Wampa Cave

The Empire Strikes Back came out in 1980 and I was 5.  I don't remember A New Hope but I remember sitting in the Theater watching TESB with my neighborhood friend Jamie.  I remember the snow planet, Hoth but there is something absolutely magically about the Wampa Cave that still resonates with me 35 yrs later.

Okay, for those who don't know....our hero,  Luke Skywalker is checking out some meteor activity with his trusty TaunTaun. While they are doing this, the TaunTaun gets startled and boom you see the Abominable Snowman, the Wampa.  Next time you see Luke he is hanging upside down with his feet all iced in and basically stuck in a no win situation.  While the Wampa is chomping on Luke's TaunTaun, Luke immediately realizes he is next on the dinner menu.  Luke quickly checks his surroundings and sees his lightsaber is in the snow a mere few feet away.

At this point, you know without that Luke is a Swanson Hungry Man Frozen dinner waiting to happen.  This is where movie magic happens and completely blew my 5yr old brain....you immediately yell to Luke use the Force!!! He knows the Force so he has to get it!!!  The beauty part of the whole thing is that you never see this happen before but you know it has to be true!! You can just feel it. You know it through the Force.

Let's flash back, to when we first meet Obi-Wan the crazy old hermit from Jundland Wastelands, when he uses his first Jedi trick.  He mimics a Kryat Dragon to startle the pesky Tusken Raiders away from Luke's landspeeder.  Okay,  1st Force power, check.  The next thing we know is a Jedi can handle a lightsaber the Jedi's weapon of choice.  Not really a Force power, but we know Jedi prefer to only carry lazer swords.  The next Jedi trick is probably the most quoted...These are not the Droids you are looking for...the infamous Jedi mind trick. Move along, move along.  As Obi-Wan is quickly breaking down the Force to Luke aboard the Millennium Falcon.  You get the best Han Solo quote in my opinion.  "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Obi-Wan feels a great disturbance in the Force.  He feels death from the planet, Alderraan.  Next, you learn Jedi can sense things, predict movement doesn't  need sight to do so.  Ok, next thing Obi-Wan does is distract the Stormtroopers with sound so he can get to the Tractor Beam shut down. When Obi-Wan meets Darth and gets slain he disappears in the Force, only leaving his robe. Obi-Wan talks to Luke through the Force and helps him blow up the Death Star.  So that is all the Force powers you know as a Star Wars fan in '77.

Alright fast forward back to the Wampa Cave, there is Luke reaching out to his lightsaber and he just can't get it. This is where the soon to be Jedi does a quick Force meditation and boom lightsaber in hand and quickly there is a one armed Wampa shortly there after. Poor Wampa.  All the Wampa wants is a warm full belly and that Stinky TaunTaun wasn't cutting and now his arm is on the floor.  Well at least it is cauterized.

But what happens in the Wampa Cave does not end there.  Okay, Luke meets the lil old dude, Yoda.  Yoda goes all Insanity Training on him and you know Luke is putting his all into it and sweating and it is hot and sticky.  Lets face it, Dagobah is not your destination wedding kinda of place.  Luke is doing all this fun, hard stuff like a hand stand with Yoda on his leg. Lifting some rocks and he takes on the bucket of bolts, R2.  Dude, in Luke's humble opinion he is rocking it and is in a total Zen Jedi state.  Boom, vision of the future, Cloud City friends in danger and oh yeah still doing this hand stand thingy and totally bails Yoda and R2. 

Luke has to jet out of here to save his friends.  So time to get the Xwing out of the swamp.  Luke - "All right, I will give it a try."  Yoda - "No, try not. Do or Do Not. There is no try." Luke tries to lift the Xwing and Yoda is all like yeah home boy get it and then nope and the Xwing is all sinking like the Titanic into the Dagobah swamp.  So Luke does his typical, Toshi Station whine and he goes moping in his lil pity party for one.  Yoda does his best Jedi Master and picks it up and plops it right on solid ground.  Luke is like what? What?  I have been working away and this lil green dude. Lifts it up like a piece of paper.  Luke - "I don't, I don't believe it." Yoda - "That is why you fail."

Luke is clearly going into a trap in Cloud City, but he is only one that doesn't know it. Vader's plan is simple capture his friends, lure Luke to the Carbonite Freezing Chamber on Cloud City put him on ice and bring him to the Emperor for some Sith training.

So Luke comes face to face with the Evil Darth Vader, Luke knows three things at this point: you killed my Dad, you killed my homie hermit, Obi-Wan and you are a Master of the Dark Side.  Luke escapes Vader's trap and Vader is talking to Luke and trying to get in his head and trying to keep Luke's off his game of course in typical in Sith and bad guy fashion.  The lightsaber battle is brief and Luke actually surprises Vader.   You get a feeling at this point that Darth Vader is holding back as he was with Obi-Wan back in A New Hope.  Luke who is our New Hope just simply meets his match.

This is where the Wampa Cave comes full circle.  As audience, we are ecstatic that Luke was able to grab the lightsaber in the snow, balance himself some Jedi Master and see a true Jedi raise a spaceship out of the swampy water.  Luke and Vader exchange some lightsaber action and then Vader just simple turns it on.  He starts moving objects all over the place and Vader isn't using his hand and waving it around like some Jedi.  (ed. - love me some Watto) He is Sith and a master of the Force and quickly realize this not going well for Luke and Darth Vader just broke the glass ceiling and took it to the next level and in that moment you are left speechless just how it started in the Wampa Cave.

Next week, in preparation for Force Friday I am going to make my early predictions of The Force Awakens... spoilers according to me ;).