Meh ending to a great trilogy

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2014)

Return of the Jedi (1983) is often cited as being the weakest of the original Star Wars trilogy and I would be inclined to agree. It's not that it's a bad film (God knows it's Citizen Kane compared to the badly written and lifeless prequels), but compared to Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) it does not stand as well on its own.
ROTJ is also marred by writing problems. Though the rescue sequence at the beginning is iconic, it goes on way too long and kills the flow. Luke's plan to rescue Han is full of holes. The relationship between Han and Leia seems to have regressed from the last film, with Han suspecting Leia's affections have transferred from him to Luke even though they confessed their feelings before he was frozen in carbonite (Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher also look like they're bored most of the time, but seeing how little they're given to do, can you blame them?). The revelation that Luke and Leia are siblings is unexploited and goes nowhere narrative-wise, aside from Vader threatening to convert Leia to the dark side toward the end. And while I don't like the cutesy Ewoks, I could have stomached them if their antics didn't eat up so much of the screen time.
Still, what works is great. The battle scenes are tense and full of spectacle, sporting some of the best special effects in the entire original trilogy. Mark Hamill portrays Luke's new-found maturity well while still retaining his character's youthful idealism and emotional nature. The confrontation between Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor is full of well-realized dramatic intensity. Vader's ultimate fate is cathartic and still moves me to tears. Perhaps the ending is a bit too happy, but after all the sacrifices and suffering our heroes went through, I feel they deserve it.
I cannot help but be disappointed by ROTJ, but by no means is it a train wreck. It's an adequate ending to a fantastic trilogy and though I wish it measured up to its illustrious predecessors, I am grateful that it wasn't the nightmare that Episodes I-III turned out to be.