Review of Return of the Jedi (1983) by Victor T — 16 Dec 2015

After surpassing the insanely high expectations with "Empire Strikes Back" and leaving an open ending, moviegoers had to wait three years to witness the conclusion of the trilogy. The result of this conclusion is the polarizing "Return of the Jedi" which is either considered a more than worthy addition to the saga or a disappointing conclusion. Which statement is accurate?

Normally I make a synopsis but with this trilogy I will omit it as it is a story that everyone knows, even if you are a newbie to the franchise.

Before the review I will clarify that I won't mention the Special Edition changes, as they are irrelevant when talking about the essence of Star Wars.

Let's get to the point: "Return of the Jedi" is a disappointment that has its moments that are among the best of the saga. "Return of the Jedi" has some issues: The resolution to the plot points that were setup in "Empire Strikes Back" are not satisfying at all and demonstrate that Lucas had no idea how to end this trilogy, the whole Endor segment is inconsistent, the Ewoks are an extremely unnecessarily and questionable addition to this franchise, the film suffers from drastic pacing issues in the second to final quarter, the tone of those quarters are a drastic departure from what was made previously, most of the special effects represent a drastic fall for the franchise, Lucas rehashed elements of "Star Wars" and again amateurish directing by Lucas (yes, Lucas, no Marquand. It is painfully obvious that Lucas forced Marquand). But even if it has those noticeable problems, there are still greatness in this conclusion. "Return of the Jedi" has the best opening of the whole franchise (even the Hoth battle isn't as entertaining as the Jabba segment, as it is the best part of the film), the resolutions to each of the character arcs are satisfying, John Williams continues to deliver a mesmerizing and unforgettable score, some sequences are hampered by the bad special effects but are still fun to watch, a three storyline climax that's executed perfectly and manages to keep you in the edge of your seat, it maintains and adds something to the spiritual essence of the saga, the script is solid (even the heavy Lucas influence could made this script a bad one), and while the ending isn't what the franchise deserved it still is worthy and cheerful.

"Return of the Jedi" is a disappointing conclusion but still has that charm that made Star Wars the phenomenon it is. It is highly entertaining, memorable and while it offers twists that were clearly not thought out, it manages to add more to the Star Wars mythos.