A well earned reputation

Rating: 9/10 (27 February 2020)

Empire Strikes Back delivers a larger scale, more mature sequel that ticks every box. It's darker but still a lot of fun, it's upped the scale and quality of everything it delivers. Planets like Hoth, Dagobah and Bespin have stuck in fans' memories ever since. The main cast all return, just as good as the first time we met them, this time joined by Lando Calrissian, the smoothest man alive, and Jedi Master Yoda who I'm sure needs no introduction. On the villains front, Darth Vader is joined by Boba Fett - a brutally effective bounty hunter of few words.
It's a cool cast, spread out across a large galaxy that really feels like the perfect setting for the epic space opera. The twists keep coming, now well known by pretty much everyone but for a new viewer entirely unfamiliar with them they were absolutely groundbreaking. The action's stepped up since the original - Skywalker vs Vader putting the last film's lacklustre lightsabre duel to shame. The music's as beautiful as ever.
The original trilogy are all highly enjoyable films but Episode V has the reputation as the best of them and it's entirely possible that might well be the truth.