The jump from A New Hope to this is pretty incredible. As great as A New Hope is, it’s very George Lucas‑y — with all the good and bad that entails. But here, you can tell that the dialogue got a lot more polish. The cast seems like they’re on more solid footing.
And every time the film seems like it’s about to dip off the rails and fall into camp, Irvin Kershner elevates the material to a place of myth. How many ways could a little green puppet go wrong? Under Irvin, basically zero.
It’s kind of a miracle, really.