With “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” coming up, I figured it would be good to revisit the Star Wars classic, “The Empire Strikes Back” and find out what makes it a classic. Whether “The Last Jedi” will be the “Empire Strikes Back” of the new trilogy has come under debate recently among fans. Some fans are hoping that TLJ will be the perfect sequel to “The Force Awakens”, much like how ESB was to the original. But what really makes the 2nd Movie (or 5th, whatever) so amazing? Let’s look at the original movie and figure it out.

The famous George Lucas franchise had already gained a large following, and in 1980, the fans were eager for a new classic sequel to the original. Fans already had high expectations for the movie. So when fans went to the movie and saw that iconic text scroll, they got a sense of nostalgia. That text scroll is just the beginning of the genius behind the franchise. The famous yellow text scroll against a starry galaxy is a defining feature of the series as a whole. It is one of those movie moments where one truly doesn’t mind having to read. Not only does it serve as a helpful reminder of what happened in the previous movie, but it also gives people that sense of nostalgia I mentioned earlier.

As the movie opens up, we are thrown into the beginning of a conflict between the Rebels and the Empire. But before any action starts, we are reintroduced to all of the classic characters from the original movie. The movie understands that we are familiar with these characters already, and doesn’t dwell on any pointless character development. Luke is the first of these characters that we get to see again. He is out on the frozen wasteland of Hoth, and immediately he is ambushed by a Yeti and is taken to a cave. It is this kind of opening that shows a “mini-plot” that immediately grabs our attention. The music control in these opening scenes is also very subtle but cunning. A symphony will be playing in the background during most scenes, but will occasionally sneak in the occasional recognizable tune from some of the famous Star Wars soundtracks. The attention to detail helps make this scene much more memorable. Before Han goes out to try and find Luke, we are given a foreshadowing of one of the main themes, which is relationships. Han and Leia are trying to figure out what they are in terms of their brief relationship from the last movie. We will go into more detail on this later. Overall, this opening scene/mini-plot is really a fan service that ended up being a classic part of the movie. It introduced all the classic characters well with and gave them all a signifying moment (such as Luke using the force to get his Lightsaber, or Han saving Luke) that made the intro more fun to watch.

When the introduction plot is finally resolved, the movie doesn’t hesitate to bring us right into the main plot. Darth Vader is reintroduced to us and is shown to still be the ruthless killer we knew from the last movie. He gets a force-choke kill early on, but it’s not exaggerated. Nobody seems to react much to the kill, which further goes to show how cold the empire is. The main attack on the rebel base is in full force at this point, and our main characters have to escape. Luke joins his flight squad and tries to stop the AT-AT’s in an iconic battle. This opening battle is known as a classic today despite the old special effects. The irony is that these effects are what boosts the re-watch value of this movie and this scene in particular. They have a charm to them. It’s good to look back and see how far we’ve come in the movie industry. During the attacks with the X-Wing fighters and before we get to see Luke be badass, we are brought back to reality with a few deaths of Luke’s fellow pilots. This is a reminder that the movie is not all fun and games, and that there is a real conflict with real consequences. After that, Luke has to crash land and find a way to help on foot. Rather than have the AT-AT walkers just get destroyed with a simple laser blast, Luke has to take down one of the walkers with a harpoon wire trip, and another with a grenade blast. These unconventional victories remind us of the hero Luke has started to become. When the battle is reaching its climax, Darth Vader storms into the base in search of Luke, and the way he enters is very reminiscent of the original entrance of Darth Vader in the first movie. The whole scene is a nod to the beauty of that first scene from Episode Four. In just the first act, the movie has effectively reintroduced the main characters and managed to give us a stunning action scene. This perfect pacing is what keeps us from getting bored while watching this movie.

Luke decides to follow a vision he had earlier and go to the Dagobah Galaxy where the infamous ‘Yoda’ dwells. I would like to mention that Yoda is somehow one of the most hilarious characters in the movie and still manages to be one of most powerful beings in the entire Star Wars universe. His model is similar to a gremlin Muppet, his voice is so hard to take seriously, and he acts like a toddler when he is first introduced. I got a good laugh out of him. Regardless of jokes, Yoda is what changes Luke’s character arc. In the first movie, Luke is a poor farmer that becomes a humble leader for the alliance. This story, on the other hand, focuses on Luke getting specific revenge for himself rather than for the alliance. Another big difference from the original movie is the focus of the theme. The main theme that I picked up from this movie was “Relationships”. I already mentioned Han and Leia figuring out if they were actually in love with each other. We are never really even given a direct answer in this movie. Leia seems resistant to Han in the beginning, but Leia later pronounces her love for Han as he is about to be frozen in carbon, and he only replies with an “I know”. There are other relationships too, such as the Father-son relationship Luke discovers, the Master-trainee between Yoda and Luke, and the friendship between the main characters. Throughout Luke’s training, he is torn between the friendship and his training and is forced to make a decision. Later on, he has to factor in the Father-son relationship too. Luke eventually decides, for better or for worse, that his friend are the most important. This makes Luke much more of a relatable character. He makes a real, human decision to help his friends that has consequences, including losing his hand.

While Luke is training, the other characters go to meet up with Lando Calrissian, a long friend of Han’s. When we first meet him, he immediately feels like a real guy we all know. He is given a good backstory and goes through his own character development. Lando is a perfect example of a new character who was needed in order to strengthen the plot. We learn to hate him for betraying Han, and eventually forgive him as he comes to terms with what he has done. When Luke finally shows up to the base, we already know that he is falling into a trap Vader has set for him. When Vader and Luke finally meet up, Vader attempts to corrupt Luke. Right as they begin to duel, the whole scene is draped with this feeling of suspense. As they are in the midst of a heated battle, they engage in very tense back and forth dialogue. The whole scene is well choreographed and the lightsaber duel is much better than the original “Obi-wan versus Darth Vader”. The saber swipes look as if they have real weight to them rather than the tapping of sabers in the original. When Luke is finally driven to the edge of the giant pit, Vader tries to convince him once more by pulling out his hidden card. He reveals to the Luke that he is Luke’s father. This was probably the biggest shocker in the film industry at the time. It was a huge turn around for everyone and Luke has a special resonance with the viewers simply because he is in shock and even denial like we were. This causes Luke to make his big decision to stay with the Light side when he jumps off into the pit. Rather than give in, he decides to reject his Father’s proposition and rely on his friends.

At the end of the first movie, it seemed as if there wasn’t a need for a sequel. They took out the death star, and it seemed that there wasn’t much to expand on. The surprise we got with a sequel was a huge factor in the movie’s success. It was able to create a plot that was so much different compared to the original but still felt new, and it managed to leave us with a cliffhanger that hinted at the third movie.

“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” was a masterpiece that stood alone compared to the first film. I think that “The Last Jedi” has all the pieces in place to be just as good compared to “The Force Awakens”. Similar characters to the Fifth movie are already there, a twist has been planned, and an intriguing supporting cast has been revealed. As long as the plot is not a copy of “The Empire Strikes Back”, then Disney can really show off and create a classic that will be talked about for years.