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Show in Luke Skywalker. Of course, you get the feeling that it will take several more sequels for him to get his act together, but you hope he will. The troubling part about this film is that much of the hope . is missing. By the end of the film, you have been left hanging in the old "Perils of Pauline' tradition -so obviously left to the next sequel that you "felt cheated somehow. And t there is a feeling of hopelessness. Luke Lu-ke Skywalker has not man- : aged to be the hero by choice as he did before-.' He- in fact, is a bumbler. He's almost ' blown it'agaihV entirely.1 You - somehow wish : Princess Leia would get The ,;Forc-now :y there is i someone with the sense to really use it. ' , In fact, the real star of the " K' film is 'not 'human,1 true to Star Wars tradition. Last f 1 time the publicfell in love - with a robot and a computer. ; Now. they get r a withered munchkin; Yota? the guru of The Force, is a wonderful bv Jean Piatt Fantasy-isn't it wonderful to behold on the movie screen? There was a period in time when all the message movies were taking control and few films offered us that magic. Then Star Wars swept the' market, going farther than fantasy, farther than science fiction, into a blend that delighted audiences. audien-ces. After all, we were dazzled by the razz-ma-tazz of it all. And even though we all knew this was a classic, ! we wondered if they would "ever pul) it off again. . The Empire Strikes Back would be a big seller even if ; :?ft were one of the year's ten ' Worst;ffilrtisv The cult has" been created, and followers would flock to see it, while the-fest of the viewers would : be curious enough to venture in. Luckily, it is not a flop. In the tradition of its forerun-7 ner. it is highly Entertaining. We still have that granduer, ! that bigness, that made the original great. But we also creature. He is, in reality, a creation of muppet technoU , oqy-and the finest "effect' ' in the- movie. He breathes, he moves; he speaks, he .jgns-so realistically that you . winder if a little man were not inside him. The character - created for him is wonderful--: a mischievious gnome with the knowledge to save the . world. He is a hard task-, master, but a lovable teach- er. And you become so enchanted with him that he takes over the film. Somehow Some-how you 'want to keep returning to him.; The space i ships pale in comparison to his attraction. . The Empire Strikes Back is an ambHtqus. sequel to Star Wars. Itis:ntertaining, startling. andl)fien Fascinate i ng. Rut it does not stand calorie like the original. Itjwill ; ; never match the quality that , attracted us when we first .beheld the credits across the ' "sky.- But so it is with part w twos and threes. AVe gett further adventures, followed by further adventures until we either settle for less or demand more and more. Episode Vdoesn't- really do t cither-it,: is obviously a - middle piece offered for our continuing amusement, a tease that says, "next time." And I know that 1, too, will . be in line for the next time. - have a :sequei-an . . obvious ,;.,seq'uel.'V' ' i .v .Somehow'y the dazzle is ' dwindling. Star Wars. Epi- sode V (as the film is titled) deals ; more closely with the characters than before! The"' original Star Wars had cute ' cut out characters arid a lot of effects. This sequel has more defmate characters and fewer few-er effects. The combat has -been taken out of the -..sky-those dazzling dog fights are limited. This is not to say the effects are poor, it is only : that they are fewer and farther between. But this . t does make for more, suspense. sus-pense. Whereas in the first ; flint you could sit back and jtfatcri the ships in cbmbatvin :; tins film you are often kept in ' Vhe suspense of real, close "things' leaping out at you. The combat is hand to hand-even, hand-even, fthe big land attack is ' much closer because people and not ships are falling: It makes the film become much more of a war.; movie than before. The Vget the bad guys" has become less chase oriented, less fanciful,- and more real because they are more intimate. . . But battles are not the major part of the film. In some ways, I like this moving away from dog fights and into character development. We have a hero" developing |