One of the greatest movies of all time

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2017)

Words almost fail me at writing a review of this, the Holy Grail of Star Wars movies. It is not just a living legend and a cinematic masterpiece, it is the sacred text of the mythology of Star Wars. A New Hope introduced us to the Star Wars galaxy and gave us a hint of its mythology, but The Empire Strikes Back created and entire mythology which ranks as the greatest imaginative exercise in the history of cinema.
The good:
1. It's all good!
2. The pace: like A New Hope, the pacing of this movie is perfect. Nothing drags, nothing is out of place, everything flows smoothly with ever-increasing tension to a stunning, legendary conclusion.
3. The Battle of Hoth: this is a Star Wars battle as it should be, visually stunning and emotionally compelling.
4. Cloud City - a wildly imaginative visual masterpiece, its glittering exterior masking its increasingly sinister nature.
3. Darth Vader - "You have failed me for the last time!" - Here we see why Darth Vader has become the greatest and most iconic cinematic villain of all time, with John Williams' fantastic score The Imperial March to match. Sorry Rebel Scum, but Darth Vader is coming to kick ass and chew gum, and he's fresh out of gum. :)
4. Yoda - the necessary counterpoint to Vader's cruelty and evil. George Lucas again has drawn deeply from the well of Joseph Campbell to give us the wisest and most beloved teacher of all time. "Do, or do not! There is no try!" And the scene with Luke, Yoda and the X-Wing is perhaps the most magical in all of cinema. "I don't believe it!?!" "That is why you fail!" This amazing scene brings chills of rapture down my spine every time I watch it.
5. The mythology - here thanks to Yoda's teachings, contrasted by Darth Vader's brutality and the brief but insidious appearance of the Emperor, we truly learn the nature of the force, the dark side and the light. It is simple, yet profound enough to make us think seriously about the nature and of good and evil in our own world. We are reminded that good and evil are both choices, and that choices have consequences. That which is done, cannot be undone. "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny..."
6. Darth Vader's revelation to Luke: I won't spoil it even here, but this is THE greatest, most shocking, and most suspenseful cinematic revelation of all time. I don't think audiences today can ever appreciate how audiences in 1980 were left reeling by this fantastic scene, or the three years of debate and anticipation which followed - after so many triumphs in scene after scene, here The Empire Strikes Back truly claims its place in the pantheon of The Greatest Movies of All Time!
Actually I could probably go on and on listing all the good parts of this movie, as every scene is a triumph. I think the above is a sufficient sampling to support my conclusion as to how incredible and deserving of its legendary status this movie is.
The indifferent:
1. Nothing about this movie is indifferent!
The bad:
1. Nothing is bad about this movie! Anyone who feels otherwise deserves to be banished to a dark oblivion forever by Great Chthulu. (Bonus points if you got that reference.) The only point I could make here is that this movie sets such a high standard of excellence in every respect that no subsequent Star Wars movie has been able to touch it.
In conclusion, in the very unlikely even you haven't seen this movie then what on earth are you waiting for?