The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Best movie in the whole saga, and it doesn’t even have an ending. It just stops, with the good guys losing, and tells you to come back later. The romance is a mess too when you look close, since Han’s idea of flirting is mostly refusing to leave the room. And Luke ditches his Jedi training halfway through like a kid quitting piano lessons. Now the good part, which is basically all of it. The walkers on Hoth look like metal camels from a nightmare. The asteroid chase still beats most modern space fights. Yoda is a puppet and he’s still the most alive thing on screen. Irvin Kershner makes it darker, slower and stranger than the first one, and it pays off everywhere. A reported $18 million budget, $550 million worldwide and an A+ CinemaScore. A 9.3 because it’s the sequel every sequel since has been trying to be. $36.82 says you call the next muddy hiking trail Dagobah out loud and nobody laughs.

What works: The Hoth battle, the asteroid chase and a puppet Yoda who feels completely alive, all tied to a story brave enough to let the heroes lose.

What doesn’t: It ends on a cliffhanger instead of a finish, and Han’s version of romance is mostly refusing to leave the room.

Who it’s for: Anyone who thinks the middle chapter is where the real story happens, and kids ready for their first big movie gut punch.