Movie Notes: Star Wars Episode 6: Return Of The Jedi

September 3rd, 2009

= 4 stars

Starring Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford
Directed by Richard Marquand

Synopsis

Luke (Mark Hamill) and Leia (Carrie Fisher) voyage to Tatooine to rescue their old friend Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Meanwhile the Empire, led by Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader, construct another Death Star.

The Good

Overall, the prequels lend an epic feel Jedi that didn’t exist at the time of its premiere. The Darth Vader story arc – that annoying kid who became an asshole in the prequels, reaches its ultimate climax. He basically turns on the freak that put him in the Frankenstein suit, the freak being the Emperor who returns as a major character after being pretty much AWOL in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. So final light saber battle between Vader, Luke, and the Emperor has additional meaning that wasn’t there before, as do the scenes between the Emperor and Vader, and Obi Wan, Yoda, and Luke. At the core is the primal concept of a father redeemed by a son, who is able to show there is still good in what Episode III showed us was an evil person. The human within the monster is depicted by removing Vader’s mask to show a friendly face within, foreshadowed by Leia’s removal of her mask upon saving Han Solo.
Luke and Leia finally learn they are siblings, recalling Padme and Anakin’s doomed romance from the prequels, explaining why Leia knew Luke was hanging at the bottom of Cloud City, and putting an end to the love triangle between Luke, Leia, and Han.
Some cool action sequences, namely, the battle over the Sarlacc pit, the speeder bikes, and the final, over-the-top space battle.
Well, I suppose I must mention the metal bikini.

The Bad

A cloying, cutesy, “muppet show” feel – I’m in the camp that finds the Ewoks especially tedious. Also horrifyingly awful is the special edition’s CGI musical number in Jabba’s palace. The bloated slug’s entourage is rather like the Muppet Show given full reign of the Cantina, specifically Salacious Crumb, a perverted mix of Chihuahua and Fraggle. This nutball character nonsense is most reminiscent of the prequels, which makes sense in the overall story arc, but in terms of my personal enjoyment it’s a bad thing.
Very self-referential – while Empire expanded the Star Wars universe, Jedi features a return to Tatooine, another Death Star, and a space battle climax that’s essentially a rehash of the first film.

Conclusion

While Return Of The Jedi is an epic, entertaining movie that wraps up the Star Wars saga decently, it feels like Lucas took the easy road out. While Empire pulled Star Wars into the realm of classic, serious film making with new worlds, characters, and plot surprises, Jedi’s safe conclusion to the entire run of six movies pulls the entire enterprise a notch down.

IMDB: Return Of The Jedi
Wikipedia: Return Of The Jedi
Rotten Tomatoes: Return Of The Jedi

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