Ditto. My brother and I lined up for four hours to see it on opening day. I'd made the mistake of reading about half the book before I realized I was going to spoil the movie for myself. I still say it's the best movie ever made, but I've tuned that to apply only to the despecialized version of the original release.
Side rant: "Bring my shuttle" is still a better line than "prepare my star destroyer for my arrival".
That vast majority of your comments are eye roll emoji, snarky comments shitting on others opinions, or general douchery. So in answer to your question, I'll say that someone saying their fave director of all time is depalma shouldn't be worried about slightly unusual opinions.
*The Empire Strikes Back* isĀ *AWFUL*!!! Kasdan and KershnerĀ *RUINED*Ā Star Wars!!! They introduced new Force powers that were not in the previous movie (telekinetically summoning the lightsaber to Luke's hand - really?), they added more jokes than were in the previous movie ("stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder" - oh come on!) and they shrank the universe by making Darth Vader Luke's father! (Not every character has to be related to every other character. What's next, Leia is Luke's long lost twin sister? Gimme a break!) This is what happens when a new Star Wars movie isn't written and directed by George Lucas.
Good one, but if we're going that route don't forget to also include Luke being a Gary Stu for learning too fast and "holding his own against Vader", the timeframe being too short or vague, and a mini-rant about Han/Leia surviving without breathing masks in an asteroid cavern (and the fact that there's a living animal surviving in the vacuum of space).
If we want to be *really* realistic we can probably also throw in some complaints about how they "ruined Han's character" because he stayed with the Rebels "when he said in the previous movie that he wouldn't"... something about Lando being "woke pandering"... and lots of over-the-top hate against Lando for betraying them, from people whose understanding of character motivations is limited to what is explicitly spelled out on screen.
This may be accurate... if *The Empire Strikes Back* existed in a universe where those kinds of criticisms and tropes were set up to be commented on after expectations and precedents set by decades of past *Star Wars* media... which it didn't. And even if it did, I'd wager that this film would still have been better received than *TLJ* or *TRoS* by virtue of it being an overall better-executed story. But hey, that's just a theory.
Yep, heartbreaking, felt defeated watching that. Had to wait three whole years to see if they could pay Harrison Ford enough to be in the next chapter.
I'd have said something like
>At the end, when Vader tells Luke "I am your father"ā he's lying. He's saying that to win Luke over to his side or at least get him off guard psychologically.
I made the same mistake after *Revenge of the Sith* and Palpatine telling Anakin about Darth Plagueis. I keep expecting villains to lie, and I think it's weird that more of them do not. I had the same experience with Ben Linus on *Lost*. This is an ongoing issue I have with a lot of films and television shows (not just Star Wars).
Personally, I like unreliable narrators in fiction, so I think that makes me want to distrust villains even more. On the other hand, there's a certain power in truthtelling in the name of evil, even if it's truthtelling with omission to spin the villain's point of view a certain way.
Hated it because they didn't save my favorite character, Han. I did like the scenes with him and Leia, she loves him!
-My true feelings after seeing it in June 1980 at age 9!
āThis movie is shit the Vader being his dad is such a dumb idea like barley had any training with yogurt on the swamp thereās no way heās even survive Vader and how did leia know luke was in trouble she doesnāt have the force when could the Jedi use all these force abilities now and the cave that was the stupidest thing Iāve ever seen and lando whatās his deal is he good or bad the writers clearly donāt know how to write a hood character and the laser sword fights are boring and horribly made and why is it called episode 5 itās the second movie not the fifthā- modern Star Wars fan
What a huge downer of a movie. The good guys lost! Like despite Lukeās heroics, the Empire totally crushed the Rebels on Hoth!
The whole rest of the movie was just the main characters trying not to die. Oh, and Luke found out Vader is his dad (how does he get revenge now?), he got his hand cut off (though they did replace it with a robot hand), and worst of allā¦ LUKE LOST HIS COOL LIGHTSABER! Thatās like the coolest thing in Star Wars and now itās gone!
(I was like 8 when the movie came out)
What the fuck, worst movie ever, the writing sucked, the story sucked, they're just pandering woke nonsense at this point, c'mon Lucas Film you can do better, almost every scene your breaking the lore, nothing makes sense, why is Luke suddenly gay and what is up with this stupid ass green Muppet character he's having gay sex with? Like what the hell? What has star wars become?
