Big Improvement Over The First Star Wars

Rating: 9/10 (10 June 2006)

Although called "Episode V," this was second movie in the Star Wars 6-part installment and I've always thought one of the better entries in the series.
If you watch the first Star Wars and then this one, you'll immediately see a vast improvement in the special-effects department. There is a much more polished look to this one, and improved sound In fact, the DVD transfer is outstanding considering the age of this film.
While the first Star Wars was a bit subdued, this one picks up the action right from the start, although lulls are really appreciated because the first 40 minutes are pretty hectic. The most notable of those scenes are the gigantic robots which were awesome when this film first came out, and are still pretty good. The movie calms down after that opening land war but retains the viewer's interest with other things.
The second half of the movie features two stories going on at once: the battle in space with most of the cast involved, and "Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in a swampland involved in his training sessions with the Master Yoda.
Some of the movie's dialog is still corny, especially between Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) with their love-hate relationship, but it's not overdone. What is overdone is constant bleating noises emanating from "Chewbacca," the wookie. That sheep-in-heat noise can get annoying after awhile. The "Rambo" action continues as it did in the first film, with the villains firing everything at our heroes and never hitting them. Ludicrous, but part of the deal. Those things you just put up with as the film, overall, delivers another interesting adventure, far more than the first Star Wars and leading up to the next one, which was even better.