Empire Strikes Back was a stellar movie thanks to the whole Cloud City arc. Rebels on the back foot, desperately looking for allies, and walking right into a trap. The liberal businessman Lando Calrisian attempting to triangulate between good and evil, only to become radicalized into sacrificing his little fiefdom for a Revolution. Luke showing up just in time to lose to his father.

I feel like they tried to recapture that moment in AotC. But between bad acting, sappy romance, and the need for these extended fight scenes, they never had time to key in on the drama of an empire in collapse.