A big step forward...

Rating: 10/10 (30 January 2002)

Sequels are rarely as good as the films that spawned them- but THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (thanks to the direction of Irvin Kershner) proves the exception to the rule. Mature and thoughtful in a way the first film never was (though still chock full of the kinds of critters and fx that most fans of the original took to), this first sequel remains the best (by far) to date. For once in this series, the viewer feels s/he's in the hands of a genuine STORYTELLER. While Lucas himself may have written the script, it's Kershner who gives EMPIRE life, whose taut direction lifts what might've been just another also-ran sequel to a much higher plane than the original ever attained. (For every step forward, there is a step backward: the next film in the series would turn out to be the worst of the lot.)