Review: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
The true ending of Star Wars.
★★★½
Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher in "Return of the Jedi (1983)."
There's always something special about third acts. It's the act that wraps everything up, ties all the loose ends, and either sets up the next trilogy, or conclude the series as a whole. Star Wars has always had deep film endings, especially the third film in each trilogy. They're always filled with a lot of emotion, depth, and drama. Moments that make us cry, hopeful, and excited, all in at the same time. This is last chance the Rebel Alliance has to save the galaxy from the Evil Galatic Empire.
Once again, like the last film, this wasn't directed by George Lucas. It was instead directed by Richard Marquand. George selected him because of his film, "Eye of the Needle." But before Lucas chose Marquand, he approached Steven Spielberg, Irvin Kershner, David Lynch, and David Cronenberg, all of whom declined. The title was also changed multiple times. The title that was used was the original title, but sometime during pre-production, screenwriter, Lawrence Kasdan and producer, Howard Kazanjian, felt that "Return" was a weak title, so they went with "Revenge." That was the title for a long while, and you still find that title on some of the trailers and posters, but ultimately, George changed it back to "Return," because Jedi don't seek revenge.
The film opens up with Darth Vader (David Prowse) entering the second Death Star, which is three quarters done. He's come to oversee the final stages as well as prepare for the Emperor's arrival. Next, the film cuts to Tatooine, the desert planet we first saw in A New Hope, and a planet that appeares throughout most of the Star Wars films. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his friends are currently on Tatooine to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the Jabba the Hutt. After suceesfully rescuing Han Solo, the group return to fleet to prepare for the final attack. However, Luke remembers his promise he made to Yoda (Frank Oz) in the last film and pays him a vist. While on Dagobah, Luke speaks with a dying Yoda who tells him that he must kill his own father, which he also confirms. Luke is hesitant because that's his own father. After Yoda dies, Luke speaks to Obi-Wan's force ghost who tells him a similar thing, which Luke is still hesitant about. Later, the fleet meet up to devise a plan to destory the second Death Star, as they believe it's their only chance, especially since the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) himself is overseeing the final stages of its construction.
The remainder of the film takes place on the Forest Moon of Endor, where the shield generator, protecting the Death Star is located at. It's up to Han Solo's squad to destory it so Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and the fleet can destory the Death Star. When Vader learns of Luke's presence on Endor, he plans to bring him before the Emperor. The film has three big action sequences. The Battle of Endor, land, space, and a final duel between a father and a son.
"Return of the Jedi" is often considered the weakest one in the Original Trilogy, which I agree with. That doesn't make it a bad movie, though. The biggest problem this movie faces is tone. Most of the film focuses on litte teddy bears named "Ewoks." Personally, I don't have a problem with Ewoks, but they look like teddy bears, which makes it difficult for them to be taken seriously. It's the same issue people felt with the Gungans in The Phantom Menace, and I don't even a problem with Gungans either. This film just needed to balance the tone a lot better. That's pretty much my only complaint regarding this movie. The Ewoks ended replacing the Wookiees, which was the originaly plan. A Wookiee is the species that Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) is, for the four or five people who don't know.
On the other hand, this film contains some of the best scenes in all of Star Wars. Especially notable are the emotional scenes. Yoda's death, Luke and Leia's conversation, the entire encounter between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor, the conclusion, and Luke communicating with Obi-Wan's force ghost. Speaking of Luke and Leia, their conversation is one of my favorite moments in the film. That, to me, is strong and essential since it provided the audience with something to think about. As if Luke was going to perish or succumb to the dark side. Because if he did, Leia (Carrie Fisher) would have taken his position, as Yoda stated, "There is another."
I had the pleasure of watching this film in the cinema in honor of the film's 40th Anniversary. After being fustrated with Disney's destruction of Star Wars, I was happy to see the Star Wars I remember, the George Lucas Star Wars. Seeing Luke throw his Lightsaber after defeating Vader, refusing to kill his father or the Emperor, showing the Emperor and the audience what a Jedi really is, goes to show how far Luke has come since we first saw in "A New Hope." To me, this is the true ending to Star Wars. Sure, I do love the Expanded Universe, as you can tell by some of my reviews, but I'm talking about the films. 41 years later, and this film still holds up remarkably well.