Star Wars “The Empire Strikes Back:” Movie Review

by Jake Dreyer

Laser blasters, light sabers, and the force! What’s more iconic than Star Wars!? One of, if not the best, movie franchise of all time just dropped another new show for all of us to sink our teeth into: The Book of Boba Fett (which is streaming now on Disney Plus!). Now, to get us all in the spirit for the incoming episodes, let’s take some steps back to, in my opinion, the best Star Wars movie released to date: “The Empire Strikes Back.”
“The Empire Strikes Back” was way ahead of its time, of course being made in the 80s. It had many things that just blew minds, for instance: The AT-AT Walkers at the beginning of the film during the battle of Hoth (an icy planet in Star Wars). The AT-AT’s were able to have the illusion of movement using a simple trick, a style of animation used in that time: Stop Motion. It is the art of making an inanimate object look like it now has the power to move on its own. It is done by taking numerous pictures, compiling them into one single video, and playing them at a certain speed to get the visual of movement.
It was also a great movie because of the score (meaning music) we got introduced to, the world of Star Wars music changed entirely: “The Imperial March” was on screen. It shook the world with its powerful notes, definitely fitting for a dark lord, Darth Vader of course. It was also such a groundbreaker because of who conducted the profound piece, John Williams, who by the way won various academy awards for his conducting.
Along with stop motion and music, the movie also explores ways of puppeteering. Yoda, the Jedi grandmaster in the movie, is just a puppet. Someone has their hand in the puppet while controlling their movement and mouth. Of course, Yoda was definitely a very anticipated character, being like the best of the best of a Jedi master.
We can’t even say Star Wars without mentioning the best plot twist in movie history: No, I Am Your Father. Nooooo! Yep, you know what I am talking about. The moment when Vader finally told Luke who his father really was. The crowd gasped as this sad but true realization was made. Little did George Lucas, Star Wars creator, know that this small scene would change the film franchise as a whole.
Finally, better lightsaber battles and choreography! That is what this movie introduced. Benowced to its predecessor, “A New Hope,” this film finally has some real hype behind its lightsaber battles and just better fighting choreography, like with laser blasters as well. The locations were also very good choices and had great appeal to its audience.
Now, do I recommend this film? Of course, I do. It was the greatest film in the saga and had some of the best visual effects for its time, and some great ups and downs with its characters. From plot twists to music to just amazing battles and action, I’d say this film could entertain just about anyone (Star Wars fan or not). I do suggest it to be for 9 and up though, because of its mild violence and language. Besides all that, this movie shook the world and had some amazing quotes (which I forgot to mention). Now in grandmaster, Yoda’s words: “May the Force be with you.”