Fun--But Much Better When I was a Kid

Rating: 7/10 (8 January 2016)

I'm continuing to watch all the Star Wars movies in preparation for "The Force Awakens". I've made it up to "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back".
This is the one that I always think I'm going to love, and then don't. Maybe that's because I think things are going to happen in it that actually evidently happen in "Return of the Jedi" (Palpatine makes no appearance in "Empire", despite his being...the Emperor). Maybe it's because I find Yoda to be less endearing in this movie than I did when I was five years old. Who knows.
Whatever the case, I'm giving "Empire" 7/10 stars. Yes, it does continue on the story of "A New Hope" relatively seamlessly. Yes, the characters are iconic, and yes it is a fun movie overall. Yes, Luke and Vader have a memorable showdown with a memorable line. But it just wasn't as enjoyable for me as "A New Hope". The story seemed to bend and sway a bit (Luke's visit to Dagobah, for example. The dream sequence encounter with Vader also is a little weak).
A long story short, I like this movie, but not enough to give it an 8 or above. Good movie. Fun. But not one of my faves.