32nd Favorite Movie - The Empire Strikes Back

Make sure you have read the first post in this series ("My 50 Favorite Movies") before you read on...

The Star Wars series has had a big impact of my life as a kid as well as an adult. When I was little, I had the Darth Vader carrying case full of action figures. As an adult, I went to the midnight premiere of each of the last three movies, even sleeping in line overnight on the sidewalk in Westwood with Rob R before The Phantom Menace. But I must say, taken individually, The Empire Strikes Back is the only one of the six films to make my list. And since this is my list I can do whatever I want, so while back at #40 I included the entire Indiana Jones series as one film, here I just want to point out the merits of Empire. Here is why Empire stands out above the other Star Wars films:

A New Hope: too cheesy (special effects, dialogue, and story)

Return of the Jedi: too cutesy (ewoks)

Phantom Menace: too boring (all that talk about trade embargos and the Federation and the Senate... show me one 7 year old kid who can explain what is going on in this movie. I think that is partially why the last 3 did not catch on with this generation like the first 3 did. Also more options like Harry Potter and LOTR now)

Attack of the Clones: too nauseating (dialogue between Anakin and Natalie Portman)

Revenge of the Sith: too anti-heroic (who are you supposed to be rooting for in this movie?)

Empire is the best in the series and one of the best films ever made, in my opinion. For starters, it is just beautiful to behold. From the white plains of Hoth to the green swamps of the Dagobah system to the final light saber background against that blue-orange background... you can tell that there was a lot more money and technology available when they filmed this in 1980 compared to the first one in 1977.

And don't forget that this Star Wars film has:

*the first appearance of Yoda
*the immortal line, "Luke, I am your father"
*the carbon-freezing of Han Solo
*the first appearance of Bubba Fett, who became the coolest character ever who got less than 5 minutes of screen time
*the peak of the Han-Leia romance and banter

Here is how I would rank the films:

1. Empire
(drop off)
2. A New Hope
3. Revenge of the Sith
(drop off)
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Attack of the Clones
6. Phantom Menace

Anyways, it is a bit sad to me that this series is done. I wonder what my kids some day will think of these movies? I'm guessing probably the same thing I thought of Lone Ranger and Buck Rogers and other childhood heros from my parents' childhood: bo-ring.