science fiction

The Empire Strikes Back Movie Review

Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill
Enter a review
of your own!
"The Empire Strikes Back"
Message Board
Star Wars Movies Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR: David Loftus

SCHOLARS:
steve  Artemis  Steph Swanger  trotsky  sayruh  Ken Carper  Brandy Todd  dvader 999  Kyle  Ketwol  
Would you like to be a scholar and make five dollars per review? Click here to submit a review!
Review Summaries
"This film is almost equal to Star Wars. The special effects and music are brilliant. Even 20 years later, these things still haven't dated. In this film you get a better idea of just how difficult it can be to fight. The angst between Han Solo and Leia is finally solved with their romance. Luke finds out that his battle with the Empire and Darth Vader has become a lot more complicated."
trotsky, Resident Scholar

"Four years after the events in the original "Star Wars," the rebels have set up their base on the ice planet of Hoth. Luke nearly dies in the cold, and the rebels decamp after the Empire locates them and attacks with walkers (that are so spindly and vulnerable that no military strategist would build, let alone deploy, them). Han takes most of the crew to the Cloud City on the planet Bespin, where hopes his old gambling buddy Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams, in one of the best supporting performances in the series), while Luke follows the advice of Obi-Wan's shade and seeks out Yoda on the jungle planet Dagobah for further Jedi training. In many ways, the second "Star Wars" film to hit the screen (in 1980) is the best: directed by veteran Irvin Kershner and co-written by scifi great Leigh Brackett (she died after completing the first draft) and up-and-comer Lawrence Kasdan (shortly to do "Body Heat" and "The Big Chill"), the rest of the crew rose to the occasion. The viewer is treated to a variety of locales and terrains but (unlike more recent efforts) with comparably strong acting and script. There are some big plot twists, and no more vivid emotional moment than when Han goes into carbon freezing and Leia confesses her love to him."
David Loftus, Resident Star Wars Scholar

"My personal favorite of the original Star Wars Trilogy. Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca and the droids are back, but this time Darth Vader and the Empire, still pissed off about their blown-up Death Star, do most of the butt kicking. The Rebels have set up camp on the ice world Hoth where an ice creature rips Luke a new one. Luke has a vision where Obi-wan Kenobie tells him to go visit his old jedi master, Yoda, then Han comes along and saves him. Then the Empire invades the Rebels' base and sends them fleeing for their lives. Luke decides to go find Yoda and Han and Leia, the hyperdrive on their ship being unoperational, have a tough time of it trying to escape the Empire fleet, though they manage to evade them for a while by flying into an asteroid field. Meanwhile Luke goes to Degoba and meets Yoda and starts learning the ways of the force. Yhe bounty hunter Boba Fett follows Han and Leia to Cloud City where Han hopes to obtain refuge with an old friend named Lando. Lando betrays them in a deal to keep the Empire from interfering with his mining business and Han gets frozen in carbonite and turned over to Boba Fett, who wants to collect from Jabba the Hutt. Darth Vader hangs around and waits for Luke to show up so he can take him to the Emperor and turn him to the dark side of the force. A lightsaber battle ensues between Luke and Darth Vader- you can almost see Darth yawning as he easily fends off everything Luke's can dish out. Darth chops off Luke hand and reveals that he's his father, which doesn't exactly make Luke's day. Lando frees Leia and Chewbacca and helps them escape and save Luke. The movie ends as Luke gets fitted with prostethic hand nad Lando and Chewbacca setting off to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt. The most realistic Star wars movie, has something for everyone, great acting, bad acting ("No! That't not true! That's impossible!"), violence, romance, spiritual philosophy, etc."
sayruh, Resident Star Wars Scholar

"The Rebellion crumbles under a renewed Imperial assault led by Darth Vader. Han Solo and Princess Leia try to evade capture, while Luke Skywalker seeks out the last Jedi Master. An exciting but dark continuation of the Star Wars story."
Artemis, Resident Star Wars Scholar

"Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia return in this sequel to Star Wars in which they continue their battle against the evil of Darth Vader and the Galactic Empire."
Steph Swanger, Resident Star Wars Scholar

"Darth Vader hunts down Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, freezing one and lopping off the hand of the other. Look for Boba Fett's cameo."
steve, Resident Star Wars Scholar


Click above for the new Obama Girl Parody video!

