Review: Empire Strikes Back

Empire is the awkward middle child of the Original Trilogy and it shows.

My biggest takeaway ended up being how much I started waiting for things to happen. Waiting for Luke's training to be over, waiting for Han and Leia to get to Cloud City, waiting for Boba to finally chase after them...

I think there was supposed to be a more quiet, meditative quality to Empire but I think it's just filled with a lot of dead air.

What I did end up liking was the battle against the walkers on Hoth, I still think it's the best part of the film and once we're in Cloud City, Lando's inclusion is genuinely welcome. I like his character a lot, an old gambler and outlaw who started an operation that might be extra-legal but it put pressure on him to grow and become dependable. That's neat. That's a neat character arc.

Overall I think I found Empire easier to get through, I think less bloat in the narrative compared to A New Hope makes it an easier watch.

More of Han and Leia's garbage romance does mean that I seriously start questioning whether or not the straights are okay but I'm not here for epic romance. Star Wars is bad at romance. To this day the only people who have genuine chemistry in this whole franchise are Obi and Ventress so take that for what it's worth.

I think one of the weaker points of the film is that when you already know the Luke and Vader reveal, it's robbed of a lot of cinematic intrigue. A lot of the beats don't land because they're undercooked and while the actors are trying their best to sell these performances, it's in the service of material that doesn't do them justice. The Original Trilogy seems far better at grand ideas and special effects than it is at quieter character moments.

I did like old as fuck Yoda who is a little loopy. I actually forgot how the prequels and clone wars made him look all wise and serious when Yoda's actually more of a goofy grandfather muppet type. Things that were lost, I guess.

I'm going to wrap it up here, there are more films to go through and I don't want to spend too much time dissecting them. I'm going to restate what I said about A New Hope that there just isn't as much in the original trilogy that sticks out in my mind. The flaws might actually make the prequels more memorable and I think I end up enjoying them more because of that.

Not looking forward to Return of the Jedi though. Never really liked Ewoks. Ugly little toothy dog-bears that they are.

Jawas don't get enough love.