TheRetroCritic

After the runaway success of Star Wars , George Lucas handed the directing reigns to Irvin Kirshner for the sequel which is still seen by many as the franchise's best instalment. The Empire Strikes Back , as the title suggests, is not the upbeat adventure with the fairy-tale ending the first film was. This time, the Empire gets its revenge following the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope and our heroes suffer for it. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), after having a bad run-in with a Wampa (some abominable snowman-looking beast) and a chat with the ghost of Alec Guinness, departs for the Dagobah System to learn the ways of the Force from Yoda (Frank Oz) leaving Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewie (Peter Mayhew) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) to be betrayed by old friend Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams). This gives ample opportunity for galactic badass Darth Vader to plot against our heroes. Character development-wise, a romance finally brews between Solo and Leia, Luke goes