Review of Return of the Jedi (1983) by Billie P — 29 Jan 2016

"Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi" (1983) is the stunning conclusion to the original Star Wars journey. It is the final story in the hero's journey of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), his harnessing of the positive powers of the Force, and his overcoming his fears and his foes, helping to rid the galaxy of the evil Galactic Empire.

What makes the film so heartbreaking is the very personal story at the core of the film, involving Luke Skywalker and his father Darth Vader (Sebastian Shaw). Luke now knows that the leader of the Dark Side of the Force is his father, a man who was once Anakin Skywalker. Unfortunately for young Skywalker, both Darth Vader and his superior, Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), are trying to use this father-son connection for their own nefarious purpose.

Whereas young Luke Skywalker would like to defeat the empire and restore balance to the Force, both Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine want to use Skywalker as pawns in their own dark chess games. Emperor Palpatine would like to turn Skywalker to the Dark Side and make him the emperor's new apprentice and henchman, replacing his father Darth Vader. Vader, on the other hand, would like to overthrow the emperor and then rule the galaxy with Luke as father and son.

Good will triump over evil, but seeing how that is done is half the fun of this film. This film gets a lot of good for its Ewok planet, a planet that looks like it's inhabited by little teddy bears. But the film is still great, and even better than "A New Hope" (1977), based on pacing and character development alone.