A Decent Finish

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 1999)

"Return of the Jedi" has some of the strongest and most poignant moments of the entire "Star Wars" saga. There are moments of chilling visual symbolism. The climactic space battle is extremely well-choreographed, possibly one of the most well done special effects sequences in cinematic history. And George Lucas does well on finding a suitable climax for the series. There is a minority that says this was a cheap thing to throw in but I totally disagree. This scene is sad but ultimately touching, which I think will be made all the more so when the six stories are complete. The ending scene in the special edition is far more satisfying than it was originally.
Which brings me to my complaints.
"Jedi" is slow-moving, from the long, drawn-out scenes in Jabba's palace, to the Endor battle with the Ewoks, an act in the film that is so poorly marred by bad pace and editing that you have to wonder whether the editors were suffering from severe attention deficit disorder while they were doing it. And let's not forget those Ewoks. Don't get me wrong, they are cute. But what in God's name do these little furballs have to do with the Force and the Rebellion?
And then of course we have the acting. The one guy who seems to be really trying here is Mark Hammil (for once), who was never a very capable actor anyway but he does have some moments in which he shines here. I think what he did best in this one was actually underacting the role rather than playing the same old farmboy whiner ("A New Hope") or the hero who thinks he can do anything ("Empire"). Then there's Carrie Fisher. I actually thought she was decent in "A New Hope," and she was occassionally quite beautiful in "Empire." And she was attractive here as well, but man, that acting has got to go!!!
I think this is the one film I did not really care for Harrison Ford, which is rather difficult because he is one of my top three favorite actors. Between the first two films we got the sense this character was changing, becoming a better man than the wisecrack we were used to. But in "Jedi" he's back to the same old wisecracks. In "Empire" he really started to look like he was caring for people, especially Luke- which is totally evident in the beginning of "Empire." In "Jedi" he's already back to looking down on him. Above all Ford himself seems disengaged from the film, bored with the material- something he admits, and something I do not blame him for at all.
Again, there are moments of greatness in "Jedi." The score by John Williams is very good, some of the sets are impressive.
These are the moments that illustrate to me the style that should have prevailed throughout the whole film.