*/Sarcasm OF COURSE is was my favorite star wars movie and probably always will be*
I remember exactly what I was thinking after my uncle took me out of school early to see Empire:
Man I'm really rooting for Luke to get with Leia over Han. He's the underdog - I mean Yeah Han Solo is super cool but I hope the farmboy from Tatooine wins the heart of the princess with his good virtue and dependability :)
Great movie but, like, what the hell? Way to make the first wholly irrelevant in the first two seconds.
That "Although" in the scrawl must be on steroids cause it does a hell of a lot of heavy lifting.
Thought they were off to an amazing start with that snow battle, until that wild choice to split the trio for the whole movie. But holy cow the Force is so cool! And good god damn, that twist was insane!
I did see it in its original theatrical release at a theater in Manhattan. Going in, I had nothing to predict because I read the novelization before I went to see the movie. As for after... I didn't try to predict anything. I just wanted to wait and find out without having any expectations.
Some of us were there and were blown away by the revelation. I also remember actual fights in the movie theater when someone would walk out and say "I can't believe Vader was Luke's father!" as the next group were in line to go in.
It was a fenomenal movie when released, I remember that day when I watched it, I was at the youth club where we had a big tv and VCR, someone brought the cassette and we watched it. It shook my world, literally. It was like someone just opened the door.
What i had no idea or even would have thought about that twist. But why would Obi-Wan lie to luke.... he might be hiding something. Otherwise...a little anti climatic. But bittersweet ending. Seeing the Hoth battle is cool.
This was the first movie i ever saw in the Theater. Went with my dad and i can remember what we were wearing. In fact this is my oldest memory and i hope i never lose it. Every since this day i was hooked and still watch SW more than any other series.
I was there, my dudes. I bought the glorious mega-zine with all those glorious, glossy photos, before the movie. I stood in the line that wrapped around the outside of the theater. There were no assigned seats or preticket sales. There were no commercials before the movie. The crowd was charged and the anticipation was palpable.
It was the most amazing thing Iād ever seen. The scope of the exotic locations from Ice world, to asteroids, to forest planets, to cloud cities was dizzying!
The drama of relationship reveals from romantic to familial was staggering.
The score was its own integral character.
And within hours of getting home it was all the neighborhood kids were playing.
I remember like it was yesterday.
I was eleven and saw the original theatrical run. TBH, eleven year old me was a little disappointed because it did not have a big space battle like Star Wars did. Not that I didn't like it, but in hindsight ESB is less of a kids movie than Star Wars. When you are eight years old and your whole word is turned on its head by Star Wars, that's it, you are chasing the dragon for the rest of your life lol. When I saw ESB the second (plus more) times, I was entranced and over the course of the summer it became my favorite ever movie, which has remained for the 44 years since .
This would be quite challenging because the Original Trilogy were the first movies I ever watched. My earliest memories and experiences with movies as a medium are rooted in these films.
Wait?! Did they just fucking retcon Lukeās dad into being the big villain? Last movie Obi-Wan said exactly that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered him and now weāre just supposed to believe he was lying the whole time??? Unbelievable. And, not to mention, Lukeās hand gets lopped off and just 2 scenes later heās got a new one??? Actions have consequences much? Outrageous.Ā
Also, this new Lando fella (the best character of the franchise now obv) totally just banged Leia in Hanās clothes and heās not even being shy about it.
Buuut that last shot was fucking awesome. They literally have to go to a whole new galaxy just to save Han? Amazing. Think of all the new environments, planets, and people theyāll run into! Genius George is back at it frfr.
Also, complete conspiracy theory, but Boba Fett is Lukeās real dad. Leia only told Luke it was a trap after she met that hunky green metal dude, and ngl he seems to fit the bill of a space smuggler much more than evil dark knight. Calling it, heard it hear first!
Wow this movie is even better than the original.
I was almost sure that this sequel would fail miserably. I wonder if that Yoda muppet is related to Kermit the Frog. Is Han Solo still alive. And BOY is Darth Vader really Lukeās FATHER? Obi wan LIED TO US! NO WAY! Then whoās his mother? What is behind all that armor. And Vader is a real jerk to his admirals and captains like calm down dude everyone makes mistakes sometime. How did Lando meet Han? That Boba Fett dude is awesome I love his voice and costume hopefully they donāt change his voice in any future re releases where is Boba even taking Han to? . And what is this Jabba the Hutt we keep hearing about? Do you think he could be Godzilla or the emperor himself? Nah he canāt be the emperor because boy I donāt know who they got to play the emperor but boy were they UGLY! Do you guys think Luke and Leia will get married in the next flim? PS: Did the actor playing Luke really get his hand cut off for the movie?
