Pompous, Ponderous Cuteness

Rating: 6/10 (29 April 2006)

The last "Star Wars" sequel avoids some, but not all, of the pitfalls that the series had so deftly steered around before. Luke (Hamill) must rescue his friend Solo (Ford) & foil the Empire's latest diabolical plot while facing down the demons in his own heritage. "Return" undermines one of the great strengths of the series--the excellence of its villains-- by introducing not one but TWO new ubervillains. One is the Emperor himself (McDiarmid), an arthritic, dermatoligically challenged fugitive from "Kung Fu," while the other, wholly unrelated badguy is the giant, sexually depraved worm (yes, really a worm) Jabba the Hut. After slowly building a tough damsel-in-distress under her enveloping costumes in the first two films, Carrie Fisher is reduced to a harem-girl plaything for the huge, slimy puppet Jabba, which has to be some kind of record-setting low for an actress. Hamill, though talented, doesn't have the presence to be an epic hero while Ford is mostly reduced to comic relief. Much of the film is taken up by events on the planet Endor, a Disney Adventureland inhabited by teddy bears. Except for the rousing theme carried over from the earlier films, John Williams's music is heavy & ponderous to the point of parody. Still, "Star Wars" is about spectacular, heroic action & "Return" delivers, with the opening battle on Tattooine & the climactic space fleet action making up for the mushy molasses of Endor. Billy Dee Williams helps take up any heroic slack left by Hamill & Ford. As with the rest of the series, "Return" isn't science fiction but outer-space fantasy adventure, so forgive any pretense of technological or social commentary. "Return" is aimed at devotees of the "Star Wars" but is still an enjoyable thrill ride for anyone.