Set ten years after Return of the Jedi, the Dark Empire Trilogy is an old-school Star Wars story arc (which is no longer 'canon'). The Empire is strangely resurgent and focused, gathering power and building new menacing weapons- World Devastators and a Galaxy Gun- deep in the core. Luke feels a strange calling in the Force, and eventually finds out that Emperor Palpatine himself has been reborn (he learned to transfer his essence to a new host as his body ages, and maintains dozens of clones in various stages of development for this purpose). Luke and his New Republic allies confront this new threat, and the fate of the galaxy once again hangs in the balance. Who will prevail?
This story arc- which collects Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, and Empire's End- is not without problems. Cheesy dialogue, lightning-fast plot (i.e. no plot development), overdone plot elements (Empire has a super weapon which threatens all), downright weird elements, and shallow characters plague the story. However, at least there is a story (in contrast to recent Disney-owned Star Wars releases). A lot of cool stuff happens, even if it isn't developed well- Luke goes to the Dark Side in an effort to beat Palpatine once and for all, Luke finds ancient Jedi archives on Ossus, X-1 Viper Droids make their appearance, and Leia gives birth to the third Solo child. References are made to the Tales of the Jedi comic stories, which is a nice tie-in to 'ancient times.' It's not great . . . but it is nostalgic, and again- at least something happens.
Rating: B-
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