"Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"

Title: "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"

Director: Irvin Kershner
Producers: G. Kurtz, G. Lucas, and R. McCallum
Editing: P. Hirsch
Composer: John Williams
Starring:
- Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
- Harrison Ford as Han Solo
- Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa
- David Prowse as Darth Vader
- James Earl Jones as 'The Voice Of' Darth Vader
- Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
- Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
- Kenny Baker as R2-D2.
- Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca

- Jeremy Bulloch as Boba Fett
- Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi

Plot and Critical Review: Despite the destruction of the Death Star, the Rebel Alliance has suffered many setbacks and the Empire's vast military force has driven the rebels into hiding. Some members of the Alliance establish a hidden base on the bleak, remote ice planet of Hoth. Darth Vader, having become obsessed with finding Luke Skywalker, has multiple probe droids dispatched throughout the galaxy; one of which lands on Hoth. While patrolling near the base, Luke sees a meteor (actually an Imperial probe droid) strike the planet surface and tells Han Solo that he is going to investigate. While searching the area, Luke is attacked and knocked unconscious by a Wampa, a snow creature indigenous to the planet. Back at the base, Han Solo announces his intention to leave the Rebellion to pay off a debt to Jabba the Hutt, much to Princess Leia's displeasure. When Luke does not return that evening, Han decides to travel through an approaching storm to find Luke, who has since been trapped by the Wampa in a cave. Using The Force, Luke manages to retrieve his lightsaber to free himself and slice off the Wampa's arm in order to escape. Escaping from the creature's lair, Luke almost immediately succumbs to the freezing cold and collapses. The spirit of his late mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, appears before him and instructs him to go to the planet Dagobah to train under Jedi Master Yoda. Han manages to find Luke in time and uses the body of his own Tauntaun, which died due to exposure, to provide a shelter for Luke. They are rescued the following morning by a search team sent from Echo Base.

Meanwhile, the Imperial probe droid Luke was previously searching for locates the Rebel base and reports its location to the Imperial Fleet. An attack on the discovered base is ordered by Vader while the Rebels prepare to evacuate and disperse. The Imperial forces eventually overpower the Rebels using gigantic AT-AT Walkers and capture the base. Han and Leia escape on the Millennium Falcon with C-3PO and Chewbacca, but they are unable to enter hyperspace because of technical difficulties. They evade pursuit in an asteroid field where Han and Leia begin to grow closer to each other. Frustrated at having lost the Millennium Falcon, Vader turns to several notorious bounty hunters, including Boba Fett, to assist in locating the missing ship.

Luke escapes from Hoth with R2-D2 and travels to Dagobah, where he meets Yoda. After a period of intensive training, Luke has premonitions of Han and Leia in pain. Against Yoda's advice, Luke leaves to save his friends, promising to return to complete his training. As they watch Luke depart, the spirit of Obi-Wan laments that Luke is their last hope. Yoda disagrees and reminds Obi-Wan that "there is another".

Having escaped the Imperial forces, but unaware that they are being tracked by Boba Fett, Han's party sets a course for Cloud City, a floating gas mining colony in the skies of the planet Bespin, which is run by Han's old friend Lando Calrissian. Shortly after they arrive at Cloud City, Lando turns them over to Vader to be used as bait in a trap for Luke. Lando then reveals to Han and Leia that he was forced to betray them to prevent the occupation of his city by the Empire.

Vader intends to hold Luke in suspended animation via carbon freezing, and selects Han as a test subject for the process. Before Han is frozen in the carbonite freezing chamber and taken to Jabba the Hutt, Leia professes her love for him. Han simply replies, "I know". Vader gives Han's hibernating form to Boba Fett, who plans to present the body as "prize" to Jabba the Hutt. Later, after Vader effectively reneges the deal, Lando helps Leia and the others escape, insisting that there is still a chance to save Han. Despite their efforts, Boba Fett makes off with Han, forcing Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando to make an escape on the Falcon.

Luke arrives at Cloud City and falls into Vader's trap. They engage in a lightsaber duel in which Vader quickly gains the advantage and cuts off Luke's right hand. With Luke cornered, Vader tempts Luke with the offer to rule the galaxy alongside him, making the revelation that he is in fact Luke's father. Shocked, Luke refuses Vader's proclamations, and throws himself down the air shaft until he reaches a tube system that ejects him onto an antenna attached to the underbelly of the floating city. He makes a desperate telepathic plea to Leia, who senses Luke's distress from aboard the Falcon and persuades Lando to return for him. They rescue Luke as TIE fighters close in and escape from the planet. Luke is taken aboard a Rebel medical frigate and fitted with an artificial hand. As Luke, Leia, R2-D2 and C-3PO look on from the medical frigate, Lando and Chewbacca depart for Tatooine to free Han as the Rebel Fleet amasses in preparations to strike back at the Empire.

I really enjoyed digging up some lesser-known facts about "A New Hope". Permit me to do the same here with "Empire Strikes Back":

- Approximate Budget: $18 million (One of the most expensive films of its day.)

- Approximate Income from Initial Theatre Release: $538 million

- The Writers and Directors Guild fined George Lucas $250,000 for placing the credits at the end of the film. They allowed it with "A New Hope", even though it was unusual for the credits to come at the end of a film during that time. Lucas wanted the credits to roll at the end to keep the look of the film series consistent.

