fine, less mystery but he's still bad ass. Boba's cool, menacing voice is overdubbed with Jango's less menacing New Zealand accent. Holy Christchurch Batman!!

Look, don't get me wrong, Temuera Morrison was great as Jango Fett but that's the problem. Instead of mystery surrounding who the man behind the mask is, all I see is Jango Fett's face and voice. Boba Fett no longer feels unique, special or mysterious. Even worse, if they do future films featuring Boba Fett talking, I'm going to have to hear Jango Fett's New Zealand accent (Sorry New Zealand but Jango's accent just doesn't sound any more menacing than if he was voiced by an Aussie called Bruce).

Funnily enough I was disappointed to see Vader's Shuttle in this film taking him from Bespin to his Star Destroyer. I get why it was put in for the special edition but those particular shuttles were first seen in Episode VI and was one of the new ship designs that made that movie exciting to see for the first time.

Finally I do have a couple of questions about the Battle of Hoth...
  • What exactly is the usual purpose of the cable guns on the back of the Snowspeeders? It seems like using them to trip AT-AT's was something Luke improvised after deciding the ship's blasters were no good against AT-AT armor.
     
  • Speaking of AT-AT armor... after tripping their first AT-AT Wedge flies in and blows the thing up with blaster fire directly to it's armor? WTF?
That's pretty much all I want to mention about Episode V short of listing every scene as being mostly fantastic. Other than what I mentioned above Empire kind of survived the Special Edition re-releases mostly intact. The majority of the work, as I understand it, was improving issues with the Battle of Hoth scenes and opening up the walls of Bespin so you could see more of the external city through the windows.

Oh,.. how cool is Vader being able to deflect blaster fire with his hand? Now that's bad ass!

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Are Ion Thrusters the Future of Flying Cars? Spoiler - Probably Not But... Hover Boards... Maybe?

Undefined Technologies Ion Propulsion Drone prototype 3D concept image. You may have heard of Ion engines or, more likely, Ion thrusters. NASA uses them on their spacecraft to help maintain a craft's position or to propel them through space.  Upon hearing that you might think they're big, powerful engines, but actually they are not. They work well in the vacuum of space but, once any kind of atmosphere and gravity is involved they'd be hard pressed to launch you off the ground if you strapped four of them to your lawn chair and yelled "up, up, and away!" I am no expert on Ion thrusters - they're basically magic that science has an explanation for. If you want to know the details, The Space Techie website has a layman's explanation .  Build Your Own Ion Thruster Earth based Ion Thrusters work a bit different to their  space based cousins by Ionizing the same air that we breathe to create thrust (an effect known as Ionic-wind ).  While they sound highly soph

Skateboard Trick Tips: Two Ways to Ollie North (Ollie One foot)

You have to be quick to see my Ollie Norths! Ollie One Foots, otherwise known as the Ollie North, is one of those skateboard tricks you learn and then tend not to do very much as more interesting trick challenges grab your attention. However it does look really cool if you learn how to kick your front foot well past the nose of your skateboard. Still shot from Braille Skateboarding's Ollie North tutorial. I was inspired to make my video below, showing two different techniques to achieve a successful Ollie One Foot, when I not only saw that Braille Skateboarding's Tutorial used a different method to the one I had learned but also, when I looked at various other video tutorials, I discovered yet another technique, with no one using the method I had originally learned. Braille's method is to simply Ollie and drag your front foot past the front of your board. The second method I came across in several video tutorials is to Ollie, drag your front foot and tap your

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de

Review: FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes

FP Footwear FINO Skate Shoes I first saw FP's FINO skate shoes in a video by YouTube channel, Braille Skateboarding, titled, THE FIRST EVER NON NEWTONIAN FLUID SKATE SHOES!? As someone whose feet hurt and bruise relatively easily just from the basic tricks of skateboarding (Ollies, Pop Shuv-its etc.) the 90% absorption of impact energy selling point seemed like an ideal solution for minimizing my injuries. A day later I placed an order through FP's website . ​​ Ordinarily I wouldn't mention Customer Service but I can't let the lack of communication on my order slide. FP's website says to expect delivery within 7-14 days of your order. After close to two weeks, my order was still marked as being processed. I sent an email asking for any kind of update, to no response. A day or two later my order was marked as completed but still no signs of shoes in my mail? About two weeks later (just over a full month of placing my order) the shoes arrived. I'm sur

Robot Uprising Update: Robot Waiter, Fasta Pasta, South Terrace, Adelaide CBD, South Australia

On the second evening of my partner, Enigma, and I's weekend stay in Adelaide we decided to have dinner at Fasta Pasta . Strangely enough our hotel staff, at the Alba, had not mentioned Fasta Pasta as an option for an evening meal while their restaurant is closed for refurbishment, even though it is literally next door on the corner of South Terrace and Pultney Street. You may be aware that Fasta Pasta is an upmarket Italian restaurant franchise with its beginnings in Adelaide. Currently they have 19 restaurants Australia wide (with the majority in South Australia - we even have one in Gawler, our home town). I've never had bad food at a Fasta Pasta, and their food never looks like a franchise meal. You always feel you're at a restaurant that's a little bit more quality than your typical hotel/motel meal. Maybe it's because you don't see as much pasta based meals on an Aussie pub menu. Despite the name, it's not all pasta. I went with a basic plate of fish a

Nobody move, I've dropped my brain!

I'm probably one of the last Pirates of the Caribbean fans to see At World's End which is still playing at a few cinemas as it nears the end of its run. The title of this post, which is a quote from the movie, aptly describes the difficulties of trying to get your head around the plot. Although it does continue from the previous film in the series (all the characters are there) it doesn't seem critical to know the back story. The main plot is established right at the start. The East India Trading Company is out to wipe out pirates and anyone that so much as glances at a pirate. Our motley crew, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swan and Captain Barbossa join forces to bring together the Brethren of Nine pieces of eight (nine pirate lords who can unite all pirates) and stop the massacre of their kind. Slight problem. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the nine and he died in the last film. Since Captain Barbossa died in the film before that, we know that coming back from the dead isn'

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art  image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart