How do you define a masterpiece? Though that is a bigger question than I can answer it's a question I have to ponder while writing this review. Because The Empire Strikes Back is one of the most influential movies of modern cinema. Before I go on, I said a very similar thing about A New Hope, but I think it's even more true of this film. Because The Empire Strikes Back started what has so commonly been looked at as inspiration to so many stories. Now that that's said I'm gonna move onto the story.
The story is perfect in how it's laid out. It's a nonstop adventure that slows down exactly when it's supposed to. This movie in a way sets the precedent for what a sequel should be. It has a lot of the building blocks that have been used to make some of the greatest sequels of all time. Luke's time on Dagobah is probably in itself one of my favorite parts of star wars. This being the only one from the original trilogy without a death star. And I think that is an example of why this works so well. There are obviously antagonists in this film. But there isn't a looming effect from an antagonist such as the death star. Until the story of the characters has them run into the antagonist. And that is something a lot of writers could learn from. And the other two films handle that antagonist system well, it can just be done poorly in a lot of storytelling.
How do you make an iconic character? I don't know, but George Lucas knew how. Each character in this film is iconic. That can't be argued. Everyone knows Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, Darth Vader, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, Lando. These are all some of the most iconic characters in all of, everything. Everyone knows at least one of those names. And that's kind of insane. How George Lucas went from writing what was going to be The Tragedy of Darth Vader. And ended up writing these legendary stories and characters. And this film is when the characters are at their best.
Visually stunning. I think the cinematography is greatly improved from the first one. The colors, though I know they have been remastered in a few spots. But the colors are incredible. All around, the lighting and colors blend in this movie in a very pleasing way. I have to mention the poster of this film first because I don't know when else I'll be able to talk about it and the other three posters for the original trilogy films. Because I love the poster's designs. They really bring together the feeling of star wars. This grand space opera of a film series in these paintings, that's all. Quickly, the stop motion with different models, particularly the AT-AT's looks great. All of those inclusions are still something that should be looked back upon for practical film making.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a masterpiece. There is a reason for its status as the best of the Star Wars films. I myself didn't watch the Star Wars films until later in my childhood, unlike a lot of people. But after some various rewatches this is secured as my favorite Star Wars film.