Oh, the sequel. Too many great films have been tainted by poor sequels. STAR WARS did not suffer this fate. Like THE GODFATHER and THE TERMINATOR, things only got better with part two. STAR WARS established the main characters and EMPIRE explored their emotions.
All good sequels build off of where the first film left off. With parallel stories, the plotting of EMPIRE is more complex than A NEW HOPE. After the wonderful initial battle on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill, BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker, MONA LISA) venture off to find the Jedi master Yoda (Frank Oz, THE MUPPET MOVIE) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK), Leia (Carrie Fisher, THE ‘BURBS), C-3PO (Anthony Daniels, 1978’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew, TERROR) escape Hoth in the Millennium Falcon fleeing from the Empire.
Balancing Luke’s coming of age tale with Yoda is the romance between Han and Leia as they hide out in Cloud City, which is run by Han’s old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams, TV’s BRIAN’S SONG). The introduction of new characters is very important and EMPIRE succeeds greatly with the unforgettable Jedi master Yoda and the suave hustler Lando. Bad new characters can be disastrous, just look at Jar Jar Binks in THE PHANTOM MENACE.
What makes EMPIRE fascinating is the strong character development and the thought-provoking pop psychology, which makes up Yoda’s training of Luke. The philosophy of the Force is simple, but resonates. Yoda’s statement “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering” is simple, but universal and makes a profound statement about Luke’s choices and growing up in general. Boiling down complex issues into simple concepts can ring false and hokey, but in the good versus evil STAR WARS universe it works perfectly.
The surprises of the end of the film between Darth Vader and Luke raise the myth that Lucas is trying to tell into epic dimensions. It’s not just a great twist, it represents what the entire film is about – making the right choices so one does not veer down the dark path. In terms of the three original films, this is the character driven arch of the overall story. This film is the emotional center of the STAR WARS saga and easily the best film of the series.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
