Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back: Critic Reviews

I found myself glancing at my watch almost as often as I did when I was sitting through a truly terrible movie called The Island.

The total effect is fast and attractive and occasionally amusing. Like a good hot dog, that's something of an achievement in a field where unpalatable junk is the rule.

A dramatic illustration of the continued technical brilliance and leadership of the Lucas production team.

It is a visual extravaganza from beginning to end, one of the most visionary and inventive of all films.

It balances bloodshed with charm, spectacle with childlike glee. It's a near flawless movie of its kind.

Irvin Kershner directed the actors this time around, and without the benefit of Lucas's personal affection they seem stiffer, more clenched.

In the glory days of science fiction, critics wrote about the 'sense of wonder.' That's what The Empire Strikes Back creates in us

The Empire Strikes Back is a worthy sequel to Star Wars, equal in both technical mastery and characterization, suffering only from the familiarity with the effects generated in the original and imitated too much by others.

Star Wars made my eyes pop out when I first saw it in 1977!

For many Star Wars fans, this second installment is the best of the George Lucas trilogy: a dark, ultimately melancholy, even philosophical episode that has no triumphant happy ending.

In many ways the new film is a better film than Star Wars, visually more exciting, more artful and meticulous in detail.

They're all great. This is the best of the best.

Continues to set the standards for sequels to this day...

O melhor de toda a serie, este episodio abraca o potencial sombrio do universo concebido por Lucas e consegue equilibrar com eficiencia os aspectos infantis da narrativa com os momentos de maior densidade.

Despite ... an unresolved storyline that paves the way for its dismal sequel, Empire remains in many ways the best (indeed the last good) Star Wars film.

A more mature instalment than its predecessor, loaded with spectacular special effects and efficiently written, this may well be the pinnacle of the saga.

Each section of the film has a stand-out sequence that inspires hyperbole like 'best ever.'

The most imaginative and emotionally connectable "Star Wars" film and, with the exception of "Revenge of the Sith," also the darkest.

The second act is very strong, cutting back and forth between Luke training with Yoda and Han, Leia, Chewie and C-3P0 fighting the Empire. And it's paced leisurely enough that you get to know the characters a little bit.

An extended ricochet from one incendiary set-piece battle to another which still finds time to attend to plot, pace and character.

The best of the films.

Sci-fi cinema at its best.

The backbone of the Star Wars saga… takes the story and themes of the first film into deeper waters.

...the deepest, darkest, most mature, and most thoughtful entry in the series.

The Empire Strikes Back is a total delight.