Review of Return of the Jedi (1983) by Griff C — 23 Dec 2017

Return of the Jedi successfully brings George Lucas' original Star Wars trilogy to a satisfying conclusion, even if it doesn't quite reach the heights that A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back hit.

It does most of the things that made everything those first two movies so great, however it's still not perfect. For me, I think what brings it down slightly is that it feels like it's rushing to tie up loose ends.

I'm not referring to the redemption of Darth Vader, the death of the Emperor, or the completion of Luke's heroic journey (all of which are handled masterfully). I'm mainly referring to the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt.

Granted, it is a fun first act of the movie, but I can't help be feel like it was done as a "let's hurry up and tie up this cliffhanger from Episode V" type of thing. Like I said, it's well done and entertaining as hell, but in a few ways it almost feels out of place, especially when you consider the sequence is never mentioned again after that first act.

It nearly feels like two separate movies. Additionally, the ending (where all of our heroes seem to live happily ever after) seems to be played safe, seeming to show that Lucas really did want to be done with Star Wars at the time.

Despite all of the time I've put into that, those really are minor gripes for me. It is hard not to love this movie. All the praise I've written about the previous two installments of the trilogy - the cast, characters, effects, story - all still apply here.

Lucas crafted a fitting end to his trilogy that has endured and been beloved for so long (yes, Lucas didn't direct, but you can feel more of his stamp on the film than director Richard Marquand). Ultimately, any film fan (not just Star Wars fan) worth their weight needs to make sure they've seen Return of the Jedi if they haven't already.