Post by kevin on Feb 4, 2019 10:32:05 GMT
Here's my review of The Empire Strikes Back after the millionth rewatch: letterboxd.com/kevinwriter/film/the-empire-strikes-back/.
I thought it was about time for me to write an actual review for something. And what better movie to start with then The Empire Strikes Back? The famed sequel of sequels, considered to be the greatest Star Wars movie and one of the greatest movies ever made. Where do I start? Let me begin with the first time I've seen it myself. Unfortunately, I can't remember my first viewing of Empire. I was probably younger than 8 years, but I don't have any specific recollection of it anymore, which means that I also don't know how I reacted to the famous twist.
What I do remember is that Empire wasn't my favorite Star Wars movie as a child. I loved the adventurous feeling in the original Star Wars and as a kid I was still young enough to be satisfied with the prequels solely because of the visuals. Empire was a tougher movie to sell, it's slower, more brooding and a significant detour from its predecessor tonally speaking. I also remember playing the LEGO Star Wars game again and again, but the Empire parts of the game felt so different. I used to be more passionate about the space battle sequences in the game from the other episodes.
However, even with this lack of immediate connection, I kept coming back to it as I got older. I don't know the exact viewing or age when it happened, but next thing I know Empire was without a doubt my favorite Star Wars movie and after that even one of my favorite movies in general. As I grew more interested in movies and especially filmmaking, my interest for Empire grew exponentially. I think that's because the filmmaking in Empire might just be the most impeccable example of it in any blockbuster. It's so finely tuned and perfectly balanced that you wonder why it didn't get lavish praise from everyone the second it was released. But then again, it also took a while for me to enjoy it as much as I do now, so maybe I wasn't alone in this.
Let's start with our group of heroes: Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, R2-D2 & C-3PO. Think about most franchise movies and then try to recall how much the characters change over the span of one movie. Then take a look at Empire and what you'll see is that the character development pulled off in this movie is nothing short of incredible. Every character has a completely different viewpoint by the end of it and every transition feels natural and logical. Even the droids, who were bassicaly comic relief in the first movie and are probably the most constant factor in the trilogy, are different at the end. The shot where R2-D2 & C-3PO look out of the window into space at the end sums it up perfectly.
Of course there are also the new characters Yoda and Lando. The way they are written into the movie with their already existing connections to the rest of the story is a beautiful example of good world-building. However, the most impressive writing in this movie is easily Darth Vader's character arc. In the first movie Vader was a menacing and great villain, but here he becomes so much more than that. Vader was already amazing, but this is the movie that made him iconic. We get a glimpse at the humanity in Vader, literally speaking when he is briefly seen without his helmet.
Beyond the literal back-of-the-head reveal, the most important thing that elevates Vader is his voice. James Earl Jones goes above and beyond in what might be the best voice acting performance ever put to screen. It is mainly his performance that makes Vader feel like a real person and not a cruel machine. This 'humanizing' of the villain has been done many times ever since, but none as good as in Empire. That's mainly because many movies try to overdo the humanizing aspect, suddenly making the villain a melodramatic tragic person. And yes, we later find out Vader's story is tragic and dramatic, but the main difference is the subtlety in which this is tackled here.
We've seen the characters, so now let's get back to the story. But trying to talk about the story is impossible without inevitably going back to the characters. The characters are perfectly woven into the story, always active and always on the move, giving Empire a dynamic feeling rarely present in movies, even in blockbusters. Back to the Future might be the most striking resemblance in terms of pacing. Everytime just before a plotpoint might get a bit stale, a twist is introduced that builds on the original story and elevates it to new heights. And with that I don't just mean the iconic 'I am your father' line, but pretty much all the twists and turns the movie takes: the build-up of elements during the battle of Hoth, Obi-Wan's force ghost, Yoda's character reveal, Lando's betrayal, Luke's visions of his friends, the space slug, the astroid chase. I could go on and on. The most important thing is that, besides being near perfect on a technical level, it's also unbelievably entertaining. It's 124 minute runtime barely feels like one hour.
But still, even with all this dynamism plotwise, the pacing is surprisingly slow at times tonally speaking. While new plotpoints are constantly introduced in the scenes between Yoda and Luke, the main themes of endurance and true strength are discussed in a very delicate and almost arthouse style. This mixing of high-paced plot movements and the slower tackling of themes and motives results in movie that destroys the boundary between blockbuster & arthouse, between indie & mainstream. And that's not surprising considering that the director Irvin Kershner had only made smaller independent movies before taking on the gigantic task of making a sequel to Star Wars. Assigning him as director of the sequel to the biggest movie of all-time remains one of the most risky and, at the same time, amazing gambles a movie studio has ever taken. Let this be an example that taking risks pays off, at least some times.
There is still so much more to talk about (*cough* the perfect cinematography and score *cough*), but without realizing it I've accidentally almost started writing a book on The Empire Strikes Back. I guess it shows how much you love a movie when you can just talk about it forever. So I'll wrap things up. The most important things to take away are that Empire is a one-of-a-kind experience, that one movie where all the stars align to deliver something that is unmatched by any other blockbuster. Beforehand, everyone would've said that the chance that Irvin Kershner and his crew could've pulled this off was astronomically small. But as Han says, never tell me the odds.
