Not only the best Star Wars films, but one of the best pieces of Science Fiction I have ever seen.

Rating: 10/10 (1 December 2003)

This is superb. This is truly one of the best sequels I have ever seen, not only as a Star Wars film, but as one of the best sequels in the history of film making. Like the granddaddy of all sequels, The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back takes the original, develops it and continues with it but is not afraid to go into darker places. We have Hans Solo being frozen alive, Luke being told that Darth Vader is his actual father and to top it all of he has his arm chopped of by him. As kid's films go, this is brilliant and dark. If the first film was like the magician's trick, this is more like a Shakespearean play, a hint of tragedy taking hold of proceedings. The characters are taken on more darker paths throughout the narrative that leads to a frightening downbeat cliffhanger. There is a sense of maturity in the proceedings here. Maybe it comes with a different director using the special effects tools in a more mature manner of different writers, but the more superficial problems that the first film had are gone here. The acting is much, much better, Mark Hamill putting in a brilliant portrayal of a Luke that is finding his life taking a more darker turn than before. The chemistry between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford retains some of the more fun and light hearted aspects, but then this leads to a darker pay off and a scene of sheer emotional intensity it is almost blinding. To think, this was intended as a kid's film.
Once again the special effects are fantastic, but the screenplay from Lawrence Kasdan and Leigh Brackett as well as the direction of Irvin Kershner make this a stand out too. John Williams' music is superb as always, but here he outdoes even himself, possibly doing his finest music for his Hollywood blockbuster market. The sweeping music during the asteroid chase and the Vader theme are undeniably classic pieces of music.

This being the second part of the trilogy there are none of the constraints of the first part. The film begins almost mid flow, with the rebels on the run (this in itself marking out the downbeat nature of the film, the rebels aren't so much as fighting as running away), there is no nagging re-introductions of characters or dialog that covers what's happened before in part one, which is most welcome. What we get is essentially the second act on a three act film, and here everything clicks into place perfectly. The first one may be the most fondly remembered, but for me, The Empire Strikes Back is the one that is the greatest.