Review of Return of the Jedi (1983) by Dustin D — 01 May 2016

Return of the Jedi has some issues with pace and tone that would become more evident in the prequels, but it is still vastly superior to the prequels, and in the context of the original trilogy, these flaws can be forgiven.

I've always found Jedi to be the hardest to sit through of the original trilogy. Having recently rewatched it, I realize this is because the pace is a little more relaxed. The narrative doesn't quite have the sense of urgency throughout as the previous two films.

The second act is where most of this is evident. Conflicts are resolved a little too easily. When Yoda tells Luke there's another Skywalker with his dying breath, this could have opened a subplot about Luke trying to unravel this mystery. Instead, the ghost of Ben Kenobi sits down and tells Luke his sister is Leia in the very next scene. Another example is when the group on the Endor moon are planning to infiltrate the Empire's bunker, someone notes it's heavily guarded, and Han provides a throwaway line: "Chewie and me have gotten into tighter places than this." That line removes the tension from the scene by assuring us this will be an easy task.

Jedi is also tonally dissonant, although not as much as the prequels. I liked the Ewoks in the second act, when they provided a thorny situation for our heroes to get out of. By the time they are fighting the Emperor's supposedly most elite troops with primitive weapons and slapstick humor, they have overstayed their welcome. The tone of the Ewok battle is jarring next to the emotionally tense showdown with Luke and Vader that is occurring simultaneously.

Again, Return of the Jedi is a good movie and wraps up the original trilogy in an emotionally satisfying way, but hints at the problems that would be in full force in the prequels.