Star Wars 10 Ways The Empire Strikes Back Is The Sagas Best Movie

Star Wars: 10 Ways The Empire Strikes Back Is The Saga’s Best Movie

The Star Wars saga has had its ups and downs, but most fans agree that George Lucas’ The Empire Strikes Back shines above the rest of the franchise.

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After the phenomenal success of Star Wars, skeptics didn’t believe that George Lucas could match its greatness with the sequel, let alone top it. But against all odds (“Never tell me the odds!”), Lucas pulled it off. The Empire Strikes Back is one of the greatest sequels ever made, alongside The Godfather Part II and The Dark Knight, and remains a timeless classic 40 years later.

There are plenty of flaws in the prequel and sequel trilogies, and Return of the Jedi has a few too many Ewoks, so the debate over which Star Wars movie is best essentially boils down to the 1977 original and Empire. They’re both masterpieces, but the latter arguably takes the top spot.

10 The Screenplay Is Perfectly Constructed

George Lucas may have certain weaknesses as a writer — namely dialogue, which is a shortcoming he freely confesses — but he’s a master of structure. He’s the reason every Hollywood screenwriter hoping to write the next big blockbuster worships Joseph Campbell. Without the need to establish the world like he did with the traditional fairy-tale structure of the 1977 original, Lucas was free to construct a self-contained three-act narrative.

His story outline for Empire, which he handed off to screenwriters Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, was perfectly tuned. Like any great story structure, the second half mirrors the first. The opening act on Hoth catches us up with the characters, then the second act splits them up — Han and Leia being pursued through the galaxy by the Empire and Luke training with Yoda to be a Jedi on Dagobah — before the third act brings them all back together on Cloud City. Everything gets paid off and the ending is immensely satisfying, despite being an unhappy one.

9 The Set Pieces Are Brimming With Suspense

A lot of blockbusters, like Transformers and Fast & Furious, fill their set pieces with noise and action, but neglect to include the most important element. What really makes a sublime set piece, like Jurassic Park’s raptors-in-the-kitchen sequence, is palpable suspense.

Whether Han is cruising the Falcon through an asteroid field with 3,720-to-1 odds of survival or Vader is lurking in the shadows around a helpless Luke, the set pieces in Empire are brimming with suspense.

8 The Practical Effects Are Spectacular

One of the few smart creative decisions made behind the scenes of the Star Wars sequel trilogy was using practical effects wherever possible, because the primitive, bland-looking CGI of the prequel trilogy paled in comparison to the practical effects of the original trilogy. Those effects have really stood the test of time. They’re just as breathtaking today as they were in 1980.

Huge strides have been made in CGI technologies since Lucas made the prequels, but no computer-generated effect will ever look as magnificent as a dragonsnake puppet slithering around George Lucas’ pool or the bona fide explosion of a miniature AT-AT walker.

7 The Dialogue Is Pulpy, But Rings True

George Lucas is the first to admit that he doesn’t write great dialogue. On the set of the original Star Wars movies, Carrie Fisher polished up the lines as an uncredited script doctor. Fisher’s contributions made sure that the original trilogy’s dialogue felt like real dialogue. Lucas’ efforts can be seen in all its glory in the prequels’ stiff, forced conversations, almost all of which have since been turned into memes.

In terms of Star Wars’ dialogue, Empire is an exception, because it wasn’t written by Lucas. After Lucas finalized the story outline for Empire, the script was written by “Queen of Space Opera” Leigh Brackett (who passed away two years before the movie made it to screens) and Raiders of the Lost Ark’s Lawrence Kasdan. Brackett and Kasdan’s dialogue is authentically pulpy, and unlike a lot of Lucas’, it rings true in terms of character and motivation.

6 It Nails The Character Dynamics

The reason why Luke, Han, and Leia stand out as more rounded and memorable characters than Rey, Finn, and Poe is that the former trio’s dynamics were developed from the start, and the latter trio didn’t even share any scenes until the last movie. Ultimately, what makes a character great isn’t who they are as a person; it’s how they interact with the other characters.

From Han and Leia’s bickering to Luke and Vader’s Force connection, Empire nails its character dynamics in a way that the sequel trilogy didn’t even try to.

5 The New Characters Are All Iconic

One of the most hit-or-miss elements of every Star Wars movie is its character additions. Some new characters become iconic, like Qui-Gon Jinn, while others become forgettable annoyances that distract from the existing icons, like DJ.

The new characters introduced in The Empire Strikes Back — from Boba Fett to Lando Calrissian to Yoda — have all become universally adored by the fanbase.

4 It’s Dark, But Still A Lot Of Fun

The dark tone of Empire has been a point of praise where George Lucas’ other dark sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (technically a prequel, but it was the second one), was criticized. Where Temple of Doom betrays the unbridled fun of Indy’s previous adventure, Empire retains the spirit of the Star Wars mythos.

The message of Empire is still about maintaining hope and optimism in the face of evil, but it explores the dark side of these themes (pardon the pun), cautioning audiences that sometimes evil will win, setting up Return of the Jedi to remind them that it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

3 Han And Leia’s Romantic Arc Remains Star Wars’ Best Love Story

When it comes to romance in the Star Wars universe, there’s not much in the way of stiff competition. Anakin’s relationship with Padmé is predicated on inevitable tragedy, and Rey and Kylo Ren’s love story was a confused attempt to pander to a vocal minority of shippers on social media. Either way, Han and Leia’s romantic arc in The Empire Strikes Back is the saga’s best love story.

Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher’s tangible chemistry goes a long way toward selling the characters’ bubbling romantic tension, while their back-and-forth harks back to Chance and Feathers’ flirtations in Rio Bravo, another Leigh Brackett screenplay.

2 It Has The Greatest Plot Twist In Movie History

One of the greatest things about The Empire Strikes Back is its climactic plot twist, in which (spoiler alert!) Darth Vader reveals that he’s Luke Skywalker’s father. Mark Hamill’s reaction to the twist is perfect, because he was given a script with a different line, so it was his genuine reaction to the big reveal.

And since Hamill himself is a bona fide Star Wars fanboy, his reaction mirrored that of the audience. No subsequent Star Wars plot twist has come close to matching its impact.

1 The Downer Ending Works Beautifully

A couple of years ago, when Marvel released Avengers: Infinity War and the bad guy’s evil plan succeeded at the end with no hope for an easy resolution, it was favorably compared to The Empire Strikes Back. Empire also has a downer ending in which the heroes are defeated in spectacular fashion.

In both cases, this kind of ending is used to breathtaking effect. But there’s something about Luke and Leia looking out into space with a hopeful glint in their eye in the face of cruel uncertainty that makes Empire’s closing moments particularly beautiful.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/empire-strikes-back-best-star-wars-movie-entire-saga-franchise/

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