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 Star
Wars: Episode V
The Empire Strikes Back
Box Office Stats:
Originally opened May 21, 1980. Special Edition opened February 21, 1997.
$538 million worldwide
$290,475,067 domestic
Often times, sequels are a
disappointment after the original. That's certainly not the case with The
Empire Strikes Back. In fact, virtually everyone agrees that it's even
better than A New Hope. And, best of all, it was the first of the movies
(in order of release) to include the best song ever: the Imperial March!
Here's the plot: the Emperor
and Co. are rather upset with those pesky Rebels after they blew the Death Star
to smithereens. So, they hunt down the new hidden Rebel base with legions
of automated probe droids. Once they find it -- on the remote planet Hoth --
they send in the Executor & the rest of Death Squadron to kill them all.
Too bad Admiral Ozzel came out of hyperspace to close to the system.
Anyway, they were therefore
forced to "begin landing [their] troops." General Veers is significantly more
competent than poor Ozzel, and so the Rebels flee again. Luke begins his
training as a Jedi with Yoda, Han's frozen in carbonite as bait, Luke runs off
to save them, and Luke... well... has a pretty bad day.
The Empire Strikes Back
had more action, more drama, and more romance than its predecessor. It also had
a giant plot twist, so big that now just about everyone knows about it. So much
for suspense. Oh well -- with the prequels and all, that twist wouldn't surprise
anyone watching the movies in order now anyway.
As Episode V of the Star Wars
saga, ESB featured three all-new planets, compared to two for A New
Hope. Hoth is a barren, remote ice-world on which the Rebels construct a new
hidden base. Dagobah is the home of the muppet hermit Yoda. Finally, Bespin is
the gas giant that Lando Calrissian's Cloud City orbits around.
All in all, The Empire
Strikes Back is a worthy addition to the Star Wars saga.
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