The only film that gets a 10

Rating: 10/10 (26 January 2008)

And I've seen some great films. However, within this one it's the culmination of both fortuitous events and the craft and skill of everyone involved that makes this the best film of all time.
If you start with the script, because many people leave this detail out, you realise how well crafted the dialogue is. This is no accident and arguably the key to this success was the work by Leigh Brackett, the woman that was also partly responsible for the script to the Bogey classic "The Big Sleep". I've often said that it you place Han and Leia's script in empire and compare the sparkling repartee between them and Marlow and Rutledge you could almost switch them between films (Those are harsh words to throw at a man, especially when he's walking out of your bedroom and sorry sweetheart, I haven't time for anything else, in particular).
Then of course the luck factor kicks in. Bad luck at first with Mark Hamill's terrible bike accident which had to be explained with the wampa attack, which in turn leads to the scene where we see how Luke's powers are first coming along. Then arguably the best piece of lateral thinking. The obvious jedi master would be 6 feet tall and virtually indestructible, and rather than do that, they make Yoda anything but, they went the other way and created one of cinema's best realised fake characters. In Empire, Yoda is masterfully done and every scene with him is like a moment with a treasured Grandparent whose wisdom is strange but unquestionable. This is Yoda's film and is fantastic for it.
The John williams score in this one is breathtaking, key moments, include the lifting of the X-wing and the confrontation between Lando and vader, so subtle, but so perfect.
Finally the effects, the light sabre duel is arguably the best one ever put on film, as Luke's quick but not perfect yet, going up against a Jedi Warrior whose powers are second to only 2 others in the galaxy. Awesome, and as for the revelation, I thought he was lying when I was 10 years old, it is almost too unbelievable, but believable it is.
First three aren't a patch and this one is George's masterpiece.
10/10 Mikey B