The worst of the six, and especially disappointing after Empire

Rating: 3/10 (14 January 2011)

After The Empire Strikes Back, which built masterfully on the success of the first Star Wars film -- deepening characters, fleshing out the universe in grand and dramatic space-opera fashion, and adding more ambitious themes about the true nature of heroism -- Return is a significant letdown.
On the plus side: it has some enjoyable action sequences and fun special effects. Also, particularly with some brief scenes added at the end after the prequels were made, it manages to do a respectable job of drawing the narrative threads to a close.
On the minus side: the Jabba the Hutt episode at the beginning is overstuffed with wacky creatures that are not as interesting as the filmmakers seem to think, and is simply not compelling enough to justify all the space it takes up. (Princess Leia's infamous slave girl costume during these sequences, however, does get the fan-boy seal of approval.) The principle aliens that show up later on are too cutesy to take seriously, especially when they suddenly 'get religion' at a critical point in the narrative. Perhaps most disappointing, the beginnings of a deeper and more challenging characterization of Luke from Empire seem to have been largely abandoned in favor of rather slapdash moral drama. When the forces of evil try to trap Luke in an emotional vice near the end of the film, they are so heavy-handed and obvious about it that it's quite hard to take them as seriously as the logic of the story seems to demand. (I have a similar problem with Darth Vader's conversion to the Dark Side in Revenge of the Sith, although that film has a far more convincing tone overall.)
If you're just in it for the gosh-wow, and love the wacky critters, you'll probably enjoy it. It does also feature the Millennium Falcon, which has to count for something.
But, yes, in case you are wondering, I find even The Phantom Menace to be a significantly deeper, more compelling, and overall much more enjoyable science fantasy film experience. Give me Jar-Jar over Ewoks (they were supposed to be Wookies, dang it!) any day of the week. Besides, Menace has Qui-Gon, the most spectacularly pointless fusion power plant in the history of cinema (or whatever it is -- but notice how similar it looks to the interiors of the Death Star and to the underbelly of the Cloud City, also settings for crucial light-saber duels; I believe Lucas has dreams of this place), and an evil emperor (to be) who is a convincingly diabolical threat to everything good in the universe.