Empire

'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' (1980)

For a long time, "Empire" has been called "The Godfather Part II" of sci-fi sequels: the gold standard for how to make an even better movie the second time around. That still holds true today. While the original "Star Wars"... more (or "Episode IV," as it's known these days) was a fun, if creaky, mash-up of every pulp and space-opera cliché in the known universe, "Empire" darkened the story, developed the characters more fully and reached a shocking dramatic climax that elevated it to greatness with one line of dialogue (if you don't know which one I'm talking about, you shouldn't be reading this). Sadly, the "Star Wars" saga never hit that sweet spot again.

(20th Century Fox)