Empire Strikes Back: 10/10
The best goddamn Star Wars movie hands down!
When i saw Empire back in .. uh, 1981? i guess, when it was released dubbed in my mamma papa country, at the tender age of 9yo, i didn't like it as much as i liked Star Wars.
YES BECAUSE IT WASNT FUKCING CALLED "A New Hope"
Today, i think that it's a great film, but i can see that it has some good things and some not so good - or, at least, this is my re-interpretation of my 9yo's first impression.
The in-media-res start of the film is confusing at first; i can see now that it's a strength, as it clearly marks the film as a continuation of the previous, instead of "another story in the same world". It also implies the continuation of the rebellion after the end of the first film.
Ok ok fuck let's call it Hope just so i don't have to always say "the previous film" and "the first film".
The land attack is great .. WAS great, because in 1980 we couldn't get enough of the special effects. MORE SPACESHIPS?! YES PLEASE!
But today it's just a long combat sequence that's still cool, but it's not "great filmmaking".
Luke's departure is a bit weird as well. I'm not a fan of splitting the party here because it diverts our attention. Dagobah however is great, Yoda IN THIS FILM is one of the greatest character ever put to film, his scene "he is not ready" is monumental.
(the "dark place" scene was scary AF to me at 9yo but i see it today and i cringe on how bad the lighting is)
Han going to Bespin is terrible. The asteroid belt scene is fine, but the whole Lando's betrayal thing is so badly paced, so badly directed. And i hate that Lando turns around again within the space of 5 minutes, or a single scene.
The carbonite scene is pretty cool though.
Luke's return is bad.
And i should say why.
In The Original First Film Named Star Wars Without "A New Hope" In The Title, there is a complete, well paced character arc for Luke Skywalker, the protagonist, that keeps the viewer interested throughout the film. It starts by describing Luke as a malcontent, out of place farmer on Tatooine who is caught in events larger than him. As his parents are killed by the Evil Guys we feel for him when he declares "i want to learn the ways of the force and become a Jedi like my father". *everyone liked that*
He learns about The McForce, and his role in the story - to destroy the Villain. He is initially defeated by the Villain, but through witnessing the sacrifice of the Old Mentor, he finds his confidence and uses the McForce to Win(tm).
There. Filmmaking 101.
In Empire there is no such continuous story.
Why is the empire still relevant after Tarkin is killed and the Death Star destroyed? (remember that these guys destroyed a planet just like that - there is no coming back politically fro that level of murder unless you own a giant fucking space-laser).
Why does the hero still have to fight? Did he not Win(tm) in the previous film?
Why does he still need to train to become a Jedi? He already "Used The Force" successfully to Win(tm).
How does Vader magically teleport to Bespin? I thought the Falcon was supposed to be reeeeally fast ? He instead arrives, threatens Lando, who agrees to doublecross Han, they capture the heroes and RIGHT IMMEDIATELY AWAY Lando turns around and says naw dog, i am not actually gonna betray you.
Apparently Fett manages to get all this organized before Han can navigate to Bespin.
We already know that Luke was in training, so it's not *wrong* that he goes to Dagobah, i mean, there's nothing terribly wrong with anything in the film, all those above can be excused - fairly easily, as a matter of fact - and, the film contains some epic scenes. The unusual way the script handles time is also something taht can be seen in a positive light, but, Empire fails to set up The Hero's Journey. We instead have to assume all this, and while Empire still makes a good job of implying what we need to know, it's crude in its execution.
Again, i can totally excuse this too because when you got such memorable scenes as "i am your father", you want to cram them in there, but from a purely filmwriting point of view, Hope is the superior film.
So, Luke's been away for 5 minutes and Han has managed to get himself arrested by the spacecops. He returns to bespin where he faces the Villain in a really, really great confrontation; (yes i do like this film) Vader plays with him, and we can see this, but do not expect the Reveal.
And, it's a great reveal, but again here unfortunately the film fails, and this is the worst part of Empire.
Luke flees the confrontation with the Villain, and .. the story ends.
it just fucking ends. I was 9yo and for years i was so incredibly disappointed at this stupid film that DOESNT HAVE A STORY. It starts, and they are just doing stuff. There is no secondary character to do any exposition on "here is what you must do to Win(tm)". They say "oof, we're just gonna go away for a while to do unrelated stuff to the main arc" (which doesnt even exist) and then they fail miserably at everything and when the Hero fights the Villain, .. nothing happens. There is no Win(tm). There is no conclusion, no fanfare with medals for everyone except Wookies because racism, no happy ending and sex with the princess.
WHY THE HELL DID YOU EVEN FILM THIS.
As you see, i was very wise when i was 9yo.
The Empire Strikes Back is a really good film and noteworthy of mention as one of the greatest "second film in a series", if not the g... no, no Terminator 2 sucks, greatest, but it only works as a part of a trilogy. It is really good at re-starting a story that was, by all accord, complete and ended by the end of Hope. I truly appreciate that this is really hard to do and have rarely if ever seen another "second" film do this as well, but looking at each film on their own and not as part of a trilogy, Star Wars The Not A New Hope is the best Star Wars film there is.
idk 9 or 9.5/10