Easily one of the best films of all time, and a Star Wars masterpiece.

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2017)

Empire has long been known as the greatest Star Wars flick. I would say that Return of the Jedi would have beaten it for this title, if it had laid off the overdose of ewoks and buffoonery that populate the middle of the film, and lose sight of the otherwise excellent and violent epic being told.
Empire was actually the very first SW film I ever saw as a child. I saw it sitting on a library shelf and Empire looked the best to me for some reason, even on the box. I took it home and was thrilled to see the huge Hoth snow battle right to start with. From there, I already felt immersed in the SW universe, though I hadn't seen the original.( I had played with toys and heard about it from friends.)
Great music, great script, great action, and the crazy revelation after a light saber duel of Vader being Luke's father.
Plus, Billy Dee Williams!!! Interaction between the silly droids and Chewbacca(but still felt cool, and not as childish as prequel nonsense). I remember Han Solo's line really surprising me, as I was only in about 2nd grade, when he replies to Leah's "I love you," with "I know", as I had never heard anyone say this in a movie. I was expecting the usual "I love you too." It seems silly now, but for the time, Empire had some witty and sarcastic moments that are way better than other entries in the saga.
Landing in a monster's mouth while running from the Empire through an asteroid field? Awesome, and the music and tension with that scenery are forever etched into my brain. John William is awesome. The Hoth scenery and Dagobah meeting with Yoda and Cloud City were all some of the best locations for Star Wars material.
Everything about this film screams classic and epic greatness on many levels. Boba Fett and the mercenaries are introduced, and it leaves us with so many cliffhangers that it is utterly more exciting and suspenseful than IV and VI. I also had the old super Nintendo video game for Empire(and Return) and played them constantly.