The Empire Strikes Back

After a three-year wait, The Star Wars sequel is finally in our cinemas. John Brosnan saw the film and asks, “will The Empire Strikes Back open up the way for further sequels or will it be the last in the series?”

- John Brosnan

The Empire Strikes Back is widely regarded as the best of the Star Wars series of trilogy movies, yet upon its release back in 1980 it received a much less warm reception. I remember leaving the cinema on the day of release, and the disappointment was palatable. This mood was captured by legendary STARBURST columnist John Brosnan, who wrote a review that was to become the stuff of legends. Brozzer took the gloves off and gave a voice to the murmurings with a clinical takedown that put Yoda firmly in his place. The repsonse to this review dominated the STARBURST letters page for many months and resulted in death threats to poor old Brozzer. So, here it is. Reprinted in all its glory. Ready to transport you back to a time when Empire was not so fondly embraced…

Jordan M Royce Editor

There was an atmosphere of eager anticipation in the Dominion Cinema, London, before the start of the media preview of The Empire Strikes Back. There was also a certain amount of tension - you felt that the audience was willing the movie they were about to see to be as good, or hopefully even better, than Star Wars and were anxious not to be disappointed. There were cheers and applause when the curtains finally parted - the audience cheered the Fox logo and even the censor’s certificate, and applauded all the harder as the titles filled the screen ...