Winter in July Blogathon – Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) – Encore Review 4

This is my final of three reviews for the Winter in July Blogathon being run by Debra over at Moon in Gemini.

Tnx for letting me take part!

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“Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself. ” – Dak

Number of Times Seen – At least 30 times (Cable, Video, DVD, 19 Jan 2014, 17 Apr 2015, 27 Feb 2017, 11 Jan 2018 and 10 Jul 2018)

Link to original review – Here, Here , Here and Here

Brief Synopsis – The Empire sends out probes across the galaxy in order to find the hidden base of the Rebel Alliance in order to stop them.

My Take on it – While thinking of films to watch and review for this blogathon, one of my first thoughts was this film.

Although this film only has 35 minutes or so of a winter-y atmosphere, it is so integral to the plot and the overall storyline of the entire series.

This is one of my favorite films of the entire Star Wars series and that has a lot to do with the fact that it has one of the darkest storylines of the series and also feels the most episodic of the films which helps make it all feel so much more realistic.

The cast of this film is great and the return of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and ark Hamill is wonderful since they all have such great chemistry together.

The banter between the characters is quite enjoyable to watch especially as we also get to see the budding relationship between Han and Leia as they try to avoid the clutches of the Empire.

This film gives us the opportunity to see four different climates in this universe and each of the worlds presented are truly wondrous to watch especially sue to the amazing special effects.

We get snow, jungle, a city in the clouds and of course some badass asteroids that are huge and help make the story feel like a game of hide and seek.

They do a great job developing the characters that we already know while also introducing us to some really interesting new ones who become integral to the overall storyline of the series.

The special effects of this film are unbelievable to watch and help make things feel even more realistic and genuine. The “lived-in” feeling of the entire galaxy says so much about George Lucas’ vision of this universe.

The music of the film is my favorite soundtrack of the films and I can listen to it over and over without getting bored.

My favorite track is the Imperial March [which I’ve stated on more than occasion also happens to be the ringtone on my phone for my ex-wife ;)]

This is such an amazing film and it’s easy to make a case for this being the best film in the entire Star Wars film series.

Bottom Line – Amazing addition to the Star Wars universe that still remains the best of the entire series due to the dark nature of it all and the episodic nature of the story that feels like it’s only a part of a larger story. The cast is spectacular and its always fun to watch the banter between the characters as we also get to see the budding relationship between Han and Leia during these bouts of tension between them. The scenes set in the different climates really show the diverse nature of these locations and we get to see worlds featuring full landscapes of Snow, Swamp and clouds, not to mention some really badass rocks in the asteroid field. The story develops the characters that we already know from the previous film and introduces us to some great new ones too. The special effects are amazing to watch because they help make this film feel so realistic. The music of this film is quite iconic and also remains my favorite of all of the films in the series. My favorite is obviously the Imperial March (which as I’ve mentioned before is the theme I use on my cellphone for my ex-wife). Such an amazing film!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Mark Hamill had to bang his head sixteen times on the ceiling of Yoda’s hut before director Irvin Kershner was satisfied. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10) (no change from original review)

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