The Empire Strikes Back
Directed by Irvin Kershner
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair. From TMDB
287 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, TMDB reviews, Lemmy) · newest Oct 17, 2026 · last updated Oct 18, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 41 | 2 | 188 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| TMDB reviews * | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
39 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
370 archived X posts (Mar–Apr 2026) are kept for the record and not used.
What viewers are saying
AI summary of the public posts linked below. Not a review by Rotten Tweets.
Counted from the reviewers’ own 0–10 ratings on the 8 rated TMDB user reviews we collected (7–10 positive, 5–6 mixed, 0–4 negative), not by the AI.
Viewers widely praise the film as a masterpiece and a superior sequel. [1][2][3] Some consider it the best Star Wars film, citing its darker tone and mythic quality. [4][5] One reviewer finds it overrated and less engaging than other entries. [6]
- [6]
Overrated An enjoyable film - just not as engaging as parts IV and VI. The argument that Jedi was ruined by little furry creatures is laughable as this instalment features a little green muppet. I was expecting Kermit and Miss Piggy to show up. Once we get the impressive Hoth battle over with the film meanders and crawls along - padding out its running time with predictable romantic sparring and an extended and dull …
- [1]
It's a dark time for the rebellion; and us the audience as well. Luke, Leia and Han are fighting with the rebels in the hope of defeating the Imperial forces. But Luke gets a calling to the planet Dagobah, where under the tutelage of Jedi Master, Yoda, he hopes to become a Jedi himself, but that also brings him closer to his, and Leia's, destiny. Lets tell it as it is, The Empire Strikes Back is a better film than …
- [2]
A masterpiece of cinema. The film transcends the franchise, seamlessly combining elements of myth, science fiction, fantasy, war film, romance, bildungsroman, epic and tragedy in a way that its sequels have been unable to replicate. It is a move without a moment of fluff. Cut anything and the film would suffer. Story, character, effects, cinematography, music, screenplay, acting, editing and action are all superb. …
- [3]
Terrific, again. 'The Empire Strikes Back' follows up on the greatness of 'Star Wars' with a highly enjoyable sequel. This one feels like a big moment in the franchise, at least to someone who doesn't know what's upcoming, as we get sizeable moments alongside some cool character reveals. Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher continue to impress in their respective roles, as does James Earl Jones. Elsewhere, …
- [7]
Watched one my favorite sequels, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back . The Cast Was Stellar With Mark Hamill(Corvette Summer) as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford(Indiana Jones and The Raiders Of The Lost Ark) as Han Solo ,The Lovely Carrie Fisher() as Leia Organa, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, Jeremy Bulloch(The Spy Who Loved Me) & Temura Morrison(Spartacus) as Boba Fett, Billy Dee Williams(Colt .45 ) as Lando Calrissian, …
How this was made: an AI model (deepseek-v4-flash) read 34 of the 244 public posts we collected about this film and wrote the summary, likes and dislikes, citing the posts behind each point ([n] opens the post). A second AI pass checked every statement against the posts it cites; anything it could not match was removed, and code removed any statement with quotation marks, numbers that are not in the posts, or unattributed claims about people. The split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Generated Oct 10, 2026. Method
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Empire Strikes Back received mixed reviews upon its initial release, a change from the positive reception of Star Wars. In March 1981, The Los Angeles Times released a summary of the leading critics' choices for top 10 films of the year; Robert Redford's Ordinary People appeared on 42 lists, while Empire made it onto 24. Fan reactions were decidedly mixed, with many concerned by the film's change in tone and surprising narrative revelations, particularly Leia's love for Han over Luke and Luke's relationship with Vader. However, opening weekend audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, with males and those under the age of 25 rating it…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 287 · most liked firstCameron Monaghan says his favorite #StarWars film is ‘The Empire Strikes Back’
neutral · AI labelView post →Hayden Christensen says his favorite Star Wars film from the Original Trilogy is 'The Empire Strikes Back' 'Rogue One' is his favorite from the Disney films (via Fan Expo Chicago)
neutral · AI labelView post →Watching The Empire Strikes Back. What a film.
positive · AI labelView post →"Surely you can't be serious." "I am serious... and don't call me Shirley." #FilmHistory On this day 1980, one of the most quotable & hilarious films of all time was released, Airplane! It was the 4th highest grossing movie in 1980. (#1: The Empire Strikes Back, #2: 9 to 5, & #3: Stir Crazy). ✈️
neutral · AI labelView post →Because it’s fun, and because today is the day to do it, and especially because it will piss some people off, here’s my Star Wars movie top five: 1. Rogue One 2. The Last Jedi 3. A New Hope 4. The Empire Strikes Back 5. The Force Awakens
positive · AI labelView post →re sequels that arguably outclass the original film, everyone talks about Terminator 2, The Empire Strikes Back, Godfather Part II… but the conversation is incomplete without Wallace & Gromit: The Wrong Trousers
neutral · AI labelView post →At a screening of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, George Lucas discussed why Yoda speaks backwards “Because if you speak regular English, people won’t listen that much... He was basically the philosopher of the movie. I had to figure out a way to get people to actually listen — especially 12-year-olds.”
