The Best Movie Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2003)

The Empire Strikes Back is, simply put, the best movie ever made. Who among us was not stunned the first time we heard Darth Vader's revelation to Luke? For all intent and purpose Darth Vader was just a robotic villian in A New Hope. Now he was a suffering man underneath that armor, one who just happened to be the father of the protagonist. This movie deepened the Star Wars saga in other ways. It introduced us to the Buddhist aspects of the Force through Yoda. Lando Calrissian was a smuggler with more intrigue than Han Solo in my opinion. Too bad his character was not further developed in Return of the Jedi. The visuals of Cloud City, with its pink and purple sky and dome shaped buildings, opened up the imaginations of so many children. We also got our first glimpse of Emperor Palpatine, although he was not yet truly brought to life until Ian McDiarmid played him three years later. Perhaps one of the finest scenes is Luke's journey into his dark unconscious via the cave on Dagobah. Of course, I cannot forget to mention the epic Hoth battle with the Imperial Walkers or the chase through the asteroid field. There is not a weak or unnecessary second in this movie.