The Best-no question

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 1999)

This is the truly dramatic meat of the trilogy-the one that pulled you into the lives of the rebels. The one that made their cause seem so desperate and so necessary that you just had to see them topple the Empire. An unseemly puppet named Yoda helped put this elaborate saga in historical perspective and brought depth and mystery to the concept of "The Force" that was only touched upon in Star Wars. The genius of the trilogy(yes-it remains a trilogy until Lucas makes up for that Phantom Menace crap) is the way it effortlessly draws you in and immediately makes you forget you're watching a mere"movie". The Empire Strikes Back, more than any of the others, is responsible for bringing the whole drama of the saga into people's minds.