Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Probably the most beloved of the franchise for many of the critics of Star Wars is this film.  The imagination and creativity of all that went into The Empire Strikes Back simply raised the bar for all future sci-fi films and made any aspiring moviemaker stand up and take notice.  Was it this movie that began to cement Star Wars as the cult icon that it is today?  Probably.  Because who would’ve thought you’d see the celestial form of Obi-Wan Kenobi or that the ultimate Jedi Master was a little green guy called Yoda?  And one might surmise that it was this film that made Han, Chewy, and the Millennium Falcon the crowd-pleasers they’ve remained to this day.  Of course Darth Vader’s revelation of being Luke Skywalker’s father has withstood the test of time as one of the most classic movie moments of all time.  And on a personal note, I will say that this was the movie that launched the Boba Fett craze that also continues to this day.  The movie did an excellent job of leaving the story wide open for a sequel as well and gave Star Wars fans a new hero in the form of Lando Calrissian.