Hype is an overused word in Hollywood, but in the context of “Return of the Jedi,” it was totally justified. For three full years, planet Earth had been on tenterhooks, waiting to find out what Luke Skywalker’s ascendancy meant for that galaxy far, far away, and if there was any way back for Han Solo after he became a novelty coffee table.
In the wake of the famous cliffhangers of “The Empire Strikes Back,” it’s no surprise that “Return of the Jedi” was a blockbuster. But not everyone was pleased with what “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and his director Richard Marquand had accomplished.
To some viewers, “Jedi” was just the one with the teddy bears (sorry, Ewoks), a glorified toy ad with a half-dropped act and too much sentimentality. It was the one where “The Empire Strikes Back” MVP Han spent much of the film reduced to a mere bystander, the one where iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett walked out in embarrassment and, in barely plausible fashion, Twist out of nowhere: Leia turned out to be Luke’s twin sister. What are the possibilities?
All these criticisms are justified. “Return of the Jedi” is undoubtedly the weakest of the original trilogy, and for the first 16 years of its life it was considered the worst “Star Wars” movie.
And yet these things are relative, because 40 years and eight movies later, there’s no question that the sixth installment of the Skywalker Saga ranks up there with the best Star Wars movies. At the very least, it beats the prequels, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and the current nadir of the movies, “The Rise of Skywalker,” hands down.
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Bringing “The Empire Strikes Back” to the screen had been a tortuous process for George Lucas. Indeed, the world’s largest independent filmmaker, was betting “everything he had” that the film would be a success, and came perilously close to running out of money on several occasions. However, when “Empire” became a huge hit, all those worries evaporated. That’s clear in the ambition of “Return of the Jedi,” where everything is bigger, often in exciting ways.
Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine has been a “Star Wars” mainstay since the original movie, but it’s never been a more exciting place to visit than here. Ruled by “vile gangster” Jabba the Hutt, himself a marvelous creation, this hive of wretchedness, scum and villainy is a feast for the eyes, teeming with the action-ready alien races that have cropped up regularly in the franchise ever since.
This variety continues in the Rebel Alliance briefing before the assault on Death Star II, where the old guard is joined by new faces like Admiral Ackbar (a Mon Calamari), Nien Nunb (a Sullustan) and Orrimaarko (a Dressellian). Despite the fact that he barely appeared on camera, the latter was also immortalized in plastic as “Prune Face”. Arguably his closest contact with stardom was this. Sketch of the “robot chicken”.
The action sets are also among the best in “Star Wars” history. The entire Jabba sequence is the ideal palate cleanser before the story returns to the rampage of the Galactic Civil War, but the pivotal fight over the Sarlacc is the highlight. A spectacularly chaotic junk, it harkens back to the adventure series that inspired “Star Wars” in the first place. It’s still a shame what happened to Boba Fett though.
The much-imitated Speeder Bike chase is a glorious excuse for Lucas to reminisce about his boyish fondness for fast cars, while space battles truly are out of this world. In fact, Lucas’ in-house effects team at Industrial Light & Magic stood out so much with their maelstrom of A, B, X, and Y wings, not to mention the new armored space station, even more powerful than the first dreaded Death. Star – Arguably still the best big screen example of model-based pre-CG space battles.
In fact, “Return of the Jedi” always looked so good that there wasn’t much Lucas could improve upon when he gave the film a digital makeover for the 1997 special edition and 2004 DVD release. the augmented X-wings of “A New Hope” and the subtle cosmetic tweaks of “Empire,” the new song-and-dance number (complete with a tour of the hottest victory parties in the galaxy), and the surprise cameo for the prequel model Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen, felt like change for change’s sake.
With the unfrozen Han more of a bit player, barely getting to fly the Millennium Falcon, the dialogue in “Return of the Jedi” lacks the more quotable “Empire” snap. However, the scholar Luke Skywalker finally manages to fulfill his destiny as savior of the galaxy, and come the final act, his journey certainly lives up to the billing. That’s largely due to Ian McDiarmid’s stage-chewing performance as the trilogy’s chief antagonist, the new Emperor. For his brief appearance in “The Empire Strikes Back,” Palpatine was played by an unlikely chimera of actress Marjorie Eaton, voiced by Clive Revill and with the eyes of a chimpanzee. And then, who can forget the pivotal lightsaber duel on the Death Star?
Later saber battles may have been faster and more complex, but few can compete with the emotional stakes of this battle for the souls of two generations of Skywalkers. When Darth Vader finally redeems himself by throwing his boss down a reactor shaft, it’s one of the most powerful moments in the entire saga: you’re saddened by the death of a character who, moments before, was the (second) baddest. . The boy from the galaxy hints at a greater emotional depth than is usually attributed to “Star Wars.”
But beyond everything else, there’s one thing that sets “Return of the Jedi” apart from any other film in canon: its fully functional ending.
Yes, the story has continued ever since in “The Mandalorian” and the three sequels, but for 32 years, the triple whammy of Luke earning his Jedi stripes, the destruction of the Death Star, and the death of Palpatine were a full stop. appropriate. . (“The Rise of Skywalker” tried to do a similar job but, like the movie as a whole, the ending was simply a repetition of past glories.)
The conclusion of “Return of the Jedi” brought Luke Skywalker’s arc to a satisfying end, but, as subsequent movies and TV shows have shown, not to mention decades of non-canon books and comics, it also offered possibilities. After “Return of the Jedi,” “Star Wars” could have gone however it wanted. But even if the franchise had left it there, it still would have held up as the best (almost) happily ever after from outer space.
