Hmmmm....well...

Rating: Null/10 (24 September 1999)

This one I have always felt a little disappointed by. I like a lotta things about it, and overall the film is decent-but I have never thought it held up as well, or was true to the spirit of the first two as much as it should've been.
Here's what I didn't like:
The Ewoks suck. Can you say 'Carebears'? Smurfs? Monchichis? Gummy Bears? Well the Ewoks are right in keeping with'em. Nope! Not good! A simple $$ grab by Lucas. I wish he had edited them out and replaced'em with his original Jedi idea-a planet of Wookies. Now THAT I woulda bought...

Harrison Ford Thorazines out for the whole film. Clearly glad to be getting done with the series. He and Billy Dee Williams weren't all that into it from what I can see. Some pretty flat performances. Too bad, too. They have done better work elsewheres.
No way in hell Han Solo winds up playing Delta Force man on the ground, not the Han Solo I know from the first two films. He'd have lead the attack on the Death Star inside his ship instead. Yanking him and Chewie outta the Falcon and plopping them onto the moon always bothered me, kinda like making Indy Jones drive an 18 Wheeler. You know he could do it, but WHY BOTHER ?!!! Oh well...characters not staying true to their histories always yanks my chain outta joint. Here especially.
I never bought the tacked-on 'Luke and Leia' as siblings bit either, now THAT means that Owen and Lars aren't Luke's relatives after all, nope-they are Obi-Wan's...Somehow I really doubt that is what Lucas had in mind back in'77. Takes some of the intrigue and fun outta the first two films if you think about it.
And I thought it was wayyy too Muppetty, the whole Jabba sequence makes me wonder why Lucas didn't just CIG Fozzie and Animal in there too while he was at it...Gimme a break...I didn't mind Jabba himself, though. Pretty cool.

What I liked:The final attack on the Deathstar, and the whole space battle are both great; well handled and believable as far's they go. Right up to par.
I liked the Emperor, little more like an evil Merlin than Emperor to my thinking,but fine, he was convincingly slimy, evil and in control. I think Diarmid did a good job in Phantom Menace too.
The final big sabre-duel with Vader and Luke is pretty good if laced with overblown dialogue and all that, somehow I never can concieve of Anyone beating Vader, don't care how strong Sonny boy had become. But they did a good job, the Emperor's demise and then that of Vader is handled well, having a lot of excitement and pathos mixed in to boot.
This film nowadays bores me, I have trouble with the Ewoks big time and can't get past some of the things I mentioned above; but it certainly is a good film-if you like the Carebears or the first two in the series a lot....myself...I give Jedi a *** rating, for the effects and whatever, but it should have been a lot better, more coherant and tighter paced...