A good movie, not one of the best ever made, but still Star Wars....

Rating: 10/10 (10 August 1999)

A New Hope blew audiences away with original special effects and story telling. The Empire Strikes Back blew audiences away again for doing the same thing at a superior level. Return of the Jedi has come around to tie up all the loose ends the first two movies made. The story, although similar to A New Hope, is not recycled. The special effects are even better than Empire and they are the peak of that time. The acting has stayed at the same level as Empire, which both are better than A New Hope.
The acting in Return of the Jedi is about the same as Empire. There aren't any real new changes except that Han Solo's character gets a bit softer as he realizes he does not need his gruff exterior among friends that love him. We also finally find out which side Lando is on. However, the best addition and the best actor in Return of the Jedi is Ian McDiarmid, who plays the Emperor (aka Senator Palpatine, Darth Sidious).
The story, while some say it is recycled from A New Hope (which it definitely is not), ties up loose ends. The second Death Star is merely a backdrop for the main story of Vader and Luke. In any case, the Death Star was already being built after the first one was destroyed, as a plan of the Emperors to destroy the Rebellion. We get to see Luke, Chewie, Lando, and Leia go after Han Solo to rescue him. Jabba the Hutt is wiped from the Universe, and they meet...the Ewoks.... I think the best plot in Jedi is the one with Luke, Vader, and the Emperor. Luke tries to turn his father from the Dark Side and resist temptation from the Emperor. It is the heart of the movie.
Now, the Ewoks. Like Jar-Jar, they have a hate cult. Why? I have never understood how people can have such a childish hate over fictional creatures. They serve the purpose of the story. The main reason is that the Ewoks overcoming the Empire's vast technology stretched believability. Maybe so, but hey, this is a sci-fi fantasy. It was more fun to watch the Ewoks beat the crap out of the Stormtroopers. Also, the Ewoks overcoming the Stormtroopers is more metaphorical. Lucas always has a part in the Star Wars movies where technology fails, and it is up to the human (or alien) spirit to finish the job, not the technology (i.e., Luke when he destroyed the Death Star without a computer...).
The ending of Jedi is the most rewarding of the trilogy, with a powerful and slam-bang ending to the best movie saga of all time. Darth Vader becomes Anakin again, coming to his son's aid and destroying the Emperor, sacrificing his own life in the process. There is just something rewarding seeing Anakin glimmer in the Force next to Yoda and Obi-Wan. In all this is a good movie. It is not the best Star Wars movie, but it is still Star Wars. It still adds to the mythology, and therefore is a classic, Ewoks or no Ewoks. However, I think the Jedi soundtrack is the best of the saga, so check it out. See the whole trilogy! ***** stars (out of *****)