Empire strikes back full force

A somber, downbeat film featuring the relationship between a farm boy and a puppet may not sound like much, but The Empire Strikes Back: Special Edition delivers the goods: action, romance and even some added footage.

Originally released in 1980, Empire is the second chapter of the Star Wars trilogy, one which has held up well to the standards of special effects it established 17 years ago.

Unlike Star Wars (1977) and Return of the Jedi (1983), Empire ends with a cliffhanger, leaving several story lines unresolved. The well-written script by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, shifts the emphasis away from special effects to the characters.

It is also a departure from the feel-good spirit of the original film. Though it still contains several scenes of high-paced action, the atmosphere is generally one of gloom and doom.

The evil Darth Vader obsessively searches for Luke Skywalker, while the heroic trio of Han Solo, Princess Leia and Chewbacca are forced to hide out, among other places, in a giant space slug's stomach.

The film's center is the training sequence between Skywalker and Yoda, the wise Jedi Master. Frank Oz, Yoda's puppeteer, does a tremendous job of bringing the creature to life. As a result, its one of the few scenes in the entire trilogy where the action slows down and the characters are given room to grow.

Many of the more visual moments benefit from being on the big screen. The battle between the Imperial Walkers and the Rebel forces on the ice planet Hoth has never looked better with snow speeders hurriedly zipping by on the screen. And a daring chase in an asteroid field is greatly enhanced by digital sound as pieces of rock seem to zoom over the audience's head.

Keeping with the tradition of the Star Wars: Special Edition release last month, Empire includes some new, digitally enhanced sequences which will be most visible only to loyal Star Wars fans. The most prominent of these new scenes is a spruced-up version of Bespin, the "city in the clouds" run by Lando Calrissian, played by Billy Dee Williams.

Several new shots show off the architecture and atmosphere of the city, and the result is a more exotic, detailed locale.

Most of the additional new footage, including the confrontation between Luke and an ice-cavern monster called the Wampa, don't add much to the story, though they are edited in seamlessly and probably won't distract many viewers.

Empire will likely remain in theaters well into March. The release date of its sequel, Return of the Jedi has been pushed back to March 14 to avoid competition between the two films.