Overall Review
Our unique search engine breaks down books and movies into
dozens of literary elements, all of which are searchable.
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzle - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%




**Fantasy or Science Fiction?** - science fiction story
Coming of age Yes
he'll/she'll become: - guardian of justice
Mental/Magical powers focus Yes
kind of powers: - clash between people with mental powers
War and Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - sword fights - laser battles
Part of a series? - Star Wars

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - military pilot
Age: - 20's-30's
Has special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - telekinesis - can see into the future
Hair color? - blonde
Hair type - (man) short/medium straight
Body type - average (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor? - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Secondary Main Character
Identity: - Male
Hair color - brunette (Brown)
Hair style - (man) short/standard straight
Body type - average build (man)
How much in movie? - 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Has special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - telekinesis
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - 60%
Body type - muscular (man)
Intelligence - Average Intelligence
Physical condition - average physique
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant

Setting
Spaceship setting: - futuristic human freighter/transport - one or two man fighter/scoutship - futuristic human warship
A substantial portion of this movie takes place on a non-Earth planetary body: - humans in a futuristic society - empty, or nearly empty world
Planet outside our solar system? Yes
Takes place in spaceship? Yes
Ice world? Yes
In Space? - asteroid

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Kinds of F/X - exploding bombs - exploding spaceships - exotic spaceships - exotic aliens - exotic big cities - exotic alien landscape
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE... - Orchestra/classical
Most similar reviews by Gordonator ranking
Star Wars: A New Hope starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
Star Wars Movies starring Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith starring Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman/Hershlag
Return of the Jedi starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford
The Phantom Menace starring Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson
Think you can enter a better review
of this movie? Click here to try!





Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Try our new Star Wars & Star Trek puzzle pictures! Click here

Advertise with us
Feedback
Star Wars Revenge of the Sith plot spoilers
Hobbits
The politics game
The lawyer game

3 Movie search options!
1) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
2) Detailed movie search
(click here)
or

3) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot below!

Animal Story

Clones

Coming of age

Cultural problems, alien culture

Explore/1st contact/ enviro story

Family relations

GIANT monster(s)

Horror story?

Inner Struggle

Lifeform altered?

Mental/magical powers focus

Parody

Political power play

Religious overtones?

Repressive society story

Robots, Computers, VR

Romance

Spying & Investigations

Tech./$$$/Info hunt

Time Travel story?

Training/Apprent.

War or Invasion


Games:
Trivia Masters!

Rescue your favorite
scifi characters from
slavery!


Talk to your favorite
scifi characters!


Eating New Yorkers
Computer Game


Pomeranians

Most recent TV & Movie discussions:

A Boy and His Dog: A Boy and His Dog 11/6/2009 2:19:36 PM

Lord of the Rings: Why would Aragorn choose pig lips Arwen Evenstar over Eowyn? 11/3/2009 7:25:02 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Was Battlestar Galactica politically conservative? 11/1/2009 9:51:45 AM

Battlestar Galactica: Why were the Cylons so slow and thinking impaired? 10/31/2009 8:36:52 PM

Blade Runner: Blade Runner 10/22/2009 2:43:11 AM

Star Trek Enterprise: Jolene Blalock on T'Pol and Star Trek Enterprise 10/19/2009 2:48:46 PM

Charmed: If Piper Halliwell gets pregnant, can Leo give her an abortion? 10/3/2009 12:29:33 PM

Star Wars: Why did stormtroopers wear armor that didn't work against blasters? 9/30/2009 9:48:47 PM

Charmed: Can Rose McGowan fill Shannen Dougherty's... whatevers? 9/29/2009 1:58:56 AM

The Omen: The Omen 9/8/2009 5:27:24 PM


Newest slaves:
Boob Raider (Angelina Jolie) 6:17:43 PM
Jordan Radcliffe 6:16:33 PM
Sara Pezzini Fettucini 6:15:30 PM
The chick from Sliders 6:04:06 PM
K-9 5:58:13 PM
Crazy Kimberly 5:57:33 PM
Penny Robinson 5:50:37 PM
Xev 5:49:49 PM
Wonder Woman 5:48:58 PM
Daniel Craig James Bond 5:47:41 PM
All slaves
(click here)


Celebrity interviews:
President George W. Bush 6:32:00 PM
Jan-Michael Vincent 2:16:51 PM
Captain Kathryn Janeway 3:47:46 PM
Jack ONeill (Richard Dean Anderson) 1:39:22 PM
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) 5:01:07 PM
All celebrities
(click here)