Very good but inferior to the others

Rating: 8/10 (9 July 2004)

The third parts of trilogies tend to be inferior to their predecessors. This applies to "Alien," "Back to the Future," "The Matrix," "Austin Powers," "Lethal Weapon," "Mad Max" and other film series. Then there are the few that come along -- such as "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" -- that are actually the best of all three.
Unfortunately "Star Wars: Episode VI - The Return of the Jedi" fits into the former category -- it is far inferior to its predecessors. I've always enjoyed "The Empire Strikes Back" the most of all three, and "Return of the Jedi" the least. It is arguably one of the earliest signs of things to come for writer George Lucas, who employs a band of child-friendly (and marketable) "Eewoks" to join Luke Skywalker on his quest against the Empire in this installment. After "Return of the Jedi," Lucas never really got back on track, and particularly with the recent "Star Wars" prequels it is apparent he has sold out and lost grasp of how to make a good film. The Eewoks aren't very far off from Jar-Jar Binks.
That's not to say "Return of the Jedi" is a bad film -- in fact it's very good. But we all remember, "May the force be with you" from "Star Wars," and "I am your father!" from "The Empire Strikes Back." There's nothing particularly memorable here -- it is not one of the greatest films ever made, just a very satisfying (if occasionally goofy) conclusion to the trilogy. It is not as bad as "The Matrix Revolutions," for sure.
Han Solo (Harrison Ford), now cryogenically frozen by Jabba the Hutt, is being held captive. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) both try to rescue Han, to no avail, and Luke -- now a Jedi -- ends up being thrown into the pit of a dangerous beast, which he defeats to the surprise of Jabba. Jabba then decides to have all of them murdered, but Luke and co. make a daring escape with the help of all his pals -- C-3PO, R2-D2, Leia and Chewbacca -- and eventually end up on a faraway planet where they arrive under the car of the friendly Eewoks, who help them with their attack against The Empire's new and improved Death Star. Luke uncovers a startling secret about Leia, revisits the dying Yoda, and eventually comes face-to-face with Vader, where he is faced with a bit of a moral dilemma after the Emperor decides that Luke would be a worthy addition to their army.
It's pointless divulging into the plot in-depth basically because everyone has already seen these movies. What can be discussed are the special effects, performances, and general plot of the film, as that is what most people will take from this film -- those looking for meaningful dialogue should look elsewhere. Released in 1983, six years after the original, special effects had evolved even more -- with a larger budget to expand upon director Richard Marquand tops off both prior films in terms of SF/X. There's an exciting chase sequence, lots of hyper-speed battles, space ship exteriors and "lightsaber" fights -- enough to wet the appetite of anyone looking for mere action.
Unfortunately what "Return of the Jedi" lacks is originality -- "Star Wars" was unique when it came out, recycling old storytelling clichés in a modern update; the sequel was very dark and impressive with arguably the best performances of all three films; the only thing to look for here is Luke's sudden evolution from Jedi trainee to Jedi master. Oh, and the final showdown, which is still impressive, even by today's efforts.
All in all, "Return of the Jedi" is not on the same level as its predecessors but it is an exciting movie that manages to satisfyingly end the series on a high note. About those prequels...well, they're just unfortunate.