Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
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Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi Movie Review
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is a 1983 epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. It is a good, but flawed conclusion to the original trilogy.
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“You underestimate the power of the Dark Side.
If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny“
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Certainly both ‘A New Hope’ and especially ‘Empire Strikes Back’ are better than this film as they are more serious. This one concludes the story quite well, but not well enough and a lot of problems plague it. Let’s first talk about the positive things. I loved the entire third act of course. It was great seeing Luke’s struggle, Emperor Palpatine got his menacing moment to shine there and definitely the highlight was the ending.
Darth Vader proved that he is still good inside and saved Luke and killed the Emperor. The face unmasking sequence is incredible, the emotion is definitely felt and it surely is the most defining moment of any Star Wars film. I loved it as it was highly emotionally rewarding. The celebration scenes at the end were beautiful as well.
Another thing that I loved was Leia’s storyline. Luke learning that she is her brother, then her coping with it and Han being funny about it – that was all great stuff and I wanted more drama like that honestly.
But unfortunately what we got was a children’s film if you discount the aforementioned stuff. And there is nothing wrong with a family film and I love those, but in this instance it was odd as the first two films were more serious and focused on humans and this one focused on creatures and childish aspects. It just felt like a different film in the same trilogy.
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I disliked that the first act went on for too long. Jabba the Hutt is memorable and the various creatures there are fun, but those scenes were silly and campy and just way too extended. They grinded the film to a halt and just when it started.
But I did like the Ewoks, I have to say. Again they are too silly and childish plus it was of course unrealistic that they managed to beat the superior enemies, but there is no denying how cute and endearing they are. I loved their forest houses, weapons, sounds that they made and their designs. Excellent characters for kids.
Lando is forgettable and Boba Fett remains the most ridiculously overrated SW character for me. I liked Leia here quite a bit and Han was also likable. The two are a great couple. C-3PO and R2-D2 actually got a couple of very funny scenes. Luke is fine, but again Mark Hamill’s performance leaves a lot to be desired.
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I loved everything about the Emperor. He is very menacing and his voice and manner of speech are superb. Yoda’s scene was heartbreaking and poetic. Darth Vader’s storyline is of course iconic and the scene where they put Anakin’s ghost from the prequels made my day. Such a great choice.
Return of the Jedi definitely has overwhelming action, but some of it is highly memorable including the entire last battle between Luke and Vader as well as Emperor. But the air battles went on for too long. The humor is quite solid and the effects are once again excellent and the puppets looked great. This surely is a puppet feature in the vein of Muppets which was weird to witness, but fun.
Return of the Jedi is a good, but flawed conclusion to the original trilogy. Leia’s storyline is good, Emperor Palpatine is a fantastic villain and of course Darth Vader’s story is iconic. The entire final battle and the face unmasking scene are amazing. The film is pretty much a creature feature – very fun, endearing and great for children, but thus it felt like a different film when compared to the previous two. I liked the Ewoks and the droids quite a bit here, but they took too much screen time from the humans nonetheless.
