The Single Best Thing In Every Star Wars Movie
5. The Empire Strikes Back: The Incredible Narrative
The Empire Strikes Back isn't just the best Star Wars movie, and it's not just one of cinema's finest and most influential sequels. It's one of the greatest stories ever told.
Empire not only boasts an exhilarating white-knuckle thrill ride filled with stunning plot twists and palm-sweating cliff-hangers but it imbues this gripping plot with rich storytelling, involving character development and a wonderful sense of melancholic tragedy.
All those out there who make the (pretty unfair) argument that the Star Wars movies are just light kids' movies should watch this extraordinary tour-de-force and they'll probably eat their words. This is a masterwork of storytelling and of course, it's a perfect example of how to do a sequel.
It expands the story world, ups the stakes and takes the characters to incredibly dramatic new places. The fact that almost every sequel ever made since has tried to copy it (at least to some degree) speaks for itself.
This is a film of many strengths - the stunning visuals, action sequences and acting (aside from Mark Hamill, whose performance as Luke is the film's weakest link) - but it's the film's narrative heft that have allowed it to stand tall and proud as one of the finest works of genre cinema you'll ever watch, as well as the pinnacle of Star Wars full stop.