If anybody says that sequels are never as good as the original, they’ve quite clearly never seen The Empire Strikes Back. I know that it’s a rare thing for a second movie to be as good as the first one, mainly because most come from a place of financial greed as opposed to creative storytelling. Put simply, sequels often don’t work because studios are more concerned with how much money they could make from a successful franchise, instead of whether or not the original film justifies another story.
Jeff Goldblum sums it up perfectly as Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park – who, ironically, returned for the sequel – when he says of Richard Hammond and his scientists that “You spent so much time wondering if you could, that you didn’t spend any time wondering if you should”. It’s a brilliant line from a brilliant movie, that if studio heads and filmmakers remembered every once in a while, might just save us from sitting through unnecessary sequels such as Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
However, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is the rare exception to the rule; an absolutely flawless sequel which is superior to its predecessor in every single way. Not only is it the best film out of the original trilogy, but it’s the best film in the entire franchise to date. I’ve already hinted at it in my previous pieces, but without The Empire Strikes Back we probably wouldn’t see the Star Wars movies in the same light today.
The key to a successful follow up is to take everything that was good the first time around, and then turn it up all the way to eleven. Empire does that and then some. The visual effects are better, taking a giant technological leap in the three-year period between movies. In turn, it’s even more spectacular and dazzling than A New Hope.
With the tools readily available to them, the phenomenal writing and directing team of Lawrence Kasden and Irvin Kershner are able to do so much more this time around. We get the battle of Hoth within the first twenty minutes, and a space chase between the Millennium Falcon and the Empire’s impressive armada of star destroyers, that relentlessly runs through the entire film.
We’re introduced to creatures and worlds which feel fully realised for the first time. Take Yoda for example, who made his first ever appearance in this, in puppet form. He looks fantastic even today, especially when compared to his CGI rendering in the prequels.
John Williams provides one of his best ever scores, which makes you want to sit through the end credits to hear the various melodies in all their glory. As if often the case with the composer, his music here is equal parts romantic, heartbreaking, uplifting, exciting and terrifying – especially when it comes to the infamous ‘Imperial March’ theme, which appears for the first time here.
Just as confident as the music though, are the performances. Mark Hamill, who I previously compared to the acne guy from The Simpsons, really settles into the role of Luke; having seemingly grown up in the interim period between films. It’s the first time he’s truly believable as the central hero to the franchise, and you can’t help but get behind him as he begins to learn the ways of the force.
Then you have Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Han and Leia, whose romantic relationship is at the centre of the story. Surely one of the best on screen romances of all time, the two actors have bags of chemistry and are a believable coupling – more so than Anakin and Padame ever were in the trilogy of prequels.
The main reason why all of the above works as well as it does however, is all down to the writing of Lawrence Kasdan. I’ve talked before about how George Lucas can’t write, so it’s no coincidence that the two best Star Wars movies were actually written by Kasdan.
Responsible for writing Raiders of the Lost Ark – my favourite film of all time, by the way – the two films have more in common than Harrison Ford. Both perfectly and confidently blend action, adventure, romance, comedy and darkness, resulting in what is essentially perfect storytelling.
Perhaps one of the best decisions George Lucas has ever made with Star Wars, was to hand over writing duties to Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett. Without them, who knows what The Empire Strikes Back would have ended up like. It would have undoubtedly been a very different movie altogether, and more than likely in a very bad way.
All this proves one thing. You can have the best actors, the best visual effects and the best director in the world working on a film, but without brilliant writing at the heart of it, it will ultimately fail.
The Empire Strikes Back has all of these various components and that’s why, even today, it remains such an exciting and sturdy piece of cinema. What’s perhaps even more exciting though, is that with Kasdan back on writing duties for Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, it should end up proving something truly special.
You can read Joe Richards’ previous articles on the Star Wars franchise here.
words JOE RICHARDS