Better than the first, not as amazing as the second.

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2009)

Return of the Jedi is a step down from The Empire Strikes Back, but still a huge upgrade from A New Hope. (Anyone else notice a pattern here? Lucas directed A New Hope, but not the other two? Curious)
First of all, let's just get the annoying characters out of the way once and for all. R2D2's constant beeps and whirs got on my nerves. Chewbacca is still pretty annoying. C3PO? Annoying, but at least far less than The Empire Strikes Back. Perhaps the most annoying one, though, was Jabba the Hutt. I mean, his disgusting physical appearance was bad enough, but the fact that he spoke nothing but "Huttese"? The inability to interpret his speech really got on my nerves. Lucas should've been more careful as to what characters spoke plain old English.
The acting was superb! James Earl Jones has this really neat, powerful, and consistent voice. The trio of Hamill-Ford-Fisher was splendid as always. But one of the film's highlights was the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid). He is more powerful and more menacing than even Darth Vader, and McDiarmid absolutely eats up the screen every moment! His creepy laughs, enjoying his sadistic form of torture, were as bone-chilling as Dath Vader's constant heavy breathing.
The action scenes were epic. They were much better directed than the original (the same pattern here curious), more thrilling, easier to follow in many ways.
John Williams' music is absolutely amazing. The guy is a genius. An absolute genius.
Two thumbs up to Return of the Jedi, a really good movie, but remember, still inferior to The Empire Strikes Back.