"The dark, funny, one."

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2002)

Episode V is without a doubt the most different of all the Star Wars Films, and yet it manages to be everything we know and love about Star Wars. Who knows why? Was it because of the writing, directing, and production? Was it Lucas' intent for the movie to be this much different? I don't have the answers. But I do have a movie to review. I would call ESB the most atmospheric, exiting, and well-paced of the series. The development of the Han/Leia tension which started in the first film is going full steam ahead here, with some of the best one-liners in the history of one-liners. It's sad that this tension completely dies in Return of the Jedi; just because they love each other doesn't mean they can't fight any more! The action scenes in episode V are, IMHO, second only to the huge battle at the end of Ep VI. I don't have the wide-screen version, so I'll have to admit that I've never seen it in all of it's glory, but the star destroyer chase/asteroid sequence is incredible (i.e. the podrace in epI is a drive to moosejaw in comparison). The plot in ep V takes some very cool twists: the introduction of a new mentor for Luke, some revelations about his origins, and a conflict between his destiny as a Jedi and his love for his friends. I'm not sure which of the three writers of this film are responsible for this stuff, but it's presented here in a way totally different than in any of the later films.
I won't ever say this is the best of the Star Wars saga, that's not something I can decide. I will say that It's the last of the SW films I can watch over and over again; This and Ep IV are what we are thinking of when we talk about great Star Wars movies.