I thought it was about time for me to write an actual review for something. And what better movie to start with then The Empire Strikes Back? The famed sequel of sequels, considered to be the greatest Star Wars movie and one of the greatest movies ever made. Where do I start? Let me begin with the first time I've seen it myself. Unfortunately, I can't remember my first viewing of Empire. I was probably younger than 8 years, but I don't have any specific recollection of it anymore, which means that I also don't know how I reacted to the famous twist.
What I do remember is that Empire wasn't my favorite Star Wars movie as a child. I loved the adventurous feeling in the original Star Wars and as a kid I was still young enough to be satisfied with the prequels solely because of the visuals. Empire was a tougher movie to sell, it's slower, more brooding and a significant detour from its predecessor tonally speaking. I also remember playing the LEGO Star Wars game again and again, but the Empire parts of the game felt so different. I used to be more passionate about the space battle sequences in the game from the other episodes.
However, even with this lack of immediate connection, I kept coming back to it as I got older. I don't know the exact viewing or age when it happened, but next thing I know Empire was without a doubt my favorite Star Wars movie and after that even one of my favorite movies in general. As I grew more interested in movies and especially filmmaking, my interest for Empire grew exponentially. I think that's because the filmmaking in Empire might just be the most impeccable example of it in any blockbuster. It's so finely tuned and perfectly balanced that you wonder why it didn't get lavish praise from everyone the second it was released. But then again, it also took a while for me to enjoy it as much as I do now, so maybe I wasn't alone in this.
Let's start with our group of heroes: Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, R2-D2 & C-3PO. Think about most franchise movies and then try to recall how much the characters change over the span of one movie. Then take a look at Empire and what you'll see is that the character development pulled off in this movie is nothing short of incredible. Every character has a completely different viewpoint by the end of it and every transition feels natural and logical. Even the droids, who were bassicaly comic relief in the first movie and are probably the most constant factor in the trilogy, are different at the end. The shot where R2-D2 & C-3PO look out of the window into space at the end sums it up perfectly.
Of course there are also the new characters Yoda and Lando. The way they are written into the movie with their already existing connections to the rest of the story is a beautiful example of good world-building. However, the most impressive writing in this movie is easily Darth Vader's character arc. In the first movie Vader was a menacing and great villain, but here he becomes so much more than that. Vader was already amazing, but this is the movie that made him iconic. We get a glimpse at the humanity in Vader, literally speaking when he is briefly seen without his helmet.
Beyond the literal back-of-the-head reveal, the most important thing that elevates Vader is his voice. James Earl Jones goes above and beyond in what might be the best voice acting performance ever put to screen. It is mainly his performance that makes Vader feel like a real person and not a cruel machine. This 'humanizing' of the villain has been done many times ever since, but none as good as in Empire. That's mainly because many movies try to overdo the humanizing aspect, suddenly making the villain a melodramatic tragic person. And yes, we later find out Vader's story is tragic and dramatic, but the main difference is the subtlety in which this is tackled here.
We've seen the characters, so now let's get back to the story. But trying to talk about the story is impossible without inevitably going back to the characters. The characters are perfectly woven into the story, always active and always on the move, giving Empire a dynamic feeling rarely present in movies, even in blockbusters. Back to the Future might be the most striking resemblance in terms of pacing. Everytime just before a plotpoint might get a bit stale, a twist is introduced that builds on the original story and elevates it to new heights. And with that I don't just mean the iconic 'I am your father' line, but pretty much all the twists and turns the movie takes: the build-up of elements during the battle of Hoth, Obi-Wan's force ghost, Yoda's character reveal, Lando's betrayal, Luke's visions of his friends, the space slug, the astroid chase. I could go on and on. The most important thing is that, besides being near perfect on a technical level, it's also unbelievably entertaining. It's 124 minute runtime barely feels like one hour.
But still, even with all this dynamism plotwise, the pacing is surprisingly slow at times tonally speaking. While new plotpoints are constantly introduced in the scenes between Yoda and Luke, the main themes of endurance and true strength are discussed in a very delicate and almost arthouse style. This mixing of high-paced plot movements and the slower tackling of themes and motives results in movie that destroys the boundary between blockbuster & arthouse, between indie & mainstream. And that's not surprising considering that the director Irvin Kershner had only made smaller independent movies before taking on the gigantic task of making a sequel to Star Wars. Assigning him as director of the sequel to the biggest movie of all-time remains one of the most risky and, at the same time, amazing gambles a movie studio has ever taken. Let this be an example that taking risks pays off, at least some times.
There is still so much more to talk about (*cough* the perfect cinematography and score *cough*), but without realizing it I've accidentally almost started writing a book on The Empire Strikes Back. I guess it shows how much you love a movie when you can just talk about it forever. So I'll wrap things up. The most important things to take away are that Empire is a one-of-a-kind experience, that one movie where all the stars align to deliver something that is unmatched by any other blockbuster. Beforehand, everyone would've said that the chance that Irvin Kershner and his crew could've pulled this off was astronomically small. But as Han says, never tell me the odds.