Rating of
3.5/4
A really strong follow-up to "Star Wars"
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/02/08
Time has past since the "Death Star" had been destroyed, and the "Imperial Empire" is determined to enact revenge on those responsible. And those who are responsible are now hidden on the snow and ice covered planet in the "Hoth" system.
As "Luke Skywalker" (Mark Hamill) and "Han Solo" (Harrison Ford) are surveying the area around the hidden "Rebel" base, "Skywalker" sees what he thinks is an asteroid impact the planet surface near him and goes to investigate as "Solo" returns to the base. As "Skywalker" is about to go to the impact spot, he is attacked by a large "Hoth" creature and is dragged away to the creature's shelter where the remains of previous meals are strewn around the cave floor -- including "Skywalker's" "tauntaun". "Solo" then goes back out as night falls, as does the temperature, to find "Skywalker", who has killed the creature and is visited by the spirit of "Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kenobi" (Alec Guiness) who tells him that he must go to the "Dagobah" system to find "Jedi Master Yoda" (voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz) to complete his training.
After a search party finds "Solo" and "Skywalker" the next morning, and "Skywalker" is nursed back to health in the base's medical section, the "Empire" forces attack. They are able to take over the base as the "Rebel" forces who survived the attack evacuate. "Skywalker," along with "Artoo-Detoo (R2-D2)" (Kenny Baker), head to "Dagobah" as the rest of the fleet go to the rendezvous, while the "Millenium Falcon," piloted by "Solo" and "Chewbacca" (David Mayhew), evaccuate "See-Threepio (C3-PO)" and "Princess Leia Organa" (Carrie Fisher).
Then, sometime after beginning his training with "Yoda", "Skywalker" gets a vision that his friends are in danger at a "city in the clouds" and leaves to help them against "Yoda's" demands, as well as those of "Kenobi".
But, what "Skywalker" doesn't know is that "Lord Darth Vader" (David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones) and the "Empire" forces has taken over "Cloud City", which was under the leadership of "Solo's" old friend "Lando Calrissian" (Billy Dee Williams), and captured his friends.
Now "Skywalker" may be their only hope.
This is a strong follow-up to the first film. It has action, suspense, and really good special effects. It also has strong performances from the cast.
The special effects are well done, and are quite believable, mostly thanks to the fact that the spaceships are models and not the fake looking CGI. The sound effects work quite nicely, as do the laser effects seen during the major battle at the start of this film.
You can tell that the cast from the original movie have melded very nicely. In my opinion, this really helps in their performances and makes the relationships of the characters more believable. Williams, who debuts in this film, made "Calrissian" a loveable rogue to rival the "scoundrel", "Solo". However, being that this is his first appearance in the original trilogy, he seems to be the odd man out and has to work and bonding with the rest of the cast on-screen.
The wardrobes are much better in this film, most notably the ones worn by "Skywalker" and "Princess Leia," who had the cheapest looking outfits in the first film. The "Imperial" outfits haven't changed since the first film, but we get to see the new "Snowtroopers" uniforms during the battle on "Hoth".
There is a few scenes with some bad editing within them. They were just badly done and looked out of place when they showed up. On the other hand, the pacing of the film is really nice.
There is some good suspense in this film. Especially during the battle on "Hoth" and the "lightsaber" battle between "Lord Vader" and "Skywalker," where we find that the two have a connection that shocked fans back when the movie was in theaters.
Despite many dated special effects and bad edits, this movie is a must see for sci-fi fans.