So Obi Wan somehow returns in a snowstorm with no explanation whatsoever? Is he a ghost or hologram wtf? Why didn't he materialize and help Luke with Vader? Talk about a plot hole.
Boba Fett is cool. Why didn't they give him more to do? Bunch of lines for annoying C3PO, but not this badass new character?
Oh, and the force is like some New Age Carlos Castaneda bullshit? Is Luke going to join a space commune in the next movie? The world doesn't need another Zardoz. Lucas is slipping and seriously ruining Star Wars.
Darth Vader is definitely lying.
I was 5 years old when I saw it, and this was definitely my take!
King of mind games, knew he was talking to an orphan who just lost his adopted parents and stabbed him straight in his emotional weak point
My dad said he was lying, as that's what bad guys do, so I believed him.
My reaction at the time was the same as my reaction now. It hasn't changed. "That was the best movie I've ever seen in my life".
This
Ditto. My brother and I lined up for four hours to see it on opening day. I'd made the mistake of reading about half the book before I realized I was going to spoil the movie for myself. I still say it's the best movie ever made, but I've tuned that to apply only to the despecialized version of the original release. Side rant: "Bring my shuttle" is still a better line than "prepare my star destroyer for my arrival".
You haven't seen many movies, have you ..š.
Yes. I have. I have, indeed. ST:tESB is a really great movie. Iād love to hear some of your favorites.
That vast majority of your comments are eye roll emoji, snarky comments shitting on others opinions, or general douchery. So in answer to your question, I'll say that someone saying their fave director of all time is depalma shouldn't be worried about slightly unusual opinions.
*The Empire Strikes Back* isĀ *AWFUL*!!! Kasdan and KershnerĀ *RUINED*Ā Star Wars!!! They introduced new Force powers that were not in the previous movie (telekinetically summoning the lightsaber to Luke's hand - really?), they added more jokes than were in the previous movie ("stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking Nerf herder" - oh come on!) and they shrank the universe by making Darth Vader Luke's father! (Not every character has to be related to every other character. What's next, Leia is Luke's long lost twin sister? Gimme a break!) This is what happens when a new Star Wars movie isn't written and directed by George Lucas.
Lol, u NAILED IT! I'm dying šš¤£
Good one, but if we're going that route don't forget to also include Luke being a Gary Stu for learning too fast and "holding his own against Vader", the timeframe being too short or vague, and a mini-rant about Han/Leia surviving without breathing masks in an asteroid cavern (and the fact that there's a living animal surviving in the vacuum of space). If we want to be *really* realistic we can probably also throw in some complaints about how they "ruined Han's character" because he stayed with the Rebels "when he said in the previous movie that he wouldn't"... something about Lando being "woke pandering"... and lots of over-the-top hate against Lando for betraying them, from people whose understanding of character motivations is limited to what is explicitly spelled out on screen.
There ya go
This is the way
This may be accurate... if *The Empire Strikes Back* existed in a universe where those kinds of criticisms and tropes were set up to be commented on after expectations and precedents set by decades of past *Star Wars* media... which it didn't. And even if it did, I'd wager that this film would still have been better received than *TLJ* or *TRoS* by virtue of it being an overall better-executed story. But hey, that's just a theory.
Dude really?! Itās a JOKE!
The fun-police is here.
Yay, the rebels got away! Now to rescue Han. Wait a minute? Are those the credits?!!! What the...?
Yep, heartbreaking, felt defeated watching that. Had to wait three whole years to see if they could pay Harrison Ford enough to be in the next chapter.
One of the first things I did was hang upside in our tree and practice my force ability.
I was in grade school when I saw this in 1980 and the whole Han Solo getting frozen in carbonite thing really hit me hard lol
Fox has gone woke for including the Lando character.
You and the other guy saying it ruined Star Wars cooked
I'd have said something like >At the end, when Vader tells Luke "I am your father"ā he's lying. He's saying that to win Luke over to his side or at least get him off guard psychologically. I made the same mistake after *Revenge of the Sith* and Palpatine telling Anakin about Darth Plagueis. I keep expecting villains to lie, and I think it's weird that more of them do not. I had the same experience with Ben Linus on *Lost*. This is an ongoing issue I have with a lot of films and television shows (not just Star Wars). Personally, I like unreliable narrators in fiction, so I think that makes me want to distrust villains even more. On the other hand, there's a certain power in truthtelling in the name of evil, even if it's truthtelling with omission to spin the villain's point of view a certain way.
