I never said better than ESB. I said better than ANH which is my second favorite Star Wars movie.

Episode 7 had a lot of limitations. It had to jump 30 years forward. It had to bring back original fans. It had to bring back prequel fans. It had to bring in a new generation of fans. It had to play it safe. Reuse story elements to be a soft reboot for the franchise. With Rian Johnson and his story group helming episode 8 with a set of great characters and a new brewing galactic conflict it sets the stage for the potential to pass ANH. I just don’t think it can match the utter perfection and magic of The Empire Strikes Back.