Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The first thing you notice about The Empire Strikes Back is just how sophisticated everything is. From the direction of Irvin Kershner right down to the smallest props, Empire marks a giant leap in the narrative as well as the special effects. This comes as no surprise considering the huge success of A New Hope. After that, Lucas could have made a $100 million dollar film about a toilet. With a huge amount of money to use, Empire surpasses its predecessors in every way.

It's generally agreed that The Empire Strikes Back is the best film in the Star Wars saga. Not a sequel as such, but the next part of a continuing story. No longer tethered by the need to explain the Force and all the planets and aliens wrapped around it, this is a film far more sophisticated, awe-inspiring and daring. The actors too, seem much more comfortable with their characters. Which proved to be a good thing considering the script Lucas & Co wrote for them. Director Kershner enhances the mood of impending tragedy with an array of beautiful locations (Bespin, the Cloud City being the most beautiful). With John Williams' breathtaking score and most of the film clouded in darkness, Empire is indeed the darkest and most epic of the whole series.

Having survived their initial encounter with Darth Vader and the Empire, Luke Skywaker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) are knee deep in the Rebellion. After being chased by the Empire's forces to the ice-planet Hoth, the Rebels soon find out that the planet isn't so isolated as the Empire soon comes knocking. Leading the search is Vader himself, who seems intent on tracking down Luke Skywalker. After the battle on planet Hoth, Captain Solo and Princess Leia make their escape on the Millennium Falcon, meanwhile Luke travels to Dagobah, a swamp planet, where he meets Yoda (Frank Oz) who helps Luke become a Jedi.

While the majority of the film is set in darkness, the middle part is more light hearted: Han Solo is still wise cracking and trying it on with Leia and Yoda's knack of getting to the point in different ways is a pure delight to watch. The effects are also the best ever seen in the original trilogy with AT-ATs marching on the rebel base on Hoth, or Solo piloting the Falcon straight through an Asteroid field.

If technology surpassed the original, the addition of Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan to the writing team and Irvin Kershner as director proved to be two of the best decisions Lucas ever made. Aside from the darker theme, the action is deadly serious. you just have to look at the devastating confrontation between Skywalker and Vader. Its masterfully choreographed, their duel finishes on a small gantry protruding over the vastness of Cloud City. This scene is magnificently visualised and has the most intense moment in any of the Star Wars films. Kasdan's and Brackett's script, working off Lucas' ideas, gives maturity to Empire, something that was lacking in A New Hope. The image of farm-boy Luke is gone, replaced by a soldier who is beginning to understand the ways of the Force. Han Solo has become more mature and the bickering relationship with Leia seems to work even more when you realise Luke has been trying to get with his own sister. Overall this is some Dark stuff, way beyond the space opera with funny robots.

It's no accident that Empire Strikes Back is considered the best in the series. It's far superior to the rest of the films in every way. You could argue it's because Lucas didn't write or direct, that discussion is for another time. Empire is not only the best film in the Star Wars series, it's also one of the greatest sequels ever made.