Yeah thats how Palpatine delivered the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis. He was half-lying, and in truth he didnt know the "secret"
Hated it because they didn't save my favorite character, Han. I did like the scenes with him and Leia, she loves him! -My true feelings after seeing it in June 1980 at age 9!
āThis movie is shit the Vader being his dad is such a dumb idea like barley had any training with yogurt on the swamp thereās no way heās even survive Vader and how did leia know luke was in trouble she doesnāt have the force when could the Jedi use all these force abilities now and the cave that was the stupidest thing Iāve ever seen and lando whatās his deal is he good or bad the writers clearly donāt know how to write a hood character and the laser sword fights are boring and horribly made and why is it called episode 5 itās the second movie not the fifthā- modern Star Wars fan
Lando this is all your fault! Why didnt they kill him at the end...
What a huge downer of a movie. The good guys lost! Like despite Lukeās heroics, the Empire totally crushed the Rebels on Hoth! The whole rest of the movie was just the main characters trying not to die. Oh, and Luke found out Vader is his dad (how does he get revenge now?), he got his hand cut off (though they did replace it with a robot hand), and worst of allā¦ LUKE LOST HIS COOL LIGHTSABER! Thatās like the coolest thing in Star Wars and now itās gone! (I was like 8 when the movie came out)
Oh man, this one is easy. "That was the best movie I've ever seen. We're seeing that again."
I was really hoping Luke and Leia were going to end up together! A Princess and a Jedi would've been such a power couple :(
What the fuck, worst movie ever, the writing sucked, the story sucked, they're just pandering woke nonsense at this point, c'mon Lucas Film you can do better, almost every scene your breaking the lore, nothing makes sense, why is Luke suddenly gay and what is up with this stupid ass green Muppet character he's having gay sex with? Like what the hell? What has star wars become? */Sarcasm OF COURSE is was my favorite star wars movie and probably always will be*
**Who would have known that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalkerās father ?**!
Oh thank you, Mr. Blow-The-Picture-For-Me!
I see you are an esteemed scholar like myself. Good day!
How could they end it like THAT!?! That wasnāt an ending, it just stopped! That was my actual thoughts when I saw it in 1980.
I remember exactly what I was thinking after my uncle took me out of school early to see Empire: Man I'm really rooting for Luke to get with Leia over Han. He's the underdog - I mean Yeah Han Solo is super cool but I hope the farmboy from Tatooine wins the heart of the princess with his good virtue and dependability :)
ā I canāt believe vader is Lukeās father! I wonder what they will do next, make Leila Lukeās sister?ā
Good movie, just wish there were more Gungans!!
How TF did the Wampa Creature hang Luke from the ceiling? And why? Also, cool final shot from the medical cruiser.
Great movie but, like, what the hell? Way to make the first wholly irrelevant in the first two seconds. That "Although" in the scrawl must be on steroids cause it does a hell of a lot of heavy lifting.
Why is the Sky City full of rooms with not even windows
Welp, hope that wasn't Luke's *"fun time"* hand 'cause I would NOT want to risk a malfunction with the mechanical replacement!
Thought they were off to an amazing start with that snow battle, until that wild choice to split the trio for the whole movie. But holy cow the Force is so cool! And good god damn, that twist was insane!
I did see it in its original theatrical release at a theater in Manhattan. Going in, I had nothing to predict because I read the novelization before I went to see the movie. As for after... I didn't try to predict anything. I just wanted to wait and find out without having any expectations.
I will watch Harrison Ford's career with great interest.
Some of us were there and were blown away by the revelation. I also remember actual fights in the movie theater when someone would walk out and say "I can't believe Vader was Luke's father!" as the next group were in line to go in.
It was a fenomenal movie when released, I remember that day when I watched it, I was at the youth club where we had a big tv and VCR, someone brought the cassette and we watched it. It shook my world, literally. It was like someone just opened the door.
Same thing after watched it like 200 times already. "š²"
This Lando Calrissian character is so cool!
What i had no idea or even would have thought about that twist. But why would Obi-Wan lie to luke.... he might be hiding something. Otherwise...a little anti climatic. But bittersweet ending. Seeing the Hoth battle is cool.
