Not up to ANH or ESB, but some good stuff

Rating: Null/10 (20 August 1999)

The Good: Fabulous job from supporting cast. Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor is terrifying despite repetitive dialogue. Billy Dee Williams retains some edge from "Empire" despite his role being watered down in the script to someone less hardbitten. Denis Lawson is great as always as Wedge. I *love* Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar.
And the best scene in the movie: not the Luke/Vader/Emperor battle (I always thought that a bit overrated), but the scene just before it, when Vader is examining Luke's lightsaber and Luke is trying to convince him to come back to the light side. That's emotionally charged.
The bad: The whole Jabba the Hutt part of the movie was too long -- the ONLY instance in a Star Wars movie where I ever got bored. The reason: it has nothing to do with the Rebellion or the Empire. The whole time I was thinking, come on, come on, where's Vader? Why do I care about this gangster dude? I realize Han had to be rescued, but to devote so great a part of the movie to something totally unrelated to the central conflict seems ridiculous.
The lead acting. Carrie Fisher is over the top. Harrison Ford doesn't seem to care about a thing he's doing. Mark Hamill is the only one who comes out with his dignity intact, but his performance isn't anywhere near up to that in "Empire."
Vader's repentance. It just seemed to have come too fast.
Leia and Luke as brother and sister? Silly. Pointless.
The ugly: One word: Ewoks.
Overall: 7/10 Not really deserving of the Star Wars title, but not a terrible film either. The Emperor scenes really save it.