neutral · AI labelView post →Movie: Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back Language: Spanish Country: United States Version: Sono-Mex Hollywood (Canal 13 Chile airings)
neutral · AI labelView post →It was a cheeseburger. In 1980. It was a drive-in movie-theater cheeseburger. Objectively it was probably horrific. But my dad took me to see The Empire Strikes Back at the drive-in so we could see it opening night, and it was magic.
positive · AI labelView post →Leonardo DiCaprio holding a copy of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ 📀 He says Star Wars was important in giving him a love for film 📷 Konbini
neutral · AI labelView post →Leigh Brackett was born on this day 109 years ago. Brackett wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back and remains the only woman who has a writing credit on a Star Wars film.
neutral · AI labelView post →Leigh Brackett passed away on this day 47 years ago. Brackett wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back and remains the only woman who has a writing credit on a Star Wars film.
neutral · AI labelView post →RIP Clive Revill. The original voice of the Emperor Palpatine in The Empire Strikes Back was 94. He also worked on The Transformers: The Movie, The Twilight Zone (1986), The Old Republic, Babylon 5, and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He was also the voice of General Dodonna in X-Wing CD (1994).
neutral · AI labelView post →George Lucas will be attending a special 45th anniversary screening of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Hollywood at the 16th annual Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival. Check out @tcmtv.bsky.social for more details!
neutral · AI labelView post →Alternative movie poster of the day 🎥😍 The Empire Strikes Back (1980) By Paul Mann
neutral · AI labelView post →And the landmark political science film The Empire Strikes Back
neutral · AI labelView post →Showing my film students THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK tonight. On the big screen. Because it's always darkest before the dawn.
positive · AI labelView post →ROGUE ONE is currently trending. Today is the film’s 8th anniversary and reminds us that Rogue One is one of the most universally loved Star Wars projects (up there with The Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith). Eight years later and fans are still talking about the film.
neutral · AI labelView post →Leigh Brackett was born on this day 110 years ago. Brackett wrote the first draft of The Empire Strikes Back and remains the only woman who has a writing credit on a Star Wars film.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is the best of the first three Star Wars films. After the space opera cheerfulness of the original film, this one plunges into darkness and even despair. It is because of the emotions stirred in Empire that the entire series takes on a mythic quality.
positive · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back IS a Christmas movie - don’t @@ me.
neutral · AI labelView post →Noriyoshi Ohrai’s characteristically wonderful 1980 Japanese movie poster for “The Empire Strikes Back”.
neutral · AI labelView post →Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Raiders of the Lost Ark Who Framed Roger Rabbit Transformers: The Movie Aliens Back to the Future The Big Lebowski Hudsucker Proxy
neutral · AI labelView post →I’ve started an all Star Trek, Star Wars, and Stargate rewatch, and tonight we watched Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. It’s the first one that I watched in theatres as a kid, and still my favourite Star Wars film.
positive · AI labelView post →R2-D2, Darth Vader, and C-3PO: John Severin’s original cover art for the cover of December 1980's Cracked magazine. A little film called “The Empire Strikes Back” had done quite well that year.
neutral · AI labelView post →Our AEW Womens Champion Timeless Toni Storm is on the Red Carpet at The Turner Classic Movie to watch " The Empire Strikes Back" #AEW💥💥💥💥💥
neutral · AI labelView post →Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (Film: 1980 / DVD: 2004)
neutral · AI labelView post →If The Empire Strikes Back was made today, they'd spoil Darth Vader being the father in the trailer that's released right before the movie is due for theaters.
neutral · AI labelView post →Star Wars (1977): TIE Boarding Craft, art by Joe Johnston↙️ Although not used for this film, this design will be reused (with the addition of a bomb chute) for the TIE Bomber in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and will also appear in its original shape in Rogue One (2016) and Andor (2022)↘️.
neutral · AI labelView post →"Leigh Douglass Brackett (1915 – 1978) was an American author and screenwriter ... one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. .... She also worked on an early draft of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), elements of which remained in the film." {Wikipedia}
neutral · AI labelView post →George Lucas at yesterday’s TCM Classic Film Festival’s screening of The Empire Strikes Back
neutral · AI labelView post →What is the greatest-ever Second Movie in a Scifi Franchise? I believe it must be on of these: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan Aliens
neutral · AI labelView post →PREDATOR: BADLANDS director Dan Trachtenberg says the Predator carrying the Android on his back in the film was inspired by Chewbacca carrying C-3PO on his back in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. (Image credit: ELF0CURO / Reddit)
neutral · AI labelView post →The Last Jedi is the best mainline Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back.
neutral · AI labelView post →I love it when my interests collide: AEW's "Timeless" Toni Storm attended the TCM Classic Film Festival's screening of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and got photo-bombed by the maker himself, George Lucas. 😂
neutral · AI labelView post →Carrie Fisher on a train to Norway to film parts of The Empire Strikes Back in 1979.
