Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

                Every Star Wars film that has come out since the release of The Empire Strikes Back will always be compared to this film. It is the standard by which every Star Wars project will forever be judged, and for good reason. It introduces several new and interesting characters such as Yoda, Boba Fett, Lando, and the Emperor. It also expands the origins and characters of Han Solo, Leia, Luke, and Darth Vader in some absolutely tremendous ways. You are given greater reasons to support or dislike these characters, and it gives the lore more depth. This is honestly my favorite Star Wars film, and it would take a herculean effort to even top that. The only one that has ever come close, given that it conveys similar emotions, is Revenge of the Sith. Whereas the predecessor ended with hope, this one ends in pain.

            This film takes place three years after the events of A New Hope on the ice planet Hoth aka that time we had the polar vortex in Chicago. While on Hoth, the empire launches an attack on the rebels, and while Luke Skywalker is close to death, he is talked to by the force spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi who urges him to go to the swamp planet Dagobah to train under the Jedi master Yoda. After escaping from Hoth, our heroes are separated, with Luke going to Dagobah and the rest of the crew going to Cloud City, where they meet up with an old friend of Han, Lando Calrissian. Meanwhile, Darth Vader has a conversation with his Sith master, the emperor, who tells Darth Vader that Luke is the son of Anakin Skywalker and that they can convert him to the dark side. Vader then sends the coolest bounty hunter ever, Boba Fett, to capture Han Solo, Leia, and Chewbacca to try to lure Luke into saving them, so that he can begin his conversion. What works so well about this film is that every character has an important subplot within the film. This leads to every character mattering. The problem that we often see in franchises is that as the series goes on, other characters are introduced and older characters no longer mean as much, but this is a sequel that manages to introduce new characters that are essential to the story while also furthering the story of their original characters. Speaking of original, remember the original lightsaber duel between Vader and Kenobi? That pales in comparison to the epic duel between Luke and Vader. In the climax of this film, we are treated to a great lightsaber duel full of action, fear, and great visuals.

            This film takes everything about the first film and just improves upon it. The cinematography is great, the musical score is once again fantastic, the action is incredible, and the film itself is just perfection. You rarely get a sequel that is better than the original in every way, despite the original itself already being a masterpiece, but that is exactly what happens here. This is the greatest Star Wars film ever made and absolutely deserves its rank among the best films of all time. Official Rating: 5 Stars.

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