The absolute best!

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2015)

Although Star Wars Episode IV was groundbreaking, as a kid I always loved to see Star Wars Episode V, as basically it took all the things developed in the first movie, and built on them to create something 1,000 times better like a good sequel should, rather than just retracing the steps of the previous film. Although my family didn't own Episode V, my brother's friend did, and surprised me when I was about 6 years old by bringing over Episode V in secret, and I adored every last minute of it!
So what's the deal? After the destruction of the Death Star in the previous film, the Empire gained its revenge, and the Rebel Alliance was scattered across the Galaxy in a bitter chase. Now on the ice planet of Hoth, Jedi Luke Skywalker is told in a vision to go to the planet of Dagobah to learn from a mystical Jedi Master known as Yoda. Meanwhile, the Empire determines their location, and after a vicious fight between the ill-equipped Rebels and the Empire's AT-AT Walkers, the group must flee the planet, with Han Solo and Chewbacca taking Princess Leia and C-3PO in a desperate bid to escape the Imperial blockade aboard the Millennium Falcon, whilst Luke and R2D2 journey to the swamp world of Dagobah to find the mysterious Jedi, all while being pursued by the vengeful Dark Lord, Darth Vader, obsessed with turning Luke to the Dark Side.
As I said, rather than retreading the first movie like many sequels do, the Empire Strikes Back takes all the elements from the first movie, the fantastic models, the gripping action, the story, the characters, and expands on them. The development of the characters, such as romantic relationship that you can genuinely believe between Han and the Princess is established, Luke is trained in the art of a Jedi, being able to control and channel the Force, and Darth Vader's truly evil powers are built upon, now being a ruthless leader of a frightened Army.
The story is also one that throws you on so many loops. I've watched this movie a million times so nothing surprises me, but if you're watching for the first time, there are many things about this film that will give you a shock, or take you by surprise. I of course wont name them, but you'll see what I mean.
The action sequences have also been massively improved since the last movie. Whilst the battle above the Death Star, though long, was impressive, the battle against the AT-AT's in the snow with the stop-motion movement of the Walkers and the fight of the Snowspeeders is just so good it's practically real. Every individual piece is manipulated and choreographed to perfection to create a truly awesome fight scene. The lightsaber battles too have been made more energetic, and take place on a wider range of locations, as well as the mastery of the Force and powers that it entails being developed heavily.
Overall, I consider this both my best Science-Fiction film, but also my best film of all time. A film that even today has me hooked, and continues to be the awe and inspiration of so many even 35 years after it first hit the big screen. I recommend this movie to everyone, because it appeals to just about everyone!