A fitting end to the the classic series

Rating: 7/10 (15 September 2014)

Star Wars: Episode VI-The Return of the Jedi is a fitting ending to the original series of films, it keeps what we like from the first two but also adds in new things along the way. I did feel this isn't anywhere near the par that IV and V reach but still remains an important film in Star Wars and is also, not bad. The film is one I don't expect people to say is there favourite but I also wouldn't criticise someone if they did love this. I felt it to be firmly a sound movie and here below is why so.
The story is not that fast but still gets a lot in for it's running time, the introduction of a lot of new features, characters and locations mean this is never a movie where your seeing double of the previous movies. It has good action and although maybe lacks the space fights etc we so often see spread out in other series films, it still manages to give you the right amount of thrills throughout. One more thing is that the story ties everything round nicely and it's fair to say this is one of the better film franchise endings.
The cast remain strong and the main characters we like so much are also back with even more diverse roles and personality. I did feel the chemistry can sometimes seem strained maybe but by the end this is one of the only Star Wars originals where Harrison Ford doesn't out show everyone else. As for new characters well there not so much actual people so it can't be said it is acted well in that way but all credit to all the extras involved who play a vast amount of alien races.
Richard Marquand comes in to direct on this one and although not ruining the already legendary series, he can't be said to contribute much and I have to feel slightly sorry for him to make a good film, just eclipsed by two amazing films before. Kasdan and Lucas do well with the script and the screenplay is pretty nice here but I did feel the actual playing out of the story is not that well pieced together. I felt this is better choreographed than previous, better duels, gun battles etc make this more fast paced in the action area and one of the better things about this movie.
My main critical points are mostly about the film just never being THAT good but yet again I'm comparing it to it's previous two films. It just isn't as richly emotional yet also not as funny as the others, fun yes but lacks the smiles we need from the main cast. I also wasn't too keen on the ending, is it rushed well maybe but in any case it still delivers nicely, just not as nice as I think the proposed ending should be.
I think die hard Star Wars fans will like this but I am not sure if they will love it, for the amount of criticism which was levied against Star Wars in the future prequels, this film is never seen as any less to New Hope and Empire when in reality it never reaches the others heights. For anyone not a fan of the series this is still fun and you should enjoy it as it is a fitting ending and really brings the story full circle in a way which is soundly done.
Overall I felt it to be Firmly a Good film, not quite being near to very good. Yes with more Star Wars after this film we can safely say this is not the ending anymore but still serves an a finish to a classic three films in the 70's and 80's which to be fair, even if this movie isn't an instant classic, it is still part of an almost flawless original series of films.