A qualified triumph

Rating: 9/10 (14 February 2011)

I liked - and still like much of Return of the Jedi a great deal, to the extent that it is probably my favourite of all of the Star Wars films.
True, I think the Ewoks should have been culled, and it's a shame that Lucas couldn't come up with a more original plot than re-running the first movie.
But the speeder chase in the forest is thrilling, and the face off between Luke, Vader and the Emperor is first rate (and, for perhaps the only time, there is some depth of characterisation involved in Luke facing his fears and beating them - and maybe this will also take on more resonance by reference to the prequels and Annakin's failure in this regard until now).
It's a pity Lucas' tinkering screwed up the closing music in the original version.