Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

Probably watch this later

Divided on my thoughts honestly.

A lot of stuff is the best in Star Wars and some of the stuff if just very painfully average

I definitely enjoyed it. More than I thought I would seeing it again.

The Tatooine stuff is low key kinda bad but the nice part is that once it’s over you can pretty much forget it ever happened. It really feels like an interquel between Episode V and VI.

That whole section is like TCW movie except the Hutts are grosser and the plot is worse.

Strangely enough they Ewoks didn’t really bother me this time.

I kinda forgot how many times we see their attempts prove ineffective and have to try something else. And then that shockingly dark Ewok death scene. They definitely aren’t a bunch of mini Rey’s that can easily destroy their enemies with no explanation.

Some stuff was dumb like killing stormtroopers with rocks but they’re definitely not the worst part of this movie.

That was the 501st?

Fuck now I’m pissed.

Took me a while to compile my thoughts but here goes.

I wish I could say Return of the Jedi was the perfect closing chapter to the original trilogy. It comes close in many ways, but it is bogged down by a variety of problems that didn't exist in the first two films. It's sadly the weakest of the trilogy.

The most noticeable thing while watching the movie is how disconnected it is. Episodes IV and V feel very tightly plotted. Every scene is seeming to build towards something and nothing feels like it could just be removed. That isn't the case here. This was always going to be a problem given the cliffhanger ending of The Empire Strikes Back, but the opening plot of rescuing Han feels very disconnected from everything else. It's as almost as if it's a short film that takes place between V and VI. It's not terrible, but it's also quite slow and makes no logical sense.

Luke, a few questions: Why did you turn in Chewie? And why threaten Jabba for more money? That didn't seem necessary or smart. Was Leia meant to be captured? How did you know she would be? If not, how were you gonna get the droids back? Were you comfortable with your lightsaber being in Jabba's palace forever? What if they didn't bring R2 on the barge? How did you know they would? And how did you know they would bring you to the Sarlacc Pit and not just shoot you? How did you know Leia would be able to easily kill Jabba? He was surrounded by his friends. How did you know none of them would try to stop her? What if they just put a gun to Leia's head and ordered you to jump? It's surprising no one did this.

Okay so moving on, the Dagobah stuff is good. I heard they weren't going to do this originally but they thought kids needed to hear Yoda confirm Vader was Luke's father. Well whatever, I'm glad we went back there. Obi-Wan's scene was stupid though. It just felt weird how easily Luke accepted that "certain point of view" bullshit. Nobody really acts human in this movie. It's kinda weird.

Speaking of that, Han and Leia are really off in this movie. Han was the best part of the last two movies, but here he just feels like a moron. He's not even that funny. And I don't know what it is with Leia. She talks like she's in some 1940s movie and it's kinda distracting. Also, I cringe when she shows up to the Ewok village with her hair all braided and wearing some tribal dress. Like how does that make sense and why were you doing that instead of looking for your friends? Most of her scenes feel off. Like she forgot how to show human emotion.

The whole Ewoks capturing them plotline feels silly and like it's just there to kill time. I wouldn't mind it so much but this is the second act of the last movie! Why don't you do something interesting with it? I don't know, it just kinda grinds the movie to a halt and lowers the stakes. Like shit, we have an important mission but we're gonna sit around telling meta campfire stories? That's something you do in the second part of some lesser Clone Wars arc, not in the "epic finale."

Okay but moving on, I really like the Battle of Endor. The space battle is fucking awesome. Like I can't believe how good it looks for 1983. Like holy shit. I don't even mind the shield generator assault. Yeah, the Ewoks are kinda silly, but it's not like their kicking stormtrooper ass. It's kinda like TCW Battle Droids. They're kinda ridiculous but in sheer numbers, they can overwhelm. The only thing is though there aren't any consequences. R2 gets shot, which means nothing. And Leia gets hit in the arm. And that's it. I like these characters, I don't want to see them die. But holy shit this story makes them feel like unimportant side characters. I get that they want some contrast from the dark shit on Death Star II. But it makes Han into a joke. Why not have something interesting happen. It just feels like a missed opportunity. You had Han and Leia got through interesting shit in Empire Strikes Back. I don't think anyone was clamoring for them to be downgraded to comic relief.

But the Death Star shit, as I've said before, has some of my favorite Star Wars moments. Mark Hamill gives the best performance in this movie. Everything with him and Vader is super well done. The Emperor is such a good villain. I love how he just knows everything and is goading Luke into attacking him. It's awesome. And then the duel, while shorter than the last one, has such good emotion. And the music is really really good. That shot where Luke is relentlessly attacking Vader is my favorite shot in all of Star Wars. It actually is epic. I think they did a great job with Anakin. Especially after the ending of the last movie, it would have seemed possible to turn him. But sequence, where he kills the Emperor, is perfect.

Again, wish I could say this was up to par with IV and V but its really not. It's a mess of a movie that doesn't really tie it all together. The three acts have jarring shifts in tones and they all feel like different movies. What works really works but there's a lot that sadly doesn't. I enjoy watching this movie, and the end celebration is really fitting(Victory Celebration >> Yub Nub). But as I look back and think about, it just falls a bit flat.

Thought about it a lot, and I'm gonna give it a 6.5/10.