Before I get into the weeds in Empire, just to reiterate my point: the Internet has changed everything. Specifically, the anonymity of the Internet, where people are emboldened to communicate in ways they never would face to face, or people in their 50s suddenly realize they're debating subjective opinions with kids in middle school. Stupid heads! :lol
Anyway, Empire. Curmudgeons like David Gerrold were not some isolated opinion. You gotta remember, at the time most sequels were like "Jaws 2" -- basically just cash-grab remakes of the first film. Lucas' idea of making an homage to the serialized format of the Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon serials hadn't fully sunk-in yet (and he didn't even put "Episode IV" on the first film in its initial release). So it was pretty radical that 'Empire' wasn't just a remake (which is why a lot of fans have turned against TFA over the years), that it had a much different tone, that it had a puppet for a major character, that it reconceived the relationship between the protagonist and antagonist, and that it had a cliffhanger ending. As much as people say they like change -- they really don't. At least not initially. Empire did extremely well at the box office for a sequel -- the best in history to that point, in fact -- but it made a significantly smaller amount than the first film (which is an unfairly high bar, but we're talking about Hollywood accounting perceptions). There were certainly those saying that the sequel could've made much more money had Lucas not taken so many risks and messed with the formula (something fans LOVE him for when it comes to Empire but not so much when it comes to, say, the PT). Anecdotally, I'm not alone in experiencing MANY negative opinions when the movie was released, from friends and strangers. No one was saying it was 'The Black Hole' bad, but seriously most people I knew would say something like, "Well, it was pretty good. The walkers and asteroid scenes were cool. And Yoda was funny. But it was no 'Star Wars." Basically, a LOT of people went into it hoping for the same jolt of delight as they'd experienced with the first film and when they didn't quite get it were disappointed (sounds depressingly familiar, right?) Not hostile PT or TLJ disappointed, but definitely hoping the next one would be better. And sure enough, several of the Jedi reviews mentioned specific steps the movie took to "make up" for the perceived flaws of 'Empire.' It really wasn't until it sunk in that 'Jedi' wasn't as good (thanks Ewoks!) that people started re-evaluating their opinions of 'Empire.' Darker and riskier were suddenly cool. And I'm not saying ANY of this because I want to start a phallus measuring contest or because I somehow want to convince anyone that 'Empire' isn't the number one bestest movie ever so shut up dummy. I'm only saying, if 'Empire' had been released in the age of the Internet we would have a very different conversation about it. The ability to communicate easily and often with strangers changes everything. I met one woman recently who is only a casual Star Wars fan (in that she likes the movies, but doesn't indulge in fan stuff) and she was shocked when I mentioned that many people don't like the Ewoks. "They don't? I had no idea." Of course.
