Reviewing Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is an acknowledgment that it is a sequel — when it hit theaters in 1980, Star Wars had already changed the world forever, and expectations were impossibly high. Theaters filled with fans frantically hoping the sequel would live up to it. And miraculously, it was even better. The instantly iconic and beloved trio of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher reprised their respective roles, and Luke took the next steps to become a Jedi while Han and Leia are on the run from the Empire, leading up to a magnificent final act.

Director Irvin Kershner Release Date June 18, 1980 Runtime 124 minutes Budget $30.5 Million Expand

The Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as the best Star Wars movie. The first sequel is the dark and gritty answer to Star Wars’ (the subtitle A New Hope was added for the 1981 re-release) optimism, pushing the character arcs to strenuous points with dire new circumstances before ending on a shockingly upsetting cliffhanger. The galaxy becomes bigger with more characters and more of the Force, while behind the camera, the crew continues to push the technical innovation that made Star Wars such a groundbreaking movie.

Empire Strikes Back Builds Upon Character Arcs & Seamlessly Adds New Ones

Having all settled into a routine of working together within the Rebellion, Luke, Han, and Leia are reintroduced on Hoth, ready for another fight. They’ve spent a lot of time together off-screen, and the ways their arcs have continued the trajectory they started on in the original shows. Luke has been contemplating how to continue his training. Han is an even more devout friend, charging out into the blizzard to rescue Luke. Ford and Fisher’s amazing chemistry conveys how Han and Leia’s frustrated feelings for each other have grown as Han’s past catches up with him.

On top of furthering the arcs of the returning cast, it introduces Yoda, Lando, Boba Fett, and the Emperor.

These subplots lead to Luke’s edifying experiences on Dagobah and Han and Leia’s electric first kiss. The movie pulls off an impressive feat of pacing, kicking things up a notch with the Hoth battle and interspersing the character-driven plot with thrilling pursuits through space. On top of furthering the arcs of the returning cast, it introduces Yoda, Lando, Boba Fett, and the Emperor. A combination of unique designs and the star power of actors like Billy Dee Williams and Frank Oz means these new characters don’t have to be on-screen for long, avoiding upsetting the pacing with too much exposition.

Empire Strikes Back Lives Up To Star Wars Being A Technical Breakthrough

With Empire Strikes Back, George Lucas trusted us to again embrace his strange and striking design concepts without a lot of explanation, and it worked. Star Wars also pulled off then never-before-seen special effects and more splendorous visuals. The benefit of the Hoth battle is that the white backdrop showcases the speeding ships differently (which Lucas did intentionally), while it is also the first time the AT-AT walkers are seen. TIE fighters chase after the Millennium Falcon in multiple sequences which show off more mind-blowing twists and turns, space backdrops, and explosions.

Less technically demanding but still stimulating are the settings of Cloud City and Dagobah, showing more of the vibrant galaxy. A huge relief is that, in between movies, they smoothed out the lightsaber effects, allowing for much more choreography. The effects, settings, and lighting surrounding the famous duel are all amazing, making the confrontation truly terrifying. Regarding the final act, Empire Strikes Back demonstrates more of its strong narrative structure when it alternates between the duel and the others’ escaping Bespin, still engaging despite the very different tone from the first movie’s trench run.

Empire Strikes Back Claims Some Of Star Wars’ Most Grandiose Moments

A New Hope has a lot of weighty moments that are the stuff of Star Wars legend, but Empire Strikes Back goes even further. Luke spends a lot of the movie in the swamps of Dagobah with Yoda, who deepens the incomprehensible vastness of the story’s themes with his explanations and demonstration of the Force’s power. Meanwhile, Ford and Fisher are acting out some distressing moments. I was reminded that the famous “I know” scene is a pretty heartbreaking and hopeless moment, with Ford and Fisher conveying a lot of emotion through painfully stoic expressions.

Empire Strikes Back then finishes things off with the amazing duel and the chilling plot twist that completely undoes Luke.

Empire Strikes Back then finishes things off with the amazing duel and the chilling plot twist that completely undoes Luke. The first part of the fight in the carbonite freezing chamber, with their silhouettes and the contrasting lightsaber colors, is especially breathtaking, driving home the thematic contrast between the two. The final moments are the perfect way to capture why Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back is the best installment, showing how the characters are rattled by what the movie has put them through, leaving them to regroup and hone their skills and resources before they return for the finale.

9/10 1980 saw the continuation of the Skywalker Saga with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Although this was the second film in the Star Wars series itself, it would end up being the fifth film chronologically in the Skywalker Saga itself. Created by George Lucas and directed by Irvin Kershner, this sequel sees Darth Vader attempting to locate the Rebel Alliance after they destroyed the Death Star.ProsLuke, Han, and Leia are further developed as characters through being tested by dangerous new circumstancesPerfect pacing allows the movie to continue to world-build, seamlessly introducing new locations and charactersThere are more cool galactic battles and backdrops, and the lightsaber technology is much betterThe movie?s most iconic moments are gut-wrenching, illustrating how the stakes are higher