theprequelsrule said:
The whole "trapped in a giant space worm" segment does seem to be filler
I don't think it was exactly filler. It did serve the purpose of putting our heroes on the run again rather than allowing them to stay in hiding. However, there had to have been less silly ways of accomplishing it that would have been more plausible even within the silliness of the Star Wars universe.
Empire is still my favourite movie of all time, and its ending is my second favourite of any movie ending (second only to Back to the Future II), but despite personal preference I'd dare say that Star Wars is indeed a better film. It's just fun and uplifting, not taking itself too seriously but never stooping to the goofiness of the prequels.
Star wars was intended to be a fun, feelgood adventure story, standing apart in a time of dark serious films. And then its sequel ended up being more dark and serious. So in a way, Empire sort of betrayed the mission of the original film. But as I said, it is still my personal favourite and an awesome movie that did outshine its predecessor in terms of visual splendor and, in my opinion, music (and Yoda was an amazing achievement)