Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

It's been a sad week for film fans, with the loss of comedy legend Leslie Nielsen at the tender age of 84. No-one can deny that Nielsen's performances in classics like Airplane! and The Naked Gun were utterly inspired and remain a benchmark of comedy up to this day. But there was another great loss this week; the man who directed what many consider (myself very much included) to be the best instalment in the Star Wars saga, The Empire Strikes Back, the late, great Irvin Kershner. So in his memory, I took another look back over Star Wars Episode V, and even after having seen it (at least) dozens of times, I can report that it remains one of the best examples of the genre, and a worthy sequel to its blockbuster predecessor. With established characters, Empire is able to continue the story and build on the foundations to show Luke's progression from a rather whiny backwater farm-boy to hero of the rebellion and Jedi-in-training, Han continuing his role as reluctant hero and space cowboy, and Vader manages to become even more sinister and begins to earn his reputation as one of the most iconic villains in cinema. It's certainly not without flaw - why would the rebels try to escape a planet by flying directly at the attacking fleet? - but both the characters and story buoy it up to the point where these are easily forgiveable. Irvin Kershner's meisterwerk deserves a place in any movie-lover's collection.


R.I.P. Irvin Kershner - 29 April 1923 - 27 November 2010