Why is it that we like Star Wars? It's a simple question that could have an infinite amount of answers. Some people love the special effects, others the world building, some the socio-political context, but I've always been been drawn to the characters. All art, including film, is art because it tells fundamental truths about our human experience. Star Wars may take place in a galaxy far far away, but it features emotions and experiences that are fundamental to our existence on this blue green orb in a sea of universal nothingness. Films like The Empire Strikes Back remind us that a cold, hard truth awaits all of us: some times you get your ass kicked, and there's nothing you can do about it but survive to fight another day. Whether it's your job, a relationship, a test at school, weight loss, etc. defeat is a fundamental element of the human experience. As mostly Aggies on here, god knows we've experienced ass kickings in something as fundamentally inessential as football.
In the end, we love seeing heroes succeed, but we love seeing them fail and lose even more because it reminds of ourselves-flawed beings who are just trying to claw and survive in a world that can be cruel and unbending to our insignificant needs. It's because of this that films like The Dark Knight, Avengers: Infinity War, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Wrath of Khan, etc. all were all integral parts of heir series-heroes have to fail in order to rise again.
The Empire Strikes Back is the blue print for all of these films and one of the best pieces of fiction, not just movies, that I've ever experienced. It's simply one of the best films ever made because its the most human of films-one that takes the failures of its characters with the upmost seriousness.
The Good (Everything):
It's not a coincidence that the film starts off on the lifeless, barren ice world of Hoth. From the beginning, we see that whatever is going to occur plot wise, it's not going to be easy. The first act does a great job of introducing this idea with Luke getting captured and injured by the yeti-esque snow monster.
The one thing I found surprising about this first act is the major set piece of the film occurs in the first act and, at least scale-wise, is really never topped. Usually in big blockbusters; the big set piece is seen in the climax. Here, with the imperial walker set piece, the biggest scale of the film is seen before the end of the first act.
The second act is much more subdued, but none the less important in terms of story, character and plot. I absolutely love the falcon and it's passengers' cat-and-mouse game in the asteroid field simply because not only is it thrilling, but it also continues to hammer home the theme that **** just ain't working for our heroes this time. The hyperdrive is constantly on the fritz, C3PO won't stop being an annoying kill joy, and they just keep getting into one pickle after another.
Luke's journey with Yoda also reinforces this theme that nothing is going to be easy for our heroes. With all his success as a warrior in the previous film, there's an air of arrogance to Luke here that Yoda points out at every turn that directly correlates to his decision to face Vader later.
One thing I've always loved about the film is the acting. Simply, all actors that seemed enthusiastic if a little wooden in A New Hope are comfortable in their characters and in Irwin Kershner's direction. A prime example of this is in the Han and Leia romance. Kershner is able to harness the natural chemistry that Ford and Fisher obviously had,(which supposedly led to an affair of some sort), and make everything believable.
Mark Hamill is equally as accomplished here in a much different role. Luke here is confident, arrogant, even reckless, which directly leads to his bad decision to confront Vader in the final act when he's obviously not ready. Every character turn here is directly supported by the writing and direction.
Which brings me to my favorite scene in the film-Luke's initial duel with Vader intercut with Leia and Lando's escape. Luke enters this thing and is so obviously in over his head, it's borderline frightening. In fact, John William's theme here "The Duel" sounds like something from a horror movie. Luke, the positive white clad hero from the first film, is reduced to a sweaty dirty mess, with Vader controlling all of his emotions and actions. This scene personified that theme mentioned earlier before-sometimes,man, we're just not ready for what's coming. We think we are, but when that big event arrives, often times it ends in failure. Luke's arrogance and concern for his friends drive him into an obvious trap that he should have seen coming.
The "I am your father" reveal is so iconic there's not even really point in bringing it up, but I'll do it anyway to show how well Hamill sells it. As a kid, it really surprised me. This was in the kid 90's when I initially saw it, and I legitimately didn't know the twist. Now, after God knows how many viewings, the surprise has obviously degraded, but the impact has not. Luke is devastated by this reveal, and it's easy to see why. His entire existence has been in pursuit of his fathers exploits and living up to his example. To have that taken away would be damaging to anybody, much less someone whose missing a hand and is about to be killed by the very father he hoped to emulate.
In the end, our heroes barely survive the events of the film, which is ironically a kind of victory in and of itself. Like it says in the film Dunkirk, sometimes surviving is just enough.
