Return of the Jedi (1983)

Strong and Moving!

Fresh and Exciting

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Best Star Wars movie ever. Watch this movie before you die.

This for me was the weakest chapter of the original trilogy but it did what it set out to do. I have some friends who say it's their favorite; one of whom says he likes the space battle between the Rebels and the Empire. I used to like the space battle and used to watch those parts while fast-forwarding the other parts of the final battle while watching the movie. But now that I'm older I enjoy the lightsaber duels more. That for me is what Star Wars is truly about, and not just the space battles and the ground battles (like in Empire).The film gets a bad rap by many fans due to the Ewoks, while some say it's a ripoff of the first Star Wars. The latter seems a little unfair though sometimes the third chapter of a trilogy tends to mirror the first one. I used to like the Ewoks when I was younger and while I'm now a little older (and wiser) and I think they're a little silly, they're not as bad as the Gungans (see The Phantom Menace). But all in all, it's not a bad way to end the saga of the Skywalkers. There are still some better third chapters to trilogies out there (such as Toy Story 3 and Return of the King), so you might want to check those respective film sagas.

I thought this was a typical film ending for the 80's, the good guy always wins.But I thought the beginning seemed rather badly written if I'm honest. Here Luke and Leia plan to rescue Han from Jabba on Tatooine. Despite freeing Han the plan fails and Leia captured, and when Luke appears he too is captured (and dropped into th Rancor pit to die, however predictably this ends with Luke surviving the death of the Rancor) they are all sentenced to death at the Sarlac pit. This however was all part of their plan as Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 were already in place to help them and turn their execution into an escape. What kind of a rescue plan is expected to fail from the start? I can understand having a plan b just in case, but everything about this shows they knew exactly how events would unfold, why else would they place Lando, Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2 in Jabba's palace. How would they get them out if Han's rescue had been successful?Now a little controvential opinion, Ewoks.Han and his team go to destroy the shield generator on Endor in order to destroy the second Death Star, however before they can set charges to destroy the base an Imperial army then ambushed them and fight against the Rebels. The fight soon turns to the Imperials advantage however the Ewoks then join the fight; using primitive catapults, trip ropes and stones they somehow defeat the Imperials and enable Han to destroy the shield generator. The Ewoks seem like they were only placed in the film as a means of ensuring victory for the Rebels, the Imperials would have defeated the outnumbered Rebels were it not for them, and the idea that such primitive weapons could defeat the Imperial troops seemed a stretch anyway.Prior to this Luke left Hans team and allowed himself to be captured and taken to the Death Star to confront Palpatine and Vader where he is forced to fight Vader, Luke bests the Sith Lord however his compassion for Vader (after he revealed himself as his father) stops Luke from killing him. Instead he throws down his weapon and faces Palpatine unarmed. Palpatine attacks Luke with his Force lightning however before he can kill Luke, Vader switchesd allegiance. Driven by love for his son Vader lifts Palpatine and throws him down a chute into space and kills him, this act however damages his life support suit and soon after he too dies. Vader seems like a very selfish man and an unreliable ally, having already turned on the Jedi in Episode III when he saw an opportunity to help himself (to save Padme) and now again to save Luke.The Death Star is then destroyed, typically just as Luke escapes with Vaders body and he holds a private Jedi funeral on Endor attended by ghost Obi-Wan and ghost Yoda (the ghost of an old man then appears and is presumably Anakin) meanwhile everyone else has a pre-fight party in the Ewok village. The remastered version is good how the head of the old man ghost is replaced with the head of Hayden Christiensen (who playes Anakin in the Prequel series, as this presumably depicts Anakin the last time he was a Jedi) But where is Qui-Gon who was hinted at being able to appear as a ghost to Obi-Wan while in hiding on Tatooine between the two trilogies? In the remastered version they also show clips of worlds across the universe celebrating the destruction of the Emperor, which is odd since word cannot have spread that fast?

This is a very good movie and worthy successor to the legendary A New Jope and and magnificent triumph of The Empire Strikes Back. However, it is not quite as good as its predecessors, even though it is inconceivable that one could watch and enjoy those two films and then not see Return of the Jedi.The good:1. Jabba the Hutt. Yes, he's obese, slimy, nasty and gross. But he also helps to flesh out the Star Wars universe (no pun intended) by showing us that there is more than one type of evil here, and the Sith and Imperials aren't the only bad guys our heroes have to contend with.2. Boba Fett. I wrote a review of The Empire Strikes back and forgot to mention this fan favourite. Shame on me. However, there is more of Mr. Fett in this movie. He appears to meet an ignominious end, but I have it on good authority he escaped.3. Obi-Wan is a liar? I won't give away the spoiler even here, but certainly in this movie we begin to realize that while the Jedi are on the side of good, they are not saints and are not above deception to achieve their goals. And that is certainly true of Obi-Wan himself. This actually sets us up to find the events of the Prequel Trilogy less shocking but more palatable than they otherwise might have been. 4. The Battle of Endor in space: tremendously exciting and suspenseful. It is all practical special effects and frankly they are superior to the CGI effects of the Prequel Trilogy space battles.5. The Emperor: a stunning and chilling performance, which reveals the bigger bad and ultimate evil behind Darth Vader all along. "Do not underestimate the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate you will." Luke ignores this advice of Yoda, and soon comes to regret it.6. Darth Vader's redemption; one of the most dramatic and suspenseful moments in cinematic history, and ultimately one of the most emotionally rewarding.The indifferent:1. Luke and Leia are twins. I would say this is cool except...one can't help but think of that one scene in The Empire Strikes Back. "I guess you don't know everything about women yet." And then...ewww...only now do we realize the ewww factor between Luke and Leia ever after.The bad:7. The Ewoks. OK, as a kid I loved the Ewoks. Watching again as an adult, I still think they are cute. But for them to go from just assisting the Rebels in their infiltration of the Imperial base on Endor, to actually defeating an entire legion of the Emperor's finest elite Stormtroopers using stone age technology? Oh dear...I'm afraid that's just completely silly, to the point that I almost feel like Graham Chapman's colonel from Monty Python's Flying Circus should march into the battle and say "Stop that! This whole scene is completely silly!" (Bonus points if you get that reference.)In conclusion - overall this is a worthy conclusion to the Original Trilogy, and certainly emotionally satisfying, but it doesn't quite hit the high points of its predecessors.