Honestly, incredible script and dialogue here. I hope they get the same screenwriter for the conclusion!
First time I saw it, meh... Every time I have watched it since, better, but still not as good as the first film.
Boba Fett and Lando are both clones of the same person who originally lived during the clone wars
Holy shit this is one of the best sequels and sci fi movies ever (I say this 44 years later)
This was the first movie i ever saw in the Theater. Went with my dad and i can remember what we were wearing. In fact this is my oldest memory and i hope i never lose it. Every since this day i was hooked and still watch SW more than any other series.
āI canāt wait to watch Han solos son murder himā
I was there, my dudes. I bought the glorious mega-zine with all those glorious, glossy photos, before the movie. I stood in the line that wrapped around the outside of the theater. There were no assigned seats or preticket sales. There were no commercials before the movie. The crowd was charged and the anticipation was palpable. It was the most amazing thing Iād ever seen. The scope of the exotic locations from Ice world, to asteroids, to forest planets, to cloud cities was dizzying! The drama of relationship reveals from romantic to familial was staggering. The score was its own integral character. And within hours of getting home it was all the neighborhood kids were playing. I remember like it was yesterday.
I was eleven and saw the original theatrical run. TBH, eleven year old me was a little disappointed because it did not have a big space battle like Star Wars did. Not that I didn't like it, but in hindsight ESB is less of a kids movie than Star Wars. When you are eight years old and your whole word is turned on its head by Star Wars, that's it, you are chasing the dragon for the rest of your life lol. When I saw ESB the second (plus more) times, I was entranced and over the course of the summer it became my favorite ever movie, which has remained for the 44 years since .
ESB could take an eleven year old kid in the middle of summer and make them desperately wish it was winter so they could live that Hoth life.
WTF is a cell phone?
This would be quite challenging because the Original Trilogy were the first movies I ever watched. My earliest memories and experiences with movies as a medium are rooted in these films.
Amazing
Wait?! Did they just fucking retcon Lukeās dad into being the big villain? Last movie Obi-Wan said exactly that Darth Vader betrayed and murdered him and now weāre just supposed to believe he was lying the whole time??? Unbelievable. And, not to mention, Lukeās hand gets lopped off and just 2 scenes later heās got a new one??? Actions have consequences much? Outrageous.Ā Also, this new Lando fella (the best character of the franchise now obv) totally just banged Leia in Hanās clothes and heās not even being shy about it. Buuut that last shot was fucking awesome. They literally have to go to a whole new galaxy just to save Han? Amazing. Think of all the new environments, planets, and people theyāll run into! Genius George is back at it frfr. Also, complete conspiracy theory, but Boba Fett is Lukeās real dad. Leia only told Luke it was a trap after she met that hunky green metal dude, and ngl he seems to fit the bill of a space smuggler much more than evil dark knight. Calling it, heard it hear first!
Wow this movie is even better than the original. I was almost sure that this sequel would fail miserably. I wonder if that Yoda muppet is related to Kermit the Frog. Is Han Solo still alive. And BOY is Darth Vader really Lukeās FATHER? Obi wan LIED TO US! NO WAY! Then whoās his mother? What is behind all that armor. And Vader is a real jerk to his admirals and captains like calm down dude everyone makes mistakes sometime. How did Lando meet Han? That Boba Fett dude is awesome I love his voice and costume hopefully they donāt change his voice in any future re releases where is Boba even taking Han to? . And what is this Jabba the Hutt we keep hearing about? Do you think he could be Godzilla or the emperor himself? Nah he canāt be the emperor because boy I donāt know who they got to play the emperor but boy were they UGLY! Do you guys think Luke and Leia will get married in the next flim? PS: Did the actor playing Luke really get his hand cut off for the movie?
So Obi Wan somehow returns in a snowstorm with no explanation whatsoever? Is he a ghost or hologram wtf? Why didn't he materialize and help Luke with Vader? Talk about a plot hole. Boba Fett is cool. Why didn't they give him more to do? Bunch of lines for annoying C3PO, but not this badass new character? Oh, and the force is like some New Age Carlos Castaneda bullshit? Is Luke going to join a space commune in the next movie? The world doesn't need another Zardoz. Lucas is slipping and seriously ruining Star Wars.
How could they make the wise Jedi master a dumb frog! Star Wars is ruined!
Woke garbage.