it was only years later it was re-evaluated as an absolute classic.. and the best SW film better than the original even
shareTrue. There used to be a debate as to whether Jedi or Empire was the better Star Wars sequel. I think Kevin Smith changed a lot of minds in Clerks.
shareYes. Except it was good.
shareEmpire is also a tight and focused story, confident in what was happening onscreen.
shareThe whole Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father might have been too far of a stretch, even for the excellent ESB. In a galaxy of hundreds of trillions of beings, and a billion planets, what are the chances that the droid Anakin created, and its counterpart, would end up at the same planet Obi-Wan was hiding Luke Skywalker, who somehow turned out to be Anakin's son?
There are no chances, unless of course we add in the Force, and the Will of the Force, then it works. Or in this case, a major decision by George Lucas. The next one, involving Leia as Luke's sister was a bit of a last minute decision, but fortunately it is present in Empire with Leia being able to sense Luke hanging on to the Cloud City weathervane and knowing "where he is".
There are some things in the OT that would piss people off had they been released today. Some of those things are that suddenly the emperor can shoot lightning, the Vader is the father twist that came seemingly from nowhere, that Leia happens to be Luke's sister. Also, everyone is complaining about a lack of Snoke backstory but the emperor also did not have any.
shareI always thought the twist with Leia being Luke's sister was shit. All the Star Wars problems definitely began with Jedi all those years ago.
shareI bet if the prequels had come out first, people would be mad that their hero Obi-Wan was anticlimactically killed off in A New Hope.
shareI don't know about 'risky' but the reception for Empire was mixed back in 1980.
It also didn't recieve any Best Picture or acting oscars like ANH did back in 77.
from utube comments
My old man was 16 when Empire came out and he says this is the exact same reaction that film got. Most people loved it but a sizeable percentage absolutely hated it. Now it’s considered by most to be the best film in the franchise. I’ve been a fan my whole life and I absolutely loved The Last Jedi. Wasn’t a massive fan of the whole casino and animal cruelty thing but I love how bold the film is. Visually, I think it’s by far the best in the franchise and it also had the best lightsaber fight since The Phantom Menace (terrible film but that lightsaber duel and the score were amazing). Anyway, as the old saying goes, “no one hates Star Wars more than Star Wars fans”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY
Yes, many took umbrage with Vader being Luke's father.
They also complained about Vader's more aggressive "cowboy" lightsaber fighting style, which was a departure from the more Zen-like dueling in ANH.
Many people were also prepared to dislike Empire because Lucas wasn't returning to direct it. There was a feeling at the time that Lucas had no faith in the movie.
shareI don't recall this , it was a hit back in the day
shareThere was no internet so the complaints were harder to find but they were definitely there. ESB split both audiences and critics.
shareIt was a huge hit but not as big as SW77 (like TLJ)
shareIrvin Kershner's The Empire Strikes Back remains the lowest-grossing Star Wars episode in terms of unadjusted grosses partially because the very things (its tone, its cliffhanger ending, its self-deconstruction, its smaller-scale and somber character-driven approach) that led it to be hailed as the best of the bunch today were responsible for its comparatively mixed response back in 1980. Not to be too speculative, but I can only imagine how the internet would have reacted to that second Star Wars movie had it been released today. The good news is if history is any indication, comparatively divisive buzz (presuming online fandom represents the general populace) won’t hurt the film’s global box office take. Pirates 2 cleared $1 billion in 2006 and Matrix Reloaded snagged $742 million worldwide back in 2003.share
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2017/12/18/is-last-jedi-doomed-to-be-the-iron-man-3-of-star-wars/#6559287f3400
so are you saying TLJ is on the same level as Empire? cause i sure as hell dont
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