Give me Ewoks over Gungans any day!

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2007)

Return of the Jedi is often regarded by fans as the weakest of the original Star Wars trilogy, and whilst this is probably true, this in no way means that it is a bad film; on the contrary, with this episode, director Richard Marquand delivers a hugely enjoyable family movie that is packed with thrills and incredible special effects sequences from start to finish. It's just not quite as brilliant as its predecessors.
Han Solo, trapped in carbonite, has been delivered to the palace of Jabba the Hutt (by bounty hunter Boba Fett), where he is displayed as a trophy by the huge slug-like space criminal. However, Han's rebel pals successfully carry out a daring rescue mission and, with the gang reunited, an attack is launched on the Empire's new improved Death Star, which is nearing completion.
Luke's somewhat strained relationship with his old man is explored further, and it is also revealed that another member of the Skywalker family exists (providing the bad guys with an additional potential convert to the dark side of The Force).
Return of the Jedi may not be perfectthe overly-cutesy Ewoks who aid the rebels are hated by many viewers, whilst the final attack scene is really nothing more than a rehash of Episode IV's assault on the original Death Starbut it is still a damn sight better than the abominations that are the Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. The visual effects are superbly executed, the action sequences genuinely exciting (in particular, the speeder bike chase gets the old neck hairs standing on end) and the whole movie looks great. If you can overlook the occasional silly 'comedy' moment and the odd lapse of logic (how did those Ewoks get those elaborate traps set up so quickly?), you'll have a blast!
Just make sure not to watch the 1997 Special Edition, which saw Lucas add several nasty GGI 'improvements', including a terrible new musical number set in Jabba's palace, a poorly realised Sarlacc monster, some naff celebration scenes, and the iffy inclusion of Hayden Christensen as Anakin's 'ghost'.