Emotionally satisfying, but not quite as good as its predecessors

Rating: 8/10 (31 December 2017)

This is a very good movie and worthy successor to the legendary A New Jope and and magnificent triumph of The Empire Strikes Back. However, it is not quite as good as its predecessors, even though it is inconceivable that one could watch and enjoy those two films and then not see Return of the Jedi.
The good:
1. Jabba the Hutt. Yes, he's obese, slimy, nasty and gross. But he also helps to flesh out the Star Wars universe (no pun intended) by showing us that there is more than one type of evil here, and the Sith and Imperials aren't the only bad guys our heroes have to contend with.
2. Boba Fett. I wrote a review of The Empire Strikes back and forgot to mention this fan favourite. Shame on me. However, there is more of Mr. Fett in this movie. He appears to meet an ignominious end, but I have it on good authority he escaped.
3. Obi-Wan is a liar? I won't give away the spoiler even here, but certainly in this movie we begin to realize that while the Jedi are on the side of good, they are not saints and are not above deception to achieve their goals. And that is certainly true of Obi-Wan himself. This actually sets us up to find the events of the Prequel Trilogy less shocking but more palatable than they otherwise might have been.
4. The Battle of Endor in space: tremendously exciting and suspenseful. It is all practical special effects and frankly they are superior to the CGI effects of the Prequel Trilogy space battles.
5. The Emperor: a stunning and chilling performance, which reveals the bigger bad and ultimate evil behind Darth Vader all along. "Do not underestimate the Emperor, or suffer your father's fate you will." Luke ignores this advice of Yoda, and soon comes to regret it.
6. Darth Vader's redemption; one of the most dramatic and suspenseful moments in cinematic history, and ultimately one of the most emotionally rewarding.
The indifferent:
1. Luke and Leia are twins. I would say this is cool except...one can't help but think of that one scene in The Empire Strikes Back. "I guess you don't know everything about women yet." And then...ewww...only now do we realize the ewww factor between Luke and Leia ever after.
The bad:
7. The Ewoks. OK, as a kid I loved the Ewoks. Watching again as an adult, I still think they are cute. But for them to go from just assisting the Rebels in their infiltration of the Imperial base on Endor, to actually defeating an entire legion of the Emperor's finest elite Stormtroopers using stone age technology? Oh dear...I'm afraid that's just completely silly, to the point that I almost feel like Graham Chapman's colonel from Monty Python's Flying Circus should march into the battle and say "Stop that! This whole scene is completely silly!" (Bonus points if you get that reference.)
In conclusion - overall this is a worthy conclusion to the Original Trilogy, and certainly emotionally satisfying, but it doesn't quite hit the high points of its predecessors.