- It cost approx. $250,000 to produce and record the entire soundtrack for "The Empire Strikes Back"

- It is reported that, during the filming of the extensive scenes on Dagobah in which Luke trains to become a Jedi Knight, Mark Hamill became quite resentful of being the only human actor on set. He was applauded for his efforts in working with puppets and animatronic creatures. At the time it was somewhat rare for so much human-puppet interaction to happen on screen; another ground-breaking elements of the "Star Wars" trilogy.

- Emperor Palpatine's voice was provided by Cline Revill, but Elaine Baker did all of the physical acting. Ian McDiarmid portrayed Palpatine in "Return of the Jedi" and the prequel films.

- The script indicated that Han Solo would say "I love you, too" when Leia confessed her love for him. Harrison Ford didn't feel the line fit Han's character and, after a couple takes, improvised the now legendary, "I know."

My Rating: 8/10

Content to Caution:
V-2 - Violence and action consistent with Episode IV. Fistfights, blaster duels, and one dismemberment as a result of a lightsaber duel.
L-.5 - No comment.
DU-1 - No comment.
RT-0 - No comment.
H/S-2 - Big works live in asteroids. Deal with it.
CH-1 - No comment.
S/N-1 - "You're trembling." - "I'm not trembling."

The "Reel Revelation": "A Galaxy (Not So) Far, Far Away - Pt. 5"

Have you ever been in a job or taken a position in which your employer or supervisor offered to pay for training so you could strengthen your gifts? Perhaps you're offered the opportunity to go away for a week to a conference where you can learn from experts in a certain field. Maybe your employer is willing to purchase instructional material so you can pick up tips and strategies to help you in certain elements of your job or position. Whatever the situation may be, we ought to feel privileged to have employers or supervisors that care enough about our success (and the success of their company through our performance) to help us get in touch with the right people/resources so we can improve upon the gifts we already have. As Christians we must realize that God is concerned with the very same thing; the strengthening of our gifts for our good and the extension of His Kingdom.

In "The Empire Strikes Back", Luke Skywalker spends over half of the film on the swampy and overgrown planet of Dagobah receiving instruction from Yoda, an 800-year-old Jedi Master. Yoda challenges Luke on physical, emotional, and intellectual levels as he trains him to become a Jedi Knight. While Luke displays obvious improvement in his abilities, his greatest test isn't in the physical conditioning or the many exercises in which he learns to manipulate The Force; his greatest challenge is when he must face the flaws of his own character.

If you've ever trained for an event (or a job or a certain task, etc.), you've probably experienced the same sort of ultimate challenge. You can go over a certain exercise a hundred times or learn a certain skill forwards and backwards. You can tone and strengthen your body so it will react to your every command. You can memorize information and perfect your knowledge of any given task. But the final challenge in almost all training - the challenge which we all must face and overcome in order to put our training to good use - is in confronting ourselves and achieving victory over the self, itself.

Luke fails to do so. As soon as he senses that Han and Leia are in trouble he decides to forsake his training and help them. Even though Yoda and Obi-Wan (who appears in apparition form) tell Luke that he is not ready to face Vader, Luke's concern for his friends drives him to leave the planet. His heart might have been in the right place, but by the end of the movie Luke is no better off, having lost a hand in a lightsaber duel with Vader and unable to save Han from carbonization. Have you ever disobeyed the instructions of your teacher and, even though you thought you were doing what was best, ended up in more trouble because of your disobedience? When we train, we must commit ourselves to the process, no matter how grueling, and see it to the end. Consider how much more important this sort of commitment is when it comes to the spiritual training we receive from Our Lord!

None of us are born ready to complete the tasks God has for us. We come into the world and begin to learn at once. We learn to recognize certain faces and voices. We learn how to respond to simple commands and, by our natural instinct, how to let others know when we're hungry or tired. All of our squirming strengthens our muscles and, before long, we learn how to keep our balance and support our own weight. Then we walk. Then we talk. And only after countless repetition do we learn the basic functions of human life. The very same sort of repetition is a crucial element in our spiritual training and growth.

- In learning to forgive, we must forgive ourselves and take up the "practice" of accepting God's forgiving grace each and every day. This inward discipline will help us as we seek to forgive others. (Eph. 4:32)

- In learning to trust, we must realize our weaknesses and confess that we can't do it all on our own. This will help us to lean upon the grace of God and the presence of those whom God sends to help us. (Psalm 28:7)

- In learning to love, we must turn away from our own inclinations and choose to love others through the heart of Christ. Whatever natural love we might have to offer is but straw compared to the love of God which we experience and share through Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:1-2)

- In learning to surrender, we must realize that if we had our own way, our plans would surely fail every time. We are too full of sin and sinful behavior to ever fulfill God's calling on our own. Without Him we are lost, but in Him we are found, and in Him we find an abundance of love and grace that teaches us to lay ourselves aside and submit our lives for His good and good purposes. (James 4:7-10)

We will be in spiritual training until the day God calls us to Himself. Do not miss out on an opportunity to learn from Jesus, for in learning from Him we have the opportunity to become more like Him. Pray that the Spirit will open your eyes and help you to see opportunities to "practice" the spiritual disciplines Jesus teaches.

See you tomorrow - E.T.