May 212010
The Empire Strikes Back, one of the bestest movies ever, was released thirty years ago today. That made me about six when my dad took me to see it, which now seems like an impossibly long time ago. For my money, the battle on Hoth remains the gold standard in science fiction action sequences. What it lacks in fancy CGI it more than makes up in the sheer awesomeness of giant dinosaurish-looking tanks shooting lasers. The lightsaber battle between Luke and Vader ranks a close second.
I didn’t fully appreciate how great this movie was until my twenties, but it now resides in a high place of honor in my personal pop culture canon. I may have to watch it again this weekend to commemorate the occasion.
