So here is film 6 out of my rewatch reviews of 7 Star Wars movies in 7 days. Return of the Jedi gets a bad rap amongst many Star Wars fans, but I’ve always really liked it myself. And I actually prefer it over Empire (a collective gasp goes out amongst the Star Wars community). I find it more watchable and more aesthetically pleasing. I think the colours and richness of content of Jabba’s palace, Endor and also the final space battle far outweigh the visuals of Empire. Sure Empire has the AT-AT fight and some great bits with the Empire but overall I think Jedi looks better. I love the Rebel space fleet, some of those ships are beautiful, with their curvy, organic structure as opposed to the angular Imperial ships.

Plot-wise, sure Jedi is lacking a bit. As the Nerd Lunch crew discussed on their drill down, Luke’s rescue plan at Jabba’s Palace is a bit laughable when you think about it too much, but I just try not to think about it too much. And the second half of the movie is basically one big long battle scene. But I still love the ending with the Emperor, Vader and Luke in the same room and have always found it pretty heavy-hitting in terms of the Emperor teasing Luke to give in to his hate. The threat of the dark side and the father/son relationship really gives this film an edge I feel and I think that outweighs any negativity people may have about the Ewoks, tenfold.

That last big space battle, when you see hundreds of TIE fighters flying around is just breath-taking. Amazing work from ILM.

Basically, although Jedi is weak in places I still think it addressed the biggest issue of all, Luke potentially turning to the dark side, and it resolves big issues like the Emperor and Vader. Plus I love the visuals. Great film and great end to the series. Can’t wait to see how The Force Awakens continues the legacy.

GOOD POINTS
• Great intro sequence again, paying homage to the iconic opening sequence in A New Hope
• I really enjoy the whole Jabba Palace stuff. I love the colours and the array of creatures
• Some great creature workshop effects such as Bib Fortuna and Jabba
• Boushh
• The Rancor Monster
• The bit where the Rancor Keeper cries
• The Sarlaac Pit
• The Emperor – pretty badass. And great to see him again after watching the prequels and then him only being mentioned once in A New Hope and appearing as a hologram in Empire
• The Imperial Guards have a great uniform
• Admiral Ackbar
• The ground-breaking speeder bike chase
• The Emperor’s chair. Pretty cool
• Ian McDiarmid is fantastic as the Emperor
• “It’s a trap!”
• TIE Interceptors
• I love the scene when Han and co. are walked out of the shield generator and they see all the different Imperial troops standing looking at them. Reminds me of a cool Warhammer 40k drawing from an issue of White Dwarf that I still have
• Lando and Nien Nunb flying the Falcon
• Luke fighting Vader – great, emotional fight
• Nien Nunb’s laugh
• The triumphant moment when Vader helps Luke and you see his skeleton through the mask
• I like both Ewok songs but I preferred ‘Yub Nub’
• I love that the force ghosts don’t miss a good party

BAD POINTS
• General Madine’s haircut
• Leia was a proper princess in A New Hope and almost like a military second in command of the rebellion in Empire Strikes Back. But in Jedi she seems to just be one of the troops in the Rebellion. Strange
• Let’s not mention the way Boba Fett dies
• Some bits of the original trilogy don’t quite stack up now after seeing the prequels, such as Luke asking Leia about her memories of her real mother, but that’s no fault of the original film
• Many people dislike the Ewoks, calling them ‘Muppets in Space’, but I really don’t mind them. I do, however, think that the Ewoks fight off the stormtroopers slightly too easily. And that Tarzan yell from Chewie pulls me out of the film a little bit
• When Luke says “I know there is good in you” it doesn’t really fit right because we know from the prequels that Anakin was always whiny and moody. But again I shouldn’t hold that against ROTJ because it was obviously made a lot earlier
• Han tapping that Scout Trooper on the shoulder

RANKING
1. Ep 4: A New Hope
2. Ep 6: Return of the Jedi
3. Ep 5: The Empire Strikes Back
4. Ep 3: Revenge of the Sith
5. Ep 2: Attack of the Clones
6. Ep 1: The Phantom Menace

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