Awww, those Ewoks are adowable! Now, er, can we get back to Darth Vader, please?

Rating: Null/10 (8 November 2008)

"Star Wars" brought together elements from various works of art to create an eye-catching, distinctive, and fairly original film which took the world by storm. "The Empire Strikes Back" fleshed out the characters, gave us some absolutely terrific action scenes and beyond all that consisted largely of really, really great scenes and moments. "Return of the Jedi" was at a disadvantage in following "The Empire Strikes Back", not only a great piece of genre fiction, but a genuinely lasting work of art, and one which promised an incredible finale at that.
I don't know if "Return of the Jedi" could have ever really been absolutely satisfying as the final film in this trilogy, but I certainly hoped that Lucas and Kasdan (who was primarily responsible for the great "Empire Strikes Back" writing-wise) would return with something other than thirty minutes of the insanely annoying (seriously, how does anyone like him?) Jabba the Hut, followed by a great action scene in which our heroes escape from him, followed by a seemingly sharp increase in the quality of the film, as the focus shifts back to Luke, his relationship with Darth Vader, Vader's relationship with the Emperor, and further immersion into the "Star Wars" mythos.
Well, that's wonderful. They've righted their wrongs, the Emperor is creepy, and this is a lot of fun. Right? Ooops. I guess they weren't done with the puppets just yet. But that's quite alright, these muppets are adorable and cute and fun. Okay now. Hmmm, 20 minutes of Ewoks is a bit much, don't you think? Ah, there we go, the focus is now firmly back on Vader, Luke, and the Emperor. Right? Nope. Here come the Ewoks again. More not-so-well-shot action and puppets jumping around making noises. Er, are they ever going to go away? I mean, come on already. Ah, now there's barely any emphasis on them. Wonderful.
What? There's barely ten minutes left?! That's it? Oh well, here's the epic final battle. It was great, and a fitting close to the series. The movie's ending is terrific, and fairly touching. Does it excuse the majority of the movie being made up of f***ing puppets making weird noises, and some awful dialogue and acting, not to mention the whole thing being a step down from "Empire Strikes Back" technically? Hell no. Does it excuse this script looking like it was written by a 12 year old except for the scenes with Luke, Darth Vader, and the Emperor? Hell no.
Disappointment isn't the word. "Return of the Jedi" has a great ending, and a suitably epic final battle, but after two films which built up a great mythology, wonderful story, great characters, and promised a fantastic third film, we get two hours plus of f***king puppets, with a few good scenes here and there. The above barely qualifies as a review, I suppose, but I felt a rant was more suitable. The music's good, I guess.
Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh
4/10