It's obvious to most movie fans that Star Wars Episode IV deserves tons of praise for being the first in its respective series and also for spawning one of the biggest cultural phenomenons of all time, but in my view, The Empire Strikes Back is superior. I have seen someone state this already, but I will say it again here, as it is a very good reason why this movie is arguably better: character development. We get introduced to the main cast in A New Hope, but even by the end of that film, they're not fully fleshed out yet. We never really get to see how adept Luke is at using The Force, and Darth Vader, one of the most feared men in the galaxy, appears completely subservient to Peter Cushing's character, Grand Moff Tarkin. Episode V takes Star Wars in a risky direction, as Luke is separated from his friends for most of the runtime, but this decision totally paid off and I don't think the movie could have gone any better. The story picks up 3 whole years after Luke has destroyed the Death Star: the Empire's feared space station capable of obliterating entire planets. Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, the two most powerful men in the Empire, send floating droids all over the galaxy to locate the secret base of the Rebel Alliance (the empire's enemy), under the command of Luke's sister Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). Vader eventually finds what he's looking for and locates what looks like a stronghold on the frigid planet of Hoth. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is investigating an area around the rebel base and is attacked and nearly killed by a yeti-esque creature called a Wampa. Luke manages to slice off one of its arms with his lightsaber and is then rescued by Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Before being saved, Luke sees a vision of his late trainer, Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) telling him to travel to a planet called Dagobah for some reason. Confident they have the rebel base in their sights, the Imperials launch a brutal onslaught on it using huge, walking, mechanized assault vehicles called AT AT's that decimate everything in their path. Luke and a few other rebels pilot rather slow spaceships known as snowspeeders in order to destroy the imperial walkers by tying their legs with tow cables and then blasting the weak armor on their neck joints. Despite their best efforts, the base is hit too hard and has to evacuate. Leia, Han, C-3PO, Chewbacca and R2D2 pile into the Millennium Falcon, Solo's rather mediocre but dependable starship, and fly off just as Vader enters the hangar. Luke doesn't regroup with his allies right away, and instead flies to the planet Dagobah as Obi-Wan's ghost told him to. Upon arriving in the planet's atmosphere, he loses control of his X-Wing and crashes into a swamp. Here, he meets Yoda, a centuries old Jedi Master who trains Luke in the way of the force. While Han and the others try to elude Vader's fleet of ships and star destroyers by weaving through asteroid fields, Luke expresses frustration at the difficulty of his training. He knows the force seems to be a magical aura of divine, supernatural energy that surrounds everything and inhabits all living beings, but he is not willing to put up with the time required to bend it to his will. Yoda makes things easier for him and uses his mastery over the force to easily lift Luke's crashed spaceship out of the swamp using only his mind. Luke quits his training early to pursue his friends to a planet called Bespin, since he can tell they're walking into a trap. Concurrently, Han Solo and the others arrive at Cloud City on bespin; a huge floating metropolis situated entirely in the sky. There, they meet Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), who is a no good smuggler (like Han) and an old acquaintance of his. While on cloud city, Lando reveals to the group that he's actually betrayed them to the empire. Vader, accompanied by the ruthless bounty hunter Boba Fett, take Han to a specialized chamber where he is frozen in carbonite so Boba can transport him to Jabba the Hutt for a reward. As the group (minus Solo) tries to fight their way out of cloud city, Luke comes face to face with Vader. Even with the force training he has received, Luke is no match for the dark lord's lightsaber proficiency and powerful strikes. Vader corners Luke, severs his hand, and reveals he is actually his father. Vader wants his son to join him so they can kill Palpatine together and end this galactic war, but Luke refuses and lets himself fall down a waste disposal chute that leads directly out of cloud city. Barely managing to hang on to a flimsy piece of metal, Leia senses something isn't right and flies underneath cloud city to rescue her brother. The ship jumps to hyperspace, slipping out of Vader's grasp once again. Back on a rebel medical ship, Luke receives an artificial right hand, and Lando promises to look for his friend Solo. Aside from the fact that this is a star wars movie, there are no doubt a ton of other reasons why it is worthy of adoration. Probably the most visually obvious reason are the special effects. Despite being over 4 decades old, this movie still looks great, and the effects will always look good no matter what year it is. The battle on hoth is amazing. We see the empire's enormous AT AT tanks, and how even their footsteps cause destruction. We see the millennium falcon get chased by massive, dagger shaped spaceships. Most of all, we see much appreciated character development. Luke still hasn't mastered all his force powers by the end of this movie, but he's come a long way thanks to Yoda. Speaking of which, Frank Oz did a great job puppeteering him and basically created one of cinema's most beloved characters. Even the villains are interesting and likable. Vader I believe needs no introduction, but he contrasts heavily with how he was in the first film. He's completely in control here and does what he wants, unlike in episode IV where Tarkin bosses him around, and episode VI where Palpatine does. While still a cool bad guy, it's always annoyed me how Boba Fett is consistently ranked as one of star wars' most popular characters, mostly just because of how he looks. He only has 4 lines in this entire movie, but he's still memorable for being one of the few people who can talk back to Vader and still be alive afterwards. It's not like I need to state the obvious, but John Williams' score really serves to make an epic film even more epic. All I have to say for my closing remark is that The Empire Strikes Back has clearly secured its place as one of the most well made star wars films, which should be common knowledge for any fan of this immortal franchise.
