Stream it now Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi Reset Status Want to Watch Already Watched Don't Want to Watch

Some quick things we all should remember:

"It takes a lifetime to learn how to live."
"We have been given the gift to make mistakes."
"We can't do everything, but we can do something."

I could keep going, but I'll stop for now...:p...

MUPPETS RULE! EWOKS RULE!

Yes, it's the Star Wars film with the most faults (in the original trilogy at least), but it's still quite at home with it's 2 predecessors. I'll tell you why I can overlook it's shortcomings and that's because this is the movie that made me fall in love with movies. 5 years old, ROTJ in the theater and I was never the same.

Return Of The Jedi is the final episode of George Lucas's Star Wars trilogy. It begins right where Empire Strikes Back left us, Luke needs to return to Degobah to finish Jedi school, Han Solo has been frozen in carbonate and delivered to Jabba The Hut and it's up to the others to rescue him.

However despite a few really good moments this one is my least favorite of the trilogy, in fact very nearly my least favorite of the saga to date.

The reason is that this episode seemed to feature much more C3P0, the most annoying character in history, and while it also features much more R2D2, the coolest robot in history, C3P0 still ruins it. As the 2 of them were delivered to Jabba I found myself laughing at R2's courage before cringing at C3P0's cowardice, but then being stuck on cringe mode for the rest of the scene.

Still, the film still managed to be a visual treat (back then at least, the effects have dated badly), and did still contain some wonderfully choreographed action. There's an amazing shoot out as Luke comes to everyone's rescue against Jabba, another amazing dog fight as the resistance must put an end to the newly repaired Imperial Deathstar for good. Besides which the finale of the film features the best Light Saber duel in the series to date. Again nothing too elaborate in the choreography, but the emotions are running high. Luke is battling Vader who he hates, but has come to accept as his father and these mixed emotions come out in full force, making the final battle that much more intense.

Unfortunately this scene is partnered with a scene on board the battle of Endor. Again fantastically choreographed, and with the series best visualized locations to date, it's just that the Ewoks get in the way. My dad loved them, but as far as I'm concerned, when they decided not to make them Wookies they should have removed them, because these tiny little Teddy Bears look silly fighting off against the Empire's army.

That's the tone of this final episode of the original trilogy, it's the first kiddie friendly, toy sale moment of the series and suffers for it.

Acting wise this film is one of the better ones. The main cast is identical to the last one, with Mark Hamill still being bland in the lead, but now showing that he's aged much more than his character has, and Carrie Fisher still needs to lay off the drugs. However Ford is still perfect as the newly sympathetic Han Solo, Frank Oz adds a sense of dignity to Yoda's final moments, James Earl Jones is still terrifying in his authenticity as Vader's voice, and the everyone who played a role in Jabba's place did very well.

This episode was notable for the introduction of the Emperor though. The leader of the the empire, yes even Vader has a boss, and an all round not very nice guy. Ian McDiarmid, who plays the role, does amazing, giving the emperor a real sense of foreboding, and never once trying to give the role any sense of sympathy.

***/5 :fresh:

The best star wars yet.

Star Wars...

Although I love this movie nearly as much as the first two, the ewoks and some of the dancing and singing (especially from the SE) make this one my least fav of the original trilogy. I do love the ending scene, and when Darth comes to Luke's aid against the emperor. I also love when Han is unfrozen and Luke comes to everyone's rescue. Of course one of the most memorable scenes is when Luke discovers that Leia is his twin sister, making their kiss in ESB disgusting...:)

Good Morning and Happy Easter:
I now turn my attention to George Lucas and Star Wars. Star Wars is a special type of movie for me. I can remember at age four sitting in the theater watching Empire. For me the experience lasted a life time, and could be why I went into film school.

I'm not here to debate the original trilogy...things have been said for years about those three movies and I doubt I could add to those opinions. What I do want to do is discuss how the prequels should have been better.

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
This movie should have been better. Darth Maul was an intriging character...that had nothing to do for most of the film. He barely uttered a word. I mean he was a bad ass terminator mother f***er. Yet, a Padawan defeats him with a single swipe. Rubbish! Overall, I like this better than Clones or Jedi. The rising of the Emperor was interesting to watch...and the Podraces are pretty cool. Furthermore, the Duel of the Fates was the best light saber battle yet! But...I felt deflated as I left the theater. There was something missing. Call it Bobo Fettish (haha). Darth Maul had the ability to be a GREAT character...but Ol' George killed him off.

Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
This one was alright...I mean, it's nothing to get too excited about. Here are the problems as I see them.
Unbelievable romance between Anakin and Padme. I mean, these two had the romance of the ages from a galaxy far, far away. But, who would believe that after seeing this movie?
Anakin killing the Tusken Sandpeople. Show don't tell is the carnal rule for film. We see Anakin slice a few Sandpeople and then have to see the weakest dialogue in the film: "Women...children...I killed them all...They're animals!! ."
Jango Fett. Jango was super cool...but why, o why, can't the Fett family afford better jet packs? Jesus Christ!
The Arena Battle. C-3PO is an add-on in the prequels. He has nothing to do. He singlehandedly ruined a compelling scene with his annoying "comic relief". I realize that Lucas makes the films for children too, but please don't ruin a good scene with Threepio again.
Yoda. He limps in to fight Christopher Lee, then flies around with The Force aiding him in a light saber duel...then grabs his cane and limps away again.
Mace Windu. A waste of Samuel L. Jackson's talents.
I just hope Episode Three will be better than all of the above films.

This movie was quite good. The last in the original Star Wars trilogy, here was where all story threads were supposed to be pulled together. Although George Lucas makes some steps towards achieving this, we are left with a number of jarring plot holes, and several scenes that belong more to the Muppet Show than Star Wars. The Jabba's Palace scenes were simply awful. OK, the effects have been brushed up for the special edition, but even after this treatment, the scenes are still silly.

We find out that Luke and Leia (who had previously showed signs of mutual erotic attraction) are really sister and brother. OUCH!

What really saves the movie from mediocrity is the awesome and bone-chilling dialogue between Vader and the Emperor (and, towards the end of the film, Luke). It is in these moments that we are exposed to the classic good vs evil dilemma and the feelings of despair this dilemma causes. Both Vader and Luke need to make important decisions.

The other area where Lucas really gets things right are the effects. They are stunning, especially given that this movie was released in the early 80s. Watched today, they look much less dated than the effects from the first two films. And The Death Star battle scene can still get the adrenaline going, even though we all know the outcome...

An altogether reasonably good movie, but much weaker than the first two episodes of the Star Wars trilogy.

Return of the Jedi:
The third one is also good, but not that good. After the dark atmosphere of the previous move this one feels like a letdown. I mean, fluffy teddy bears?? I also don't know what to think about the ending. It feels to happy and optimistic. But on the other hand, I'm glad that all the main characters survive, I would have been hugely disppointed if it wasn't the case. However there are also good things about this movie: the Speed Racer scene, the final confrontation with the Emperor and the destruction of the second Death Star. So it is a good way of ending the trilogy but still I feel that it could ahve been done better.