Sunday, May 9, 2010

Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back Is A Science Fiction Classic

By Eric Pierce

Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back is one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The movie has something for everyone, and can be re-watched over and over again. The acting is great and the story is compelling. The Star Wars universe is a great place to escape to, especially these days with the recession still hanging over people's heads.

The reason that it is one of the best science fiction movies made is because it takes the viewer on such a great journey. It starts out on the ice planet of Hoth, were the rebels, after blowing up the first Death Star, have had to run to hide for a while. The planet is barely inhabitable. Yet the rebels have taken refuge there thinking that the evil Empire will not be able to track them out there.

This movie wouldn't have much of an appeal if the whole of the action took place on Hoth, so it makes sense that we are treated, early on, to one of the greatest battles in the Star Wars universe. The ground battle for Hoth proves just how determined the rebels were to keep doing what they were doing. They weren't even trying to win, they simply wanted to stall the Empire long enough to get out of the system before getting blown to hell.

They do escape, barely. Luke splits ways to go visit Yoda, who is supposed to train him in the ways of the force. This training with Yoda shows just how far away Luke is from being the hero that it seems he will eventually become. He is just a kid, trying to do something that is a lot bigger than him. And maybe, just maybe, he isn't really up to the challenge.

At the same time, Han, Leia, Chewie and C-3PO are still on the run. They weren't able to completely lose their pursuers as they left Hoth. While people watch them on the run, they can get a real sense of what is going on with this rebellion. It isn't just some grand ideal, it is a handful of people that are being relentlessly pursued by an organization that has nearly unlimited resources.

Eventually everyone makes it to Bespin. In this Cloud City Luke learns, in one of the most epic moments in movie history, that Darth Vader is his father. And even after that, even after all the fighting everyone has had to do in the movie, the only victory that the rebels really get is that most of them get away. Han doesn't make it out with them, after having been frozen and taken away by Boba Fett, but the rest of the characters do manage to make a break for it by the end.

The whole movie is about a handful of people on the run from a huge organization. This is why it works so well and why it has lasted as such an iconic movie for so long. This is the quintessential underdog story. The group that has no move but to be on the run.

It brings up a lot of points in the modern world. Once a group like the rebels is able to take out a large target, they have to hide, run, and cower in fear from the overwhelming storm of anger coming from the people they have attacked. This happens all the time in the real world. In the real world, though, most people have no idea what is going on with the people that are on the run. There story isn't told usually, and most people have to wait and wonder what it might be like to live in such a seemingly hopeless situation.

Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back hits a very emotional note. And by the end, there is really nothing to tell us that everything is going to be okay. There is no way to know what will become of Han or the rebellion. But there is a glimpse, at the end of the movie, of the fleet of ships the rebels have collected. For the first time it seems that, perhaps, they might just have a chance of winning, if there truly are that many people that are fighting back against the Empire. But everyone seems to lose in this movie. The good guys have to stay in hiding, the bad guys don't capture the people they wanted. No one gets what they want. And sometimes isn't that just how life is?

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