Good, I'm not the only one who accidentally posted their comment twice.

1. It also has no beginning or middle. We get a half hour of mop-up explaining Mark Hammil's new face, then divergent strands with Yoda and the cloud city that further… what exactly? By which I mean, what story within episode… oh christ, 2. Episode 2. Nothing, that's what. I guess they're learning, and running, and falling in love. But none of it sprang from anything in nor will any of it be resolved within this discrete movie. So we're left with the pleasure of spending time with characters we know and love from the first film, and a handful of great moments: The Hoth battle. You WILL be. I know. I AM your father.

And you may be thinking, what's so bad about that? Isn't it all standard universe-and-character expanding Act II stuff, and excellently executed Act II stuff at that? Well, sure, except for one ti-i-i-i-ny problem (and to me this is the arrow through the heart of "Empire…")

2. Act III turned out to be "Return of the Jedi." And needless to say, peee-hyuuuuuw. But it's not just one bad movie. Because "Empire" was a formless mess that coasted on a combination of good will we brought to it from the first film and the understanding that we were clearly in good hands. So even though THIS film ends abruptly, all would certainly be tied up in a wildly satisfying manner in Part III. But when we tuned in "next week" or "three years later," was it? Nooooooooo! It was a creatively bankrupt, cash-grabby children's story. Which means we were saps for ever being fine with "Empire" in the first place. Not only did it HAVE no satisfying ending, there WAS no satisfying ending. It was a sham and a lie and it played us for rubes.

When people complain about the prequel trilogy I'm never sure what they mean. Yes those movies were awful, but so was every movie after the first one. What did anyone expect?

1. It also has no beginning or middle. We get a half hour of mop-up explaining Mark Hammil's new face, then divergent strands with Yoda and the cloud city that further… what exactly? By which I mean, what story within episode… oh christ, 2. Episode 2. Nothing, that's what. I guess they're learning, and running, and falling in love. But none of it sprang from anything in nor will any of it be resolved within this discrete movie. So we're left with the pleasure of spending time with characters we know and love from the first film, and a handful of great moments: The Hoth battle. You WILL be. I know. I AM your father.

And you may be thinking, what's so bad about that? Isn't it all standard universe-and-character expanding Act II stuff, and excellently executed Act II stuff at that? Well, sure, except for one ti-i-i-i-ny problem (and to me this is the arrow through the heart of "Empire…")

2. Act III turned out to be "Return of the Jedi." And needless to say, peee-hyuuuuuw. But it's not just one bad movie. Because "Empire" was a formless mess that coasted on a combination of good will we brought to it from the first film and the understanding that we were clearly in good hands. So even though THIS film ends abruptly, all would certainly be tied up in a wildly satisfying manner in Part III. But when we tuned in "next week" or "three years later," was it? Nooooooooo! It was a creatively bankrupt, cash-grabby children's story. Which means we were saps for ever being fine with "Empire" in the first place. Not only did it HAVE no satisfying ending, there WAS no satisfying ending. It was a sham and a lie and it played us for rubes.

When people complain about the prequel trilogy I'm never sure what they mean. Yes those movies were awful, but so was every movie after the first one. What did anyone expect?

I can't tell if Joss is just another smug douche TV writer, or TV writers idolize Joss so much that they act like him.