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Jonathan Harrop

Mass Media and Society

Purvis, Sec 01

March 15, 2006

Triumph of the Empire

There are those who grew up watching the original Star Wars trilogy in

theatres (either on first release or the “Special Edition” released in 1997) failed to

notice that they were no longer children and most looked on the prequels with distain

and remembered fondly the days of watching Darth Vader reveal his secret.

After the critical and public opinion failures (though not revenue-wise) that

were Episodes I and II many on the internet were calling formerly lauded

revolutionary film maker George Lucas “destroyer of my childhood.”

Many of those same people did camp out in 2005 to see the film that would

complete the saga, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. They came in droves. Many

lauded Sith as being what the other prequels should have been all along and many

walked away with the impression that their faith in Lucas had been restored, or that

they were right all along.

Episode III is integral to the story of Darth Vader in the same way Empire is to

the story of Luke Skywalker. Both make decisions that will change their lives forever

at the end of the films, but the two films share more in common than just character

development.

To examine the chief similarities you have to discount the specifics and focus

on both the general mood and events. One must also examine where the films belong

in the big picture.

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The middle part of a film trilogy should be the darkest, most depressing part.

The heroes should lose and the villains should win. It should leave the viewer with a

huge cliffhanger, waiting for the next installment.

Both films occupy this niche in their respective sagas, though the sagas are

different. Sith occupies the cliffhanger, dark, depressing mood in the whole saga,

Episode I through VI, the story of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, whilst Empire

occupies this point in the original trilogy, by themselves, the story of Luke Skywalker.

The stories of the principle characters are also remarkably similar. Both see

prophetic visions of their loved ones in danger, which makes both ignore their masters

in order to save their loved ones.

It is the decisions they make which separate the two. Anakin falls to the Dark

Side and ultimately changes the face of the Galaxy, destroying the arguably less-than-

noble and complacent Jedi, but instilling a reign of terror.

Luke chooses to literally fall upon the truth, being rescued by the friends he in

fact came to save. By not following the same path as his father, Luke again changes

the face of the Galaxy, by redeeming his father, who destroys both Sith Lords and

founding a new, pure Jedi Order later on.

“The Empire Strikes Back” is often cited a “better” film than the original “Star

Wars.” Its special effects are more complex, better choreographed and is generally a

considered by critics to have a better storytelling element to it.

Empire also contains perhaps the most memorable and most quoted (and

misquoted) line in cinema history: “No, I am your father.” Usually misquoted as

“Luke, I am your father.”

The training scenes are many and Yoda talks a great deal of rubbish. But

somehow it doesn't matter. The film is ambivalent in its attitude towards Yoda,
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anyway. Our sympathy clearly lies with the entirely non-spiritual concerns of Han,

Leia and the adolescent Luke.

The main story concerns the understanding that builds between Han and Leia.

In the end they are honest with one another; and if Han's being frozen and shipped

back to Tatooine is the price to pay for this, well, it's the price to pay.

Luke abandons Yoda to rescue Han and Leia and achieves nothing whatsoever

in this training.

This is an important distinction. All five important Jedi - Luke, Obi-Wan,

Yoda, Vader, and the Emperor - find that their conflicting instincts are all entirely

wrong. Empire is about the temporary triumph of human impulses over the mystical

Force. Luke's human idealism is vindicated, but his supernatural powers, just this

once, are not.

Empire ends on a sour note. Luke has had his hand cut off, Han Solo is frozen

and off to his nemesis, Vader is aware of his son’s presence and has created a burning

desire to convert him, both in himself and the Emperor.

Visuals have never been an issue in the prequel films and this is most certainly

the case with Sith. The opening sequence is a jaw-dropping collage of ships in

movement, dazzling colours, and frenetic combat. Additionally, the technology used

to create Yoda seems to have grown exponentially over the already impressive

wizardry used to animate Yoda in “Attack of the Clones.” Front to back, the vistas

Lucas shows us are entirely believable and staggering joys to behold.

Naturally, the computer generated effects of Sith trump those in Empire, but

other than Iain McDiarmid, the acting is less than spectacular. Ewan McGregor does

add a bit of legitimacy, now he might really grow up to be Sir Alec Guinness. Hayden
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Christensen improved by leaps and bounds, but none of the cast, save McDiarmid, can

get up the ante to the level of Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher or James Earl Jones.

“Revenge of the Sith” ends on an even worse note than Empire. Not only has

our former hero fallen to evil, but he’s been dismembered and scarred, transformed

into something “more machine now, than man.” His wife is dead and the Jedi are

reduced to two known members. The Galaxy has fallen under the sway of an

institution that exemplifies evil and a republic has changed to an empire.

Seeing good triumph all the time gets repetitive, having evil at least gain a

foothold is a nice change of pace. Even at the end of “A New Hope,” and until the last

few minutes of “Return of the Jedi,” the Empire is still in control and all seems almost

hopeless.

Ultimately, the darkest movies are the most enjoyable. The trend of anti-heroes

such as Vick Mackey and Jack Bauer are enough proof that squeaky clean is no longer

the trend in characters. They are real and personal. They have flaws; it’s this reason

why we like Han Solo more than Luke Skywalker and why Anakin Skywalker (in any

form) drew such a crowd.