Long live the Empire!

Rating: 10/10 (19 July 2017)

How do you top perfection? Why, you go out and you create the Empire Strikes Back, that's how.
If the first Star Wars is merely the introduction, then Empire most certainly is the main course, the special effects were somehow more amazing, the story was far deeper, delving further into the mythology of the Skywalker saga, "No, I am your father!" anyone?
What separates the first Star Wars from Empire,is the sheer fact that in Empire it seemed the whole cast and crew had more confidence and were far more comfortable with what they were doing. Whereas A New Hope seemed a little more shaky and adventurous, Empire exhumed total confidence, it explained more e.g. Vader being Luke's father, introduced the character of Yoda that had so far been a missing link in the story, it explained more about the great purge that had consumed the galaxy, what the galaxy had been like before the Empire through Obi-Wan and Yoda's eyes...
...It answered a lot of questions basically.
The backdrops e.g. the locations, space itself, were kept in a similar vain to the previous film; dirty, desolate, it gave the impression that our heroes were truly lost out in the farthest reaches of the galaxy. For example, ever notice how the whole film revolved around the outskirts (outer rim) of the galaxy? And that not once in Empire or any of the original films (unlike the prequels) does the action venture into the heart of the galaxy, the heroes and the rebellion are marooned seemingly trying to fight from the outside in.
For an outlandish and absurd sci-fi film, the characters are highly relate-able, in that their fight for justice is something we have all experienced in real life.
On a visual note, the whole film was ahead of its time, the action in the beginning on planet Hoth was raw and other than the added additions of vehicles e.g. AT-AT walkers and snow speeders, the shield generator, echo base itself, the whole planet looked REAL, like they had landed in Antarctica on planet Earth. This contrasts Cloud City later in the film, this location looked purely CGI, nevertheless it was stunning and so outlandish, a city in the clouds surrounded by a gas mining facility, only in the realms of Sci- fi!
The three main characters introduced in Empire that were absent from the previous film: Yoda, Lando and Boba Fett, all three were awesome and fantastic editions to the saga.
Alas The Empire Strikes Back stands as my favourite ever film and for good reason, to find put why though you seriously need to invest some time in watching it, I implore you to do so.