[ubermonkey]

That's a widely held POV. Lucas hired a decent director in Irving Kershner and had outsiders do the actual screenplay, including Lawrence Kasdan. Kasdan went on to become a genuine heavyweight writer (Raiders, Jedi) and writer/director (Body Heat, The Big Chill, The Accidental Tourist, Grand Canyon). He also wrote TFA and Solo.

So, honestly, no surprise it was better executed than the first film. I maintain to this day that TESB is still the only one of the 9 "Skywalker Saga" movies that is genuinely a good film from an objective filmmaking perspective.