Released: May 1983
Director: Richard Marquand
Run Time: 134 Minutes
Rated PG
Cast:
Mark Hamill: Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford: Han Solo
Carrie Fisher: Leia
Billy Dee Williams: Lando Calrissian
David Prowse/James Earl Jones: Darth Vader
Ian McDiarmid: The Emperor
Alec Guinness: Obi-Wan Kenobi
When Star Wars was released in 1977, it sent shock-waves throughout the entertainment industry. Nobody had ever seen a movie like this before. Influenced by 1930 serials and Akira Kurosawa films, Star Wars had the perfect balance between humor, action and intelligence. It was a fairly smart movie that came out of nowhere and took the world by storm. George Lucas changed the way movies were made with that one movie. He felt that the methods and technology at the time weren’t really good enough for what he had envisioned, so he crafted his own. Nobody had used the camera the way George did or used models the way he did. The result, along with an amazing musical score by John Williams, was a movie that became a phenomenon. It shattered records and won several Oscars. In 1980, the follow-up film, The Empire Strikes Back was released. To everyone’s surprise it actually ended up being a better film than the original. It took the best elements of Star Wars and dialed it up. It was a darker and more mature film. It was proof that a sequel could outdo the original film in every possible way. In 1983, a third and final film would bring the epic saga to a close. Return of the Jedi was released, and while it wasn’t as good as the first two, it was still an amazing film in its own right and gave the audience a very satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
Return of the Jedi begins on Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine as R2-D2 and C3PO are making their way to the palace of the notorious gangster, Jabba The Hutt. They’ve been sent by Luke Skywalker to secure the release of Han Solo, who was given to the bounty hunter Boba Fett in Empire Strikes Back. Infiltrating the gangster’s hideout is Leia, who after freeing Han from his carbonite prison, is enslaved by Jabba. Enter Luke who attempts to negotiate the release of Han but ends up being tossed into a pit with a ravenous monster. Killing the monster, Luke and his allies are taken to the Dune Sea. They are to be thrown to the Sarlacc, a voracious monster that lives in the desert. Successfully rescuing his allies and killing Jabba, Luke makes his way back to Degobah to resume his training under Jedi Master Yoda. At the same time, The Emperor is paying a visit to his new Death Star which is still under construction. He plots with Darth Vader to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force and destroy the Rebel Alliance once and for all.
When Darth Vader revealed that he was Luke’s father, it shocked audiences to their core. The most evil villain is the hero’s father? Nobody saw that coming. Most of the crew and cast members had no idea. It was a well-kept secret. It’s regarded as one of the most surprising twists in a movie. Because of that, there’s a lot more at stake than just freeing the galaxy from the Empire’s rule in Return of the Jedi. Luke believes that there is still some good left in his father, and he wants to save him. The film gives a little more background on who Darth Vader used to be before he fell to the dark side. His name was Anakin Skywalker and was regarded not only as one of the greatest pilot in the galaxy but was also one of the most powerful Jedi that had ever lived. Return of the Jedi has a twist of its own: Leia is Luke’s sister. Unfortunately, you can’t really look at Empire Strikes Back the same way again. Now that you know that Leia is a Skywalker, seeing her kiss Luke in the previous film comes across as a little creepy. One of the big things that makes these movies work are the characters, and that’s where the Original Trilogy shines. The characters are unique and compelling. Luke may have come off as a little whiny in the first two movies, but he wasn’t unbearable. In fact, in Return of the Jedi, he’s a Jedi and he’s behaving like it. Mark Hamill’s performance is fantastic. Now, you can’t forget Harrison Ford as Han Solo. I don’t know if there’s anything I can say about Harrison Ford that hasn’t already been said. He’s one of my favorite actors, and he’s headlined two of the biggest movie series in history. Han Solo isn’t as much of a rogue in Return of the Jedi as he was in the original, but he’s still awesome. Carrie Fisher is a revelation as Leia. She’s actually given a lot more to do in this one, both emotionally and physically. Fisher balances Leia’s strengths with her vulnerabilities with ease, making for an incredibly compelling performance. Billy Dee Williams IS Lando Calrissian. He’s as charming as ever, but also given more responsibility. One of the new characters is The Emperor played by Ian McDiarmid. We finally get to meet the brains behind the Empire. McDiarmid is one of the most underrated actors of his generation. He knows how to play a bad guy, and The Emperor is a vicious son of a gun. He’s a Sith Lord and master of the dark side. He and Darth Vader are responsible for the near-extinction of the Jedi Order and the destruction of the Old Republic.
