The story is set several months after the events of “The Empire Strikes Back”, in which Han Solo was taken prisoner by the bounty hunter Boba Fett, who traded Han off to the most vile space slug of the galaxy ... one Jabba the Hutt. Now, Luke Skywalker and company devote their time to rescuing their comrade, and bring down the slimy gangster. They couldn’t have picked a worse time to get sidetracked, because Darth Vader and his mysterious Emperor have constructed a second Death Star that’s even more powerful then the first. Now, with the Empire securing their grip on the galaxy, the Rebels need to make one last offensive to end the galactic civil war. Along the way, it’s revealed that Princess Leia is Luke’s sister, and other conflicts ensue. Most notable of all is Luke Skywalker fighting to win back his father Darth Vader, without falling to the dark side himself.
A common complaint from fans is that the first act of the movie involving Jabba the Hutt over stays its welcome, and has nothing to do with the main story. True, there really isn’t a proper three act structure here, in fact it’s more like two acts with an extra 30 minutes added on to the beginning.
Still, I'd only be lying if I didn't say I loved the whole opening segment with Jabba the Hutt. It’s kind of like a short movie before the main feature, and I feel that it expands the universe more by giving us our first glimpse of the criminal underworld. Sense there were no further direct sequels with these characters, I feel like this opening demonstrates other adventures our hero’s could have had when faced with different villains in the galaxy, aside from the Empire. Jabba the Hutt is also one of my favorite characters in the whole series, as he’s a massive, disgusting space slug with no powers or fighting capabilities, yet he stands tall and dominate over our champions, which is no small accomplishment. He also feels the most alien of any villain in the franchise, as everyone else is a person either dressed in black, or has heavy creature makeup on, or is wearing some kind of body armor, while Jabba is a completely unique design.
The animatronics and puppet work for Jabba are fantastic, and I've always loved his wicked little chuckle. I suppose there’s also the novelty of seeing Princess Leia in her classic golden bikini ... yeah, that was nice. Also, I love looking around at everything in Jabba's palace, with all these cool alien designs and decorations on display. I especially love the battle on Jabba's barge, as it's the first full on brawl of the series, and the first time we see Luke using his light saber in a fight that doesn’t involve sword fighting another adversary. For whatever it's worth, I've always liked Luke best with his green light-saber, as that always felt like his signature color. The bounty hunter Boba Fett also engages our hero's during the battle, which is a treat. While his fighting isn’t particularly impressive, we fans of the character might as well savor the moment, because it’s his only real combat scene in the whole series.
As always, I need to quickly address the special edition changes. The scene when Luke and friends were about to be tossed into the execution pit was originally just an empty whole in the ground, but the special edition features a giant sand worm, which for me was an improvement. It just felt more threatening to me, and adds a little more excitement to the scene. Most fans hated the dance number involving the Max Rebo Band at Jabba’s palace, but personally ... while I didn't like it, I also wasn't that bothered by it either. Obviously, I understand why most people find it annoying, but it really doesn't bother me because truthful ... Jabba’s palace is an ugly, claustrophobic, colorless location, and the time spent with Jabba features our hero’s in bondage for a long time. Because of this, I always felt that the dance number, while admittedly silly, at least helped balance out the mood, and livened up his palace. There’s some other changes that need commenting on, but for now, let’s get back to the movie as it is.
I think "Return of the Jedi" has the best variety of action scenes of the whole original trilogy, ranging from light-saber duels, to monster battles, to epic spaceship brawls, and even car chase style action. I’m obviously referring to that awesome speeder bike chase, which also serves as a nice brother and sister sequence. I also love that there’s no distracting musical score, as all you hear in this scene are the motors and sounds of the bikes passing in the distance, which sound awesome. The forest setting also makes things more exciting, as they can weave past trees and other obstacles. Another highlight is when Luke is dropped in a monster pit, where he faces the giant Rancor. This is easily one of the coolest giant monsters I’ve ever seen, and a testament to the art of practical creature effects. Princess Leia is also a bad ass in this film, I mean she’s always been tougher than the usual Princess stereo type, but in this movie she’s taking out Jabba the Hutt, gunning down troopers, and is always rescuing herself before her allies even get the chance.
Even putting aside all the exciting action sequences, I think this film really nails the characters. Unlike “The Empire Strikes Back” which mostly separated our hero’s, “Return of the Jedi” makes them feel more like a close family then either of the previous films.
I love all the different interactions and bonding moments between these characters. We see Luke a Leia talk with each other like brother and sister, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian are now best friends again and share fun witty banter, the moments with C-3PO and R2-D2 are great as always, and master Yoda has one last touching moment to share with Luke before he becomes one with the force. One of my favorite scenes is when C-3PO shares the stories of his adventures with the Ewok tribe. Instead of explaining the situation, he conveys their story like one to be told around a camp fire, and it’s just a really charming moment that always puts a big dumb smile on my face. We even see the hero’s and the villains in deep conversation, and that’s far more exciting than any amount of action. The moments between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are fantastic and highlight this film as more than just another good versus evil picture. The only character that I felt got annoyingly snubbed in this film is the Millennium Falcon herself ... seriously we never even see our hero’s aboard the ship once, what’s up with that?
