Not Better Than The First

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2014)

Whilst a lot of people deem this movie superior to "Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope" and one of the best sequels ever made. I disagree.
Plot In A Paragraph: A long time a go in a galaxy far, far away a classic tale of good vs evil is being played out, After the rebels have been overpowered by the Empire on their new base, Luke Skywalker takes advanced Jedi training with Master Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader.
What can you say about this movie that has not already been said?? The story is filled with the standard elements, (love, betrayal, over coming your fears and good vs evil) but the movie is anything but standard and it has a twist ending you'd never get away with in this day and age (the age of spoilers on the internet)
I'll get what I didn't like out if the way first. When I first saw this as a kid, I was so excited to see it, but I hated the downbeat ending with what happened to Luke and Han Solo, and even recall being bored. And even now over thirty years later, I still remember how disappointed I was, even if I appreciate it for it's part in the story. But It feels bloated and over long, it seriously drags during the 50 mins - 1 hr 25 mark, I checked my watch and could not believe it had only been on an hour, It felt much longer.
Now that's out of the way.....
We get to see the ice planet Hoth, The swamp land of Degobah and the beautiful cloud City of Bespin, whilst introducing us to Landon Calrisian, and more importantly The Emperor and Jedi Master Yoda.
I can't praise the cast enough of this movie enough here. Everyone is spot on. Mark Hamill is excellent as the eager hero Luke Skywalker, who is devastated to learn a family secret. Harrison Ford is perfectly cast as the cocky pilot Han Solo, he is good looking with charisma in spades, whilst Carrie Fisher looks cute and feisty in equal measure. David Prowse does what is need of him as Darth Vader, but it's James Earl Jones who makes the biggest Vader impression and revelation.
Unfortunately with the exception of Ford, the success of these movies type cast them and despite starting in some interesting movies with a good story and good performances. Sadly these pictures never found audiences as movie goers refused to see him as anything other than their characters here.
The score by John Williams is again another valuable asset to the movie.
One of my favourite parts of the movie was the banter between Ford and Fisher, they had real chemistry and I'm surprised they never paired up again away from these movies.
All in all "Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back" is a highly professional piece of work, suspenseful, with a good sense of atmosphere it makes for excellent entertainment.