The Battle of Hoth

The Empire Strikes Back

It didn’t take long for George Lucas and co to prove that the original Star Wars movie was no fluke, unlike perhaps the rebels big victory at Yavin. Within the first 20 minutes of The Empire Strikes Back, we’re treated to a thrilling battle, matching the grandeur and stakes of the tussle to destroy the Death Star.

The Battle of Hoth shows us the Empire at it’s intimidating best – or is that worst – setting the tone for the movie there and then. The rebels are on the run, retreating against the mighty villains. Their Death Star might have been blown up by that perfect shot from Red Five, but they’ve got plenty in reserve, including a handful of 20 meter tall AT-ATs.

The AT-AT is an iconic vehicle. These deadly machines ooze Star Wars, truly embedded in a galaxy far, far away. The prequels gave us villain ‘tanks’ in the form of Armoured Assault Tanks (AATs), but these just felt too grounded in reality. They looked too feasible. In a saga about space wizards, the wackier the better. And AT-ATs are most certainly ridiculous, in the best way possible.

One thing you could say about the Separatist AATs is that they couldn’t be brought down by a tow cable. The AT-ATs armour was too strong for blasters as the rebel snowspeeder pilots soon discovered. However, ingenuity nearly won the day as Wedge Antilles and his gunner Wes Janson used their harpoon and tow cables to essentially trip up the Empire’s walkers.

They managed to bring down one of the AT-ATs with the technique, but ultimately ran out of time to repeat the trick. The rebels needed to retreat and escape Echo Base. The remaining walkers brought down the alliance’s shield generator and the ground assault was in bound.

It’s desperate times for the rebellion and we are living the drama with them. Shots of the retreating soldiers at ground level put you right in the heart of the fight, as do the shots on board the AT-ATs as you see the rebels scrambling outside.

As Echo Base collapses Han, Chewie, Leia and Threepio escape on the Falcon (just about – Leia’s right, it really is a bucket of bolts in this movie.) They’re departure is watched by Vader who has made his way into the base, flanked by some well costumed snow troopers – they didn’t have to change the stormtrooper design to suit the conditions, but they did and it’s that kind of attention to detail that greatly enriches the galaxy.

The only thing I would have loved to have been able to add to this scene would have been Vader’s initial breach of the base. We see him stalking into the hangar, but we miss what would have been a hugely cinematic moment that is instead is powered by imagination and depicted in Alexander Freed’s brilliant Battlefront: Twilight Company novel.

It charts when Vader enters the base, slashing at rebels in a manner similar to Rogue One’s hallway scene – at least as my mind’s eye interprets it.

It would have punctuated the narrative of the first act. Despite all of their bravery and ingenuity, the rebellion is no match for the sheer might of the Empire and Yavin is looking like a flash in the pan. A lucky shot. Quite an alarming way to open this darker sequel.