Well, the new cast of characters make up for that. I've always like Admiral Ackbar, as he’s the guy with the unique fish head design, and most famous for saying “IT’S A TRAP!” Now, lets talk about the Ewoks, because this is one part of the film that many fans have issues with. The Ewoks are a tribe of warriors, whom our hero’s team up with, but the catch is that their all cute little teddy bear creatures. Many fans find these guys to be really out of place as they make the film more kid friendly. Personally, I always found the Star Wars movies to be perfectly appealing to kids even when they were at their most adult moments, and the Ewoks never seemed any more or less marketable to children then R2-D2 was. Nope ... the Ewoks never felt that out of place to me, and it’s nice to see an army of warriors that are more in tuned with nature, as opposed to high-tech machines. It's perfectly understandable why they may annoy some viewers, but thankfully they don't spoil the experience of the film ... at least not for me. The main Ewok named Wicked is played by popular midget actor Warwick Davis, and he’s always stood out to me as an iconic Star Wars character in his own right.
On a side note, "Return of the Jedi" features my absolute favorite ensemble of classic movie villains all appearing in one picture. I already mentioned Jabba the Hutt, along with Boba Fett, and Darth Vader needs no introduction, yet the best is still to come. This movie introduces us to the Emperor, who’s arguably the most sinister villain in the whole series. Darth Vader may be a bad guy, but the Emperor is just a pure skin of evil. He never shouts, nor shows off his powers, and instead he’s kept calm and mysterious, which just makes his presence feel all the more eerie. Just about everything he says is in a quiet tone, and it’s like a spider whispering into your ear ... he's just downright chilling. He also has a cheerful side, with a wicked smile and sick sense of hummer. Ian Mcdiarmid simply shines in the role, and in my view, he's one of the all time great movie villain performances. His powers of controlling lightning are also really cool, as we’ve never seen another character do anything like that before. For as thematically dark as "The Empire Strikes Back" got, it never scared me as much as this sequence with the Emperor and his lightning powers.
The climax is one of my favorite finale's of all time, and it still thrills me to this day. The Rebel’s launch one final offensive against the empire, resulting in a massive battle on the forest planet Endor, This is also where the novelty of the Ewoks pays off because their methods of fighting against the storm troopers offers a great variety of fun and creativity. The way these guys use the forest location as an advantage against their mechanized adversaries is awesome, and there’s a fun supply of battle vehicles and weapons. Most notable are the new walkers that remind me of the weapons from "War of the Worlds".
Meanwhile, an even bigger battle ragging in space above the planet. I get hyped just hearing that awesome music when the Rebel ships begin their attack. On that note, this was the third time that John Williams received an Oscar nomination for an original "Star Wars" score.
Everything then wraps up in a nice little epilogue as father and son share one last touching moment together, and our hero’s have a triumphant celebration. Over the years there have been several alterations to this ending that I have mixed feelings about. The short montage of all the different planets celebrating the downfall of the empire certainly made it feel more triumphant, and it was a nice touch to see the Emperor’s statue brought down just like Adolf Hitler’s. I especially loved the new John Williams outro score, as it just sounded more beautiful and uplifting then the music of the original track. The only change I hated was in the 2004 DVD version that inserted Hayden Christensen as the spiritual essence of Anakin Skywalker, when the original featured Sebastian Shaw. There was just no reason to do that, as he turned good before he died, so why would he revert back to his younger self, and besides, he was never even that good when he was young Hayden Christensen.
Overall, Return of the Jedi in my opinion is just the perfect conclusion to a great trilogy of movies, and a rare third installment that I find to be superior to its predecessors. I can understand why some people may have issues with this movie ranging from the Ewoks to the broken three act structure, but I feel this one gets it where it counts. Not only is this a highly entertaining Sci-Fi adventure, with amazing battles both on land and in space, but this is the one with the most heart and conflict at the center of the action. It really is the father and son relation that makes this film so much more powerful, memorable and it’s one of the most triumphant endings that a great trilogy could possibly ask for. I loved this movie when I was a kid, I find myself loving it a little more every time I watch it, and to this day, it’s not only my favorite entry in the Star Wars saga, it’s personally one of my favorite movies of all time.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1983 sequel "Star Wars 6: Return of the Jedi" ... and may the greatest adventure across the stars continue to live forever.
Thanks for reading my review of the 1983 sequel "Star Wars 6: Return of the Jedi" ... and may the greatest adventure across the stars continue to live forever.
To Be Continued ...
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