Decent Ending of Fabulous Saga

Rating: 8/10 (30 November 2003)

I think most Star Wars fans agree that "Return Of The Jedi" could have been a better film. I think the marketing forces involved here had to broaden up the appeal of the film...to kids! Lucas tends to forget that, those of us who were 10 or 12 years old when we first saw the original Star Wars, were 16-18 years old by the time of Jedi. And I'm talking about the die hard fans; those of us that only like Star Wars films more as time passes by. For those fans, we would have liked a bit more depth of characters, a better dialoge. In this movie, Harrison Ford's part felt sort of cut down as was Carrie Fisher's. The Ewoks were ok, but many fans felt they were both: comic relief and a marketing ploy for future toys. Although I've read many comments complaining how Luke's character was never explored fully emotionally, many people tend to forget that Darth Vader also went through some second thoughts of his own, and those feelings could have been explored a bit more towards the end. The final confrontation was good and the complaints I have are mostly with the changing of actors. This would have been David Prowse' shining hour (He played the physical Vader; His voice was James Earl Jones'). Why this happened will always be open to debate. The effects, as always, pushed up the ante and laid the groundwork for contemporary effects. That said, "Return" is no let down by any means and should be viewed as a decent ending to a fabulous saga.