Review of Return of the Jedi (1983) by Cameron H — 15 Feb 2016
If George Lucas were given television spots for a Star Wars series, as opposed to opting for a movie trilogy, I sense that his indulgences would not be quite as overwhelming. Not to dismiss Return of the Jedi as a failure, for I really did enjoy the movie.
The trilogy concludes on a morally powerful note, and once again, this still holds some of the best sci-fi/action scenes ever to grace my eyes. The fight between the forces of Luke Skywalker (no pun intended) and those of Jabba the Hutt feels underappreciated, among the many memorable moments of the Star Wars franchise.
And the second saber fight between Luke and Darth Vader is a great successor to the first one, especially with the relationship between the two characters clearly resonating throughout every action that they take.
I desperately want to say that this is the best of the three movies, because, in my opinion, it should have been the best. However, George Lucas slipped somewhere. Where comical breaks were welcomed in the first two Star Wars movies due to superb pacing on his part, Return of the Jedi feels far more padded.
Most obviously, the Ewoks held more screen time than they should have. I understand that their guerilla warfare tactics proved to be useful, but there was something too Disney-like about it. Yoda was taken seriously as a character, and he's a Muppet played by Frank Oz.
These characters were immediately treated as naive creatures, whose deaths would be too scarring to show any but one, with an uncomfortable amount of sentimentality, on screen. This was disappointing, but my quickly sprouted love for the franchise forces me to forgive such mistakes.
I cannot hate George Lucas. I cannot let it consume me. I am stronger than you, Lucas. I am stronger than your re-release touches too. (Young Anakin's ghost? Really? That won't make sense to anyone who hasn't seen his face before.
) Soon, you will realize that the good prevails, and your lust for eliminating the good will lead you nowhere.
This review of Return of the Jedi (1983) was written by Cameron H on 15 Feb 2016.
Return of the Jedi has generally received very positive reviews.
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