neutral · AI labelView post →My entry to the “The Most Amazing Destination” challenge, inspired by the opening scene of my favorite Star Wars movie, “The Empire Strikes Back”: the attack on Echo Base Station on Hoth. @posterspy.com #starwars #winter #filmsky
neutral · AI labelView post →My first film love was Return of the Jedi (it took years to accept that The Empire Strikes Back was the best of the trio) and I’ve literally been mad at George Lucas for decades
positive · AI labelView post →Happy birthday to the legendary Lawrence Kasdan! Kasdan co-wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, and Solo: A Star Wars Story. He also wrote the first Indiana Jones film Raiders of the Lost Ark. May the Force be with you!
neutral · AI labelView post →Implement a 100% tariff and ruin a movie. The Empire Strikes Back And Forth
neutral · AI labelView post →Duel of the Fates from THE PHANTOM MENACE and Darth Vader & Luke’s duel in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK are included in No Film School’s 15 Best Cinematic Sword Duels of All Time
neutral · AI labelView post →Today we're celebrating the side and background characters of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Let's talk about the most important Glup Shittos of the movie: youtu.be/50o0noFAFOk?...
neutral · AI labelView post →There are better serious answers but you could do a lot worse than John Ratzenberger who gives you nearly every Pixar movie, 250+ episodes of Cheers, and for the hell of it, The Empire Strikes Back and Gandhi
neutral · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back (1980) may be the best of the first three Star Wars films. After the space opera cheerfulness of the original film, this one plunges into darkness and even despair. It is because of the emotions stirred in Empire that the entire series takes on a mythic quality.
positive · AI labelView post →"A light-up C-3PO head from George Lucas’s iconic 1980 sci-fi film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back sold for $1,058,400 (£801,818) including buyer’s premium." You’ll be malfunctioning within a day, you nearsighted scrap pile.
neutral · AI labelView post →Today is the 45th anniversary of my favorite movie, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. For its 30th anniversary I got to interview its director, Irvin Kershner, which wound up being his last www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/20...
positive · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back is a Christmas film. I can't really explain it, but it is, with its snowy planet, lessons of patience in a grey and rain-soaked bog (England in winter), its sense of imminence and becoming, and the most awkward family dinner with fascist dad that you're anxious to escape.
positive · AI labelView post →Pick a movie, keep one actor. The rest are played by muppets. The Empire Strikes Back. Yoda
neutral · AI labelView post →THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK will open the TCM Film Festival this year and George Lucas will be in attendance.
neutral · AI labelView post →Time to watch some more #StarWars so watching Episode V The Empire Strikes Back! I would love to be on Cloud City atm. I love this movie. #Movies @plokool811.bsky.social @iron-apostle.bsky.social @thegatecast.bsky.social @thedragonfortress.bsky.social @theposhgoblin.bsky.social
positive · AI labelView post →Happy 45th birthday to the greatest Star Wars film ever. For the Empire Strikes Back 40th in 2020, I got to share some rare behind-the-scenes footage. It’s so fun to watch. You can find it here: abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/...
positive · AI labelView post →With images what is your favorite Star Wars ✨ 🎬 Film: The Empire Strikes Back 📺 TV Show: Clone Wars 2003 🎮 Video Game: KOTOR 1&2 📖 Book: Darth Plagueis Novel
neutral · AI labelView post →Steven Soderbergh, the planned director of THE HUNT FOR BEN SOLO, rewatched the STAR WARS sequels & THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and read THE MAKING OF STAR WARS in January 2025. This sheds some light on the timeline of THFBS, with Soderbergh preparing for the film with rewatches.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back poster is great because it exactly matches the color temperature of the film.
positive · AI labelView post →Happy 45th anniversary to this masterpiece! Beautifully shot, rich storytelling, darker tone, epic sequences… The Empire Strikes Back has too many amazing moments to capture in just one post. This movie elevated the bar in so many ways. One of my all time favorites.
positive · AI labelView post →45 years ago today, ‘STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK’ released in theaters. The film grossed over $550M worldwide.
neutral · AI labelView post →One thing I couldn't cover in the Pynchon and Star Wars article: One Battle After Another. Given OBAA's debt to Vineland, the paternity plot in the film is ultimately tied to Pynchon's riff on the "I am your father" moment in The Empire Strikes Back...
neutral · AI labelView post →Without saying your age, what is your favorite movie that came out when you were 20 years old? The special edition re-releases for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi all came out this year, but that feels a bit like cheating. So I'll go with an actual new release.
neutral · AI labelView post →The Empire Strikes Back (1980). On a chewed up print via @josie.zone. The smudges and the crackles push the film back into the pulp comic images that birthed it. And back into place as a piece of bleakish 70s films. The hopelessness of fighting against tyranny. And the absolute necessity of it.
positive · AI labelView post →The Last Jedi is the best Star Wars movie since The Empire Strikes Back
neutral · AI labelView post →
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