Favorite Movie #5 - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Hello friends and fellow film enthusiasts!  Today I begin a five day series that will delve into my top 5 favorite movies of all time, and will include detailed reviews on all of them.  Making this list was extremely hard; more so about the number 4 and 5 slots because the top 3 was very easy for me to come up with.  I'm going to go ahead and assume that the majority of you have seen these movies as they are all well known, with a couple of them being some of the most successful movies of all time. Throughout this list you will see appearances from my 5 favorite actors along with my favorite actress.  Spoiler.  I did cheat a bit, and make #4 a tie between two films, but they are somewhat similar in nature so I don't feel too bad.  Number 5 was the hardest choice, but The Empire Strikes Back gets the nod as it is my favorite film in the entire Star Wars Saga which is very dear to my heart.

The first Star Wars film is perhaps one of the most groundbreaking movies to have ever been made in the history of Hollywood.  Despite its overall legacy, the first Star Wars I feel is the weakest of the original trilogy with The Empire Strikes Back being the strongest.  It amazes me to this day when I talk to someone, and it comes up that they have never seen any of the Star Wars movies.  Now I understand that not everyone is a die hard film fan like I am, but come on.  The Star Wars movies are classics, and are some of the most influential pieces of art to have ever been made.  But enough of that; lets get to the movie.

At the time of the release of The Empire Strikes Back; sequels were a risky proposition in the world of film.  Star Wars was wildly successful, the Death Star had been destroyed, and the ending made the film appear as a one shot deal.  However once everyone involved realized just how much money that Star Wars had made, it became a no brainer that a sequel would be in the works.  Now I saw the Star Wars movies in a really messed up order.  The first one I saw was episode 3, and the last one I saw was episode 6.  I don't even remember what came in between, but it was jacked up to say the least.  But the one I remember the most was The Empire Strikes Back.  The first sequence on the planet Hoth might be one of the most memorable of all time.  The AT-AT's were so awesome along with the snow speeders, and were absolutely riveting the whole time.  Watching it now as I have matured, I can really appreciate the originality of the story and how the characters continued to develop.  One thing sequels are guilty of are failing to continue character development, and The Empire Strikes Back blows that critique out of the water.  The Han Solo- Princess Leia relationship developed from a flirtatious fling into a legitimate romance.  It also continued to show how caring and passionate Luke Skywalker truly was; as it came off to me that he lacked passion in the first Star Wars.  But perhaps the most important element was the heavy emphasis on the greatest villain in movie history:  Darth Vader.  I also felt that Darth Vader was underused in the first film, and his heavier presence in the sequel played a large part in my enjoyment of the movie.  Sure I liked Darth Maul and The Emperor, but there really is no comparison when put up against Darth Vader.  Throw in the greatest cinematic reveal in the history of film, and the Luke Skywalker- Darth Vader relationship skyrockets to the top of movie lore.  I also really enjoyed how there were two separate stories happening at the same time; with them eventually connecting with each other at the end.  You had them together at the beginning on Hoth; then they split with Luke going to train with Yoda while Han and Leia spent the majority of the film escaping the Empire.  Then they meet up on Bespin with Han frozen in carbonite and Luke missing half an arm.  The pacing was fantastic; most notably weaving in and out of the slower paced dramatic scenes with Luke and Yoda, and the fast paced action with Han and Leia.  Beautiful.  Most people are already impressed with the film by the time they get to the final lightsaber battle, but that final sequence just cements the movie as an instant classic.  It's classic David and Goliath, but with lightsabers.  Who wouldn't want some of that?

 Throw in some awesome appearances by secondary characters like Boba Fett and Lando Calrissean makes my inner nerd just geek out.  Also the comedic relief given by the droids serves as a breath of fresh air in a sometimes heavy movie.  Its really hard to find negatives in this movie, and that only plays into why this movie is one of my favorites of all time.  All movies on this list have a huge re-watchability factor, and I think that is important when selecting your "favorite" movies.  I have a deep appreciation for the Star Wars saga as a whole, but for these reasons layed out before you; I feel this is the best one.

Thanks for reading todays post; I hope you enjoyed it! Tune in tomorrow to see which film comes in at the number 4 slot.  Let me know what some of your favorite movies are, and if you like any of the ones I chose.  Again, if you have any recommendations on movies to review just let me know.  Well until next time, stay tuned and have a great rest of your day.

-  Big D