*Directed by Richard Marquand
*Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Ian McDiarmid, Sebastian Shaw, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, Alec Guiness, Warwick Davis
*SPOILER WARNING*
The Plot: The pivotal chapter in the saga as well as the conclusion to the Original Trilogy where it's the final battle in the Galactic Civil War amongst the Rebellion and Empire as well as the final confrontation between father and son, Vader and Luke. The Empire has built a new Death Star that's much more improved and our favorite Rebels have to bring it down while Luke wants to face his father in an effort to bring him back to the light side, but also Vader's master the Emperor is trying to make an effort with Vader to finally bring Luke to the Dark Side.
I do recognize that as the final film in this trilogy that it is the weakest compared to Star Wars and Empire, but that by no means that this still isn't a great film in general. I love watching Return of the Jedi and even though it's not as mind blowing as seeing something like the first Star Wars where you're seeing this galaxy with new eyes and Empire to get fully invested in the emotional conflict of these characters. But with Jedi there are really great emotional moments in the grand scheme of things and even though it doesn't do a whole lot to be innovative like how the previous two films told there stories, it is still an amazingly entertaining movie from start to finish.
Granted, this film does have its fair share of emotional moments, I just felt that this time around that it focused on being more fun and entertaining. Yet, it wasn't the kind of fun and entertaining where it was style over substance because the characters still have these lovable personalities and you still care about them in the action scenes that they're in. It just wasn't the case where in Empire every action scene was an emotional challenge that the characters could learn from, however, the film was still very well directed and undeniably fun to sit through.
The action sequences in this film were actually really incredible this time around, and as a matter of fact, most scenes in this movie are some of my favorite in the entire saga. The escape from Jabba's Palace is one of the most exhilarating scenes out of any film I've ever seen. We get to finally see Luke as a Jedi, but also there's a group effort going on with our lovable band of Rebels. I mean we love these characters so much that with an obstacle like the nasty Jabba the Hutt in the way and finally seeing them escape with Han, it just makes this scene so emotionally liberating.
Also, some of the best spectacle these eyes have ever seen is the space battle over Endor or I guess you could also call it the second Death Star battle. The special effects still hold up after all these years and it's just amazing to see that it wasn't all CG and just models and green screen work. For 1983 and beyond these visual effects still look really stupendous and they're definitely up to par with the effects in Empire and Star Wars combined. Again, there also wasn't as much of that style over substance because there's tension in the scene with how Lando and the Rebel fleet will succeed and on top of that if Han, Chewie, and Leia and their band will take down the deflector shield.
I mean the biggest criticism I've heard about this movie is the idea that there's yet another Death Star and why the Empire didn't learn from their last mistake. Well, seeing that there was more effort for Rebels to pull off with the deflector shield and finally taking down the station in space on top of the plan that the Emperor has in place with the use of the Death Star made things look all the more impossible. I mean Admiral Ackbar's line of "It's a trap" was true because you think to yourself in that scene, "Oh crap. How are the Rebels going to pull this off? The Emperor really screwed things up!"
Also, I think another criticism people could have is how Leia is Luke's twin sister because it could shrink the universe. I'm fine with it personally because it can change how you look at Leia in the previous films and it just makes the relationship between the two characters have a lot more weight. I mean, whatever, they kiss in Empire. I know a lot of people make fun of that, but how were they to know? Oh well. Who cares? Life goes on.
I also just really love how that scene is written when Leia finds out from Luke and that she has the Force. I mean they hint at it in Empire, but the family lineage adds more sense to the matter. The performances are also really underrated in this scene too because Leia's reactions to Luke are just so genuine. I mean it's a very intimate scene because it adds to the family dynamic of Luke, Leia, and even Vader. Luke's motivation here also to help his father makes him even more of a great hero because he's selfless and wants something better for his father despite the two being enemies for so long.
The Emperor explaining his elaborate plan to Luke makes him such a clever villain and because you love the characters in the situation that he's corrupting for the Rebels, it just really makes you dislike his character. That's a great villain. Not to mention that the sinister performance that Ian McDiarmid brings to this role as this character was fantastic. It makes him a more frightening and intimidating individual than Vader in my opinion because of how McDiarmid orchestrates his performance, the look of him is disturbing, and the idea that he's not messing around to bring pain and suffering to the heroes we love. He is one of my favorite movie villains of all time.
Speaking of the Emperor my favorite scenes in all probably all of Star Wars are when the Emperor is trying to tempt Luke to get to his darker side and then soon confronting Vader. Seeing Luke being tested as a hero and how Vader's being tested for that matter makes this such a strong film for me in my opinion and these are the scenes that I think are better than all of Empire even though Empire Strikes Back is a better overall film.
However, my favorite scene in all of Star Wars is when Vader is trying to tempt Luke to confront him and Luke is hiding in the darkness not wanting to fight his own father. Then, as soon Vader mentions his sister and how she could turn and then it angers Luke and the two start fighting, that gives me so many emotional feels. When the score starts swelling with the men's choir, I mean you just can't go wrong. Also, this lightsaber fight like in Empire feels so raw and real because in the fight choreography and in the actors performances you really feel the strong conflict between these two characters.
Then, as the scene plays out, Vader's weak, Luke cut off his hand, and the Emperor encourages Luke to strike him down and be in Vader's place and the film uses great little visuals to indicate that Luke might become his father looking at his mechanical hand and then how his father's mechanical is cut off. He says he refuses and that he's a Jedi like his father before him is everything and such a powerful line.
But then we feel Luke's physical agony as the Emperor uses his Force lightening to kill him and then Vader's tested to save his son or watch his master kill him. He of course chooses to save his son and kill the Emperor and once that moment goes down it becomes one of the most enrapturing things I've ever seen. A character who's so dark and so mysterious finally has closure on one of the greatest character arcs of all time.
It is also a really emotional death scene to see Anakin look at his son one last time, but it really does hit me every time because it was a villain who recognized how flawed he became and that he was having trouble with letting go of his true self. It just transcends the arc of an antagonist and to see the incredible character development of Luke and Vader in these moments and in these scenes makes this my favorite scene in all of Star Wars.
This movie does have an emotional punch and scenes that really get under my skin, but I do feel through most of it that it focused on being more fun and entertaining with the scenes on Endor. A scene like the speeder chase is really exciting, but once the film introduces the Ewok tribes and seeing them play a part in the battle is a little silly for me. I mean I don't think this is one glaring flaw of the entire movie, it's definitely not bad, and I don't dislike these characters.
But, I did get the impression that maybe the film was trying to cater to younger audiences and while I'm fine with that and I don't dislike watching the movie, it does kind of lose that emotional tension this film could've had. I still have a great amount of fun in those scenes, but it doesn't make the film as emotionally gripping as Empire or Star Wars.
In the end, I still have an amazing time watching Return of the Jedi and while I do recognize it's not as mind blowing as its predecessors, there are still really entertaining sequences to sit through and spectacular character development for the core characters of this entire saga. It is the weakest of the trilogy, but it did succeed on bringing closure to this part of the story that just makes me smile ear to ear once I finish it.
Verdict: A-
Make sure you check in tomorrow for my review of The Force Awakens and continue to grow more and more excited with the release of The Last Jedi this weekend. My plans for that film will be announced in my Force Awakens review, so check back tomorrow for that.
Thank you so much reading, guys, and, if you want to, check out my other Star Wars reviews with a link to that page down below as well as links to my social media stuff if you want to check back on other updates for my little blog here:
Twitter and Instagram: @alexjcorey
Again, thank you all so much for reading! As always see some great freakin' entertainment. Take care and May the Force be with you. Always. :-)
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