These are story-driven movies, so it also helps to have the story drive the action. The action in the film is simply put: Epic. Luke’s rescue of Han Solo towards the beginning of the film show’s the character’s growth as a Jedi. He’s far more comfortable with it and a lot more powerful, and we get to see what Luke can do as a Jedi. The scene is reminiscent of the old pirate movies where people are boarding each other’s ships. It’s very much a swashbuckling adventure at this point. It’s not just Luke that gets to show off, but Leia gets to show what she’s made of too. Leia was NEVER your typical damsel-in-distress. She could always handle herself. It’s the climactic battle between the Rebels and the Empire that’s the centerpiece of Return of the Jedi. It’s actually three different battles taking place at the same time. The first is the war on Endor where the Ewoks are involved. The Ewoks are kind of a divisive subject even today. People often compare the Ewoks to The Phantom Menace’s Gungans. I don’t think that’s a fair comparison, because the Ewoks are furry and somewhat adorable. The Gungans? Not so much. It is kind of silly to see storm-troopers get pelted with arrows. But it’s still an exciting sequence. The next one is the gigantic space battle. Take the space battle from the original film and crank it up to a thousand. It’s one of the best battle sequences I’ve ever seen, and it’s done without CG. It’s incredible thrilling because you get to see the battle from the pilots’ perspective. It’s crazy-awesome. The last one is the lightsaber duel between Vader and Luke. People argue that the lightsaber battles from the Prequel Trilogy are better. In terms of choreography, I would agree. When it comes to pushing the story and focusing on the characters, the Original Trilogy has the upper hand. When Luke fought Vader in Empire Strikes Back, he was fighting his father’s killer. In Jedi, he’s fighting his father. It’s far more personal then any of the other duels in the series. This is a father and son fighting it out. The choreography is still solid. It’s probably my favorite lightsaber duel ever.
The film isn’t perfect however. The one character that people really thought was cool was Boba Fett, the bounty hunter. He isn’t given much screen time, but he is pretty awesome. Unfortunately, he goes out like a punk. That’s not very becoming of one of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters. The other issue is the musical number that George Lucas thought would be funny to have. It’s not. It’s irritating. The Special Editions make it worse with poorly-done CG and ham-fisted delivery. Stuff like that doesn’t belong in Star Wars. One of the most egregious additions to the Original Trilogy happened for the initial DVD release of the films. This a spoiler alert, so if you haven’t seen the film, unlikely, stop reading. You still here? Good. In the DVD release, the ghost of Anakin Skywalker was initially played by Sebastian Shaw. For the DVD release, he was digitally replaced by Hayden Christiansen, the actor who played the actor in Episodes II and III of the Prequel Trilogy. George Lucas’s explanation for that is that Anakin was fairly young when he fell to the dark side, and Anakin essentially died when that happened. It’s a retarded explanation to be honest, and quite frankly it was a needless addition to what is otherwise a very solid finale. I tend to be a bit more forgiving of these additions, but I can understand why people prefer the pre-Special Edition films. Return of the Jedi gets a strong 8.5/10. The whole trilogy gets a perfect 10/10, simply because it is one of the best trilogies out there.
On a side note, I’m writing on Christmas Day, so I hope everybody has had a safe and happy holiday. So, happy holidays and be safe out there.