Best of the original Trilogy...

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2002)

It is 3 years after Episode IV and the Rebels are on the run from the Empire. Luke Skywalker explores his Jedi heritage only to be confronted with disturbing truths, Darth Vader continues his quest tom punish the Rebels, and Han and Leia are on the run. The galaxy has become a much darker, more dangerous place.
After a traumatizing experience directing the first Star Wars film, series creator George Lucas vowed he would stay away from the camera this time, and crank up his degree of control. Because, while production had been misery, young George had negotiated the shrewdest deal in film history: exclusive rights on all Star Wars related content and derived products. When Star Wars became not just A hit but THE hit of the century, Mr Lucas held all the cards.
While the subsequent creation of a prequel trilogy might taint the whole story in retrospect, one should admire George Lucas for opting to be as faithful to his story as possible, and for deploying unprecedented independent power to back his vision. So Lucas enlisted director Irvin Kershner as well as writers Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kadan and put them to work. Lucas kept his focus on overall production and the effects work, the complexity of which far exceeded anything attempted 3 years prior.
The result, any Star Wars fan will concede, is not just the finest film in the series but one of the best sequels ever made. Much like the benchmark Godfather Part II, it builds on and deepens the themes of its predecessor while exploring new, unchartered territory. It also took many brave narrative risks, most of them ruined by the unnecessary prequels. it gave the characters new depth and resonance, along with some of the most memorable dialogue in a series not often noted for its language or performances.
Watching the bad guys have their day can be a thrilling experience and, as the title implies, this is the Empire's film through and through. Vader is at his most enigmatic and evil, and John Williams already legendary score achieves new heights unrivaled since. This is everything you could possibly want from a sequel to the greatest space opera in existence.