‘Empire Strikes Back’ An Imaginative Sci-Fi Adventure (Exclusive Series) (Disney Plus)

*** This is a review of 'The Empire Strikes Back' that I worked on for the Examiner during the summer of 2020 when the Dietrich Theater was showing throwback movies when there wasn't alot of new content available at the time. So I re-worked this a little bit and decided to use it for my Star Wars nostalgic marathon!***

In 1977, one of the most astounding sci-fi movies of all time was released and a franchise was born. “Star Wars: A New Hope” created quite a fan base and became a huge hit with critics and fans alike. Three years later, the first sequel of the saga was released. When it was first initially released in 1980, “Empire Strikes Back” was met with mixed reviews. And, now, it’s widely considered to be the best of the original trilogy and one of the best films ever made.

In the second installment of the “Star Wars” saga, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo and Chewbacca face attack by the Imperial Forces and its AT-AT walkers on the ice planet Hoth.

While Han and Leia escape in the Millennium Falcon, Luke travels to Dagobah in search of Yoda. Only with the Jedi master’s help will Luke survive when the dark side of the Force beckons him into the ultimate duel with Darth Vader.

“The Empire Strikes Back” is an imaginative and action-packed entry of the extremely popular “Star Wars” franchise. The special effects in this movie are just simply incredible and some moments of the movie can be extremely thrilling. Even though “Empire” is the darkest of the original trilogy, the dark tone really adds onto the excitement in the movie. The action sequences and the duels are astounding to watch as well. Of course, all this excitement leads up to one of the most infamous twists of all time! In fact, the infamous twist involving Vader and Luke Skywalker wasn’t added until the very last minute and only a few people in the production knew about it.

The cast: Mark Hamill (The Rise of Skywalker; The Last Jedi) as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford (Call of the Wild) as Han Solo, the late Carrie FIsher (The Last Jedi; Rise of Skywalker) as Princess Leia, Billy Dee Williams (Rise of Skywalker) as Lando Calrissian, Anthony Daniels (Rise of Skywalker) as C-3PO, Peter Mayhew (The Force Awakens) as Chewbacca, Kenny Baker (Revenge of the Sith) as R2-D2, Frank Oz (Knives Out; Rise of Skywalker) as Yoda, Alec Guiness as Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, Jeremy Bullock as Boba Fett and James Earl Jones as the voice of Darth Vader (while actor David Prowse portrayed the character on set). “The Empire Strikes Back” is written by Lawrence Kasdan (The Force Awakens; Solo: A Star Wars Story) and Leigh Brackett and directed by Irwin Kershner (RoboCop 2; Never Say Never Again).

After the immense and unexpected success of the first “Star Wars” movie, a sequel was inevitable. George Lucas decided to avoid using a major studio to finance the movie. Instead, he bankrolled the $18 million production himself, using a combination of his “A New Hope” profits and a bank loan. Eventually, the production budget doubled to $33 million (a pretty big budget at the time). During “Empire,” Harrison Ford tried to persuade George Lucas to kill off the Han Solo character. But, Lucas refused saying that he still had a heroic part to play in the then -untitled third entry (a.k.a. Return of the Jedi).

Principal photography for the movie lasted over 180 days, the longest shoot of any of the “Star Wars” movies. Just like the other two entries to the original trilogy, “The Empire Strikes Back has been digitally remastered and re-released in theaters and home media.

“The Empire Strikes Back” was initially released on May 21, 1980. When it was first released, the reviews were actually quite mixed. But, over the years, fans and critics warmed up to the sequel, with many now calling it one of the best movies ever. Overall, the first “Star Wars” sequel earned $290.3 million domestically and $547.9 million worldwide.

“The Empire Strikes Back” is rated PG for sci-fi violence and has a running time of 124 minutes. The second installment of the original trilogy can be streamed on the Disney Plus streaming platform.

https://youtu.be/JNwNXF9Y6kY