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Countdown to 'Star Wars' Day: Why 'Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back' is the best movie in the franchise

Every film franchise has that one movie that raises the bar so high that everything that comes out afterward is measured to it. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is that movie for 'Star Wars'

Spoilers for 'Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'

After the success of 'Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope', George Lucas set out to catch lightning in a bottle a second time. The result ended up being something so much better than anything he could have hoped for. 

1980's 'Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back' was a brilliant film that impacted popular culture like an AT-AT impacting the surface of Hoth. If the 'Star Wars' franchise is one of the greatest film series ever made, 'The Empire Strikes Back' is the greatest movie in that series.

The initial scenes on the ice planet of Hoth were visually striking and raised the bar from the previous movie, which had some beautiful alien vistas of its own. And when the action shifts to the jungle planet of Dagobah, things get even more fun. 

This is the movie that introduced audiences to Jedi Master Yoda (Frank Oz), a character whose popularity has transcended the series itself.

Whether it's because of 'The Mandalorian' or the ridiculous '2001 Honda Civic and Ketamine' memes (don't ask), people continue to love Yoda four decades after his introduction and his odd speech pattern is as iconic as his wrinkly green skin. 

But say the movie didn't have any of that. 'The Empire Strikes Back' would still be considered a stroke of brilliance simply for the earth-shattering climax where Darth Vader, voiced by the inimitable James Earl Jones, tells Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), "No, I am your father."

This revelation may have lost most of its shock value in the decades after the movie's release but that in itself is a testament to how powerful the scene was. To audiences who only knew of Darth Vader as the evil dictator from the first movie, this was a moment that made them question everything they thought they knew about the series.

Every film franchise has that one movie that raises the bar so high that everything that comes out afterward is measured to it. 'The Empire Strikes Back' is that movie for 'Star Wars'. 

'Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back' is currently available for streaming on Disney+.