Also perhaps the greatest movie ever made....

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 1999)

A New Hope set the standard in movie storytelling and special effects. The Empire Strikes Back blows that away. A New Hope and The Empire Strikes back, to me, are about equal in their greatness, but for different reasons. While A New Hope was great because it was the first that broke new ground, The Empire Strikes back is great because it broke new ground while having an almost entirely different story, mood, and flavor than it's predecessor.
The acting in The Empire Strikes Back is superior to A New Hope. Mark Hamill definitely got better at acting, and really got into his wide-eyed, impatient, trying to become a Jedi character. Harrison Ford put more depth into Han Solo, making him more complex than just a shady smuggler. Carrie Fisher gave a new dimension to Princess Leia by showing her attraction to Han Solo, and the way she shows it. And of course, David Prowse/James E. Jones as Darth Vader, giving one of the most earth shattering revelations in a motion picture saga. Anthony Daniels (who I forgot in my review of A New Hope) gives more comic relief to the movie with C-3PO. An interesting new addition is Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissan. As Solo gets more complex, we were given a new character who's shady background made for a shaky alliance with the other characters. Also, who could forget Frank Oz puppeting Yoda, who has almost become a modern philosopher for our time.

The story and special effects of Empire blow away what A New Hope had already created as top notch. The models are much more detailed a realistic and they serve the story even more. I can remember as a kid being scared of the Imperial Probe Droid, which reminded me of a spider for some reason. The story is better with a darker mood. Empire is really the heart of the story, going further into the mysteries of the Force and character development and backgrounds. There is a sense of dread as Darth Vader talks to the Emperor, who is really orchestrating all of these events. Also, Darth Vader's revelation at the end is shocking if you have never seen the movie before.
The Empire Strikes back relied less on a large action scene and instead has many little ones with a great lightsaber duel at the end (although it is nothing compared to the lightsaber duel in The Phantom Menace). Empire adds on to the modern mythology that A New Hope started and 'is' the best sequel ever. I personally think it is the best out of all of the Star Wars movies, although it is hard to choose. Go see it. ***** stars (out of *****).