For some sad reason, my father didn't choose "Smoky and the Bandit 2" as his son's first movie-going experience. Instead, he opted to take my brother and me to the first sequel to the top grossing film of that time. "The Empire Strikes Back" enthralled my three-year-old heart and soul. (It still does) My 23-second attention span suddenly stretched to no less than two-and a half hours, and I suddenly wished that my daddy could be the Dark Lord of the Empire.
The next day, I demanded my father to get me a Darth Vader action figure.
Once again, the heritage of our generation (mislabeled "X," it should be "The Star Wars Generation") is at stake. Once again, I call all you Kurt Cobainites out of your depressed worlds to revisit the greatest galaxy cinema has ever conceived of.
The Empire strikes theaters next week, and once again, it is your duty as a citizen of your generation to BE IN THAT THEATER!!
This installment gives us good reason to declare Darth Vader the most evil villain in cinema history. The Dark Lord polishes off the ill-fated Admiral Ozzel before the butter has time to sink into the popcorn, and (in the same manner) deprives another Imperial officer of his life within the next hour, all by raising his helmet slightly. ("Apology accepted, Captain Needa.) And, the greatest twist between hero and villain in cinema history - well, if you don't know by now, you're no member of my generation, you late-born Baby-Boomer.
"Empire" also gave us the greatest teacher in cinema history. Jaime Escalante has nothing on Yoda. Not only is his wisdom on par with God's, but Yoda defined the power of the Force to an audience yearning for more jedi-combat, and perhaps an epic light-saber duel involving Darth Vader and Luke.
Yoda proved to be an inspiration to audiences everywhere. (Luke: "I don't believe it!" Yoda: "That is why you fail.") Other than the great characters, the scenes and battle sequences are second to none. Nowadays, producers use special effects that turn their movies into a spectacle, but not "Empire's." Indeed, the intense battle scene on the ice planet Hoth uses little in terms of special effects and, well, the Cloud City scene is just really cool atmosphere created by intense set designs.
Like "Star Wars," this is a movie you must see again. In fact, if you've already seen it, there's no point in me telling you.
If you've just seen "Star Wars" for the first time, you will find "The Empire Strikes Back" just as enthralling.
After all, you don't see many re-releases of "Smoky and the Bandit 2."