Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

And here we are. 

At the end of my journey to re-watch and Retro Review all of the Star Wars films. 

It's been an adventure certainly and one that has been highly interesting in its understanding of fan-based nostalgia, hatred of "new", but also acceptance of it, and just the general feel of the separate trilogies both prequel, original, and current. 

There's a lot of love in these movies and a lot of love (and hate) that comes from fans. Ultimately they're all going to be judged by the consensus, but I have come to realize that each film -- some to more degrees than others -- has its faults and accomplishments. 

"Woah, Jordan. That's some deep insight there..." Ok, ok jacka*s subconscious, I know that's not really a deep explanation, but it's still something to think about when people refer to films as "the best of all time" or ones that "ruined their childhood". Quite frankly, there's enough originality in each Star Wars film to merit their existence alone, but watching these films related, but from different time periods, has made me realize (and question) how some of the films we love today will age. 

Will Inception always be as mind-blowingly captivating as it is? [likely]
Will most of the higher-grade Marvel films stand the test of time? Even after 20, 40 more years of superhero films? [hard to say]
Will films like La La Land or  The Revenant be remembered decades from now more than just a award line-item in the history books? [I would sure hope so]

Maybe I'm going to deep into all this but the fact that Star Wars transcends generations is not something that many universes or stories get to lay claim to. It takes something special, memorable, and original to do that which is why, even if you hated the prequel trilogy, Star Wars is still an amazing thing to have around. 

But anyway, onto the review for Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Until very recently, this was the furthest we'd ever made it into the Star Wars canon. Sure there's a bunch of EU stuff, but for the general public, this was "The End". Thoughts about the new films aside (I love them), Return of the Jedi is the end of at least this trilogy. So how does it do? 

Even from this distance, the Stormtroopers still missed...Sad!

I won't even begin to describe
what his face looks like

For me, this is easily the weakest film of the original three. With A New Hope we get a well-rounded, exciting, and complete kick-off while The Empire Strikes Back is a dark, well expanded sequel with a lot of ground to cover. Return of the Jedi wraps things up rather nicely, but it seems to stall itself out in the meantime. It felt like a film with about 60-80 minutes worth of content that pushes around the 120 minute mark and loses some effectiveness in the process. Several factors play into this, but most specifically is the Ewok distraction on Endor. I know I'm not the only one who has complained about them before and I'd like to think I'm more complaining on their focus rather than the creatures themselves. They're cute. They're funny. I get it. It's marketing gold. But for too long are they a core crux of what's supposed to be a very serious film. Part of what made Empire so great is its serious tone and that's awkwardly carried over and combined here between Luke's interactions with the Dark Side and his father and the Ewoks throwing rocks and waddling away. I simply think they should have been in the film for less time and the outcome would have been a much tighter, serious effort that still has the cute marketing gimmick. Fingers crossed the newly-introduced Porgs in Episode VIII don't result in the same outcome. Also frustrating is the return of the Death Star, and in record f**king time too. By now I've voiced my annoyance with these "planet killers" and it seems the trend really began within this own trilogy, so I'll try not to hold too much against it. Even still I'm not sure Return needed it for the same scenes and outcomes to take place. I get that it's a big threat and seeing a once-destroyed monstrosity come back to life again is scary -- so maybe it's just me watching again in 2017 that has had it up to HERE [HERE I TELL YOU!] with the Death Star. 

I feel like there are several
metaphors for society here...

Minor rants aside, Return of the Jedi is, as a whole, one hell of a trilogy ending. Specifically, it gives us another dose of wild imagination and originality along with some fantastic character moments. Relationships between Luke and Leia, Leia and Han, Han and Luke, Luke and Vader, etc. etc. etc. are all fleshed out and finalized in satisfying, believable ways. To a certain extent, the fact that Leia is Luke's sister feels a bit like an afterthought -- almost as if Jedi knew it needed a family-plot-twist like its predecessor. It works though, despite it being somewhat unnecessary and I imagine this new trilogy will expand on their relationship significantly. Luke and Vader (and subsequently the Emperor's) relationship really comes full circle though as Anakin finally gets redemption as a father and the saggy-jawed Emperor gets what has been coming to him for 6 films. One of my complains that spans over each film of the original trilogy is that, other than being in the shadows, we never get to see why the Emperor is so feared other than being told he's the master and seeing [briefly] that he has Force lightning abilities. Some bonus points certainly go to the prequel trilogy there where we get to see how dangerous he really is. On a somewhat related note: let's hope Snoke's abilities aren't masked until the last 30 minutes of this new trilogy either. 

Circling back, Jedi still has a wondrous sense of originality and whole new worlds that come with it. I don't think it's quite as much as the first two films in this trilogy, but almost all of what we get on Endor is nifty enough to make comment about it regardless. One of the most exciting and breathless moments of this entire trilogy is a fast-paced Speederbike race through a dense forest that, despite some poorly-aged effects, is shockingly mad and intense. As a whole this is a technically impressive movie too with the best effects of the trilogy (unsurprising given the later release date and increased budget) and another world-class original score. Much like the previous films, there's also some strong cinematography here and there and loads of memorable images and scenes.

A great finale scene/battle to wrap it all up.

Return of the Jedi may not be the best of the original trilogy, but that doesn't mean it's not a satisfying conclusion all the same. The stakes feel strangely lower all together and it lacks the focus of the middle film, but along the way we get great character moments, exciting action setpieces, and a healthy helping of sci-fi originality. Closing out, it's no surprise that this truly is one of the best trilogies of all time.  

CONS

• The Ewoks are fine, they just overstay their welcome and clash with the tone that the film should (and is trying to) have
• Seems a little unfocused on how to get to the well-planned finale
• Death Star fatigue continues
• Again, some effects have aged better than others
• Emperor's powers are never greatly displayed and it's curious that people found him such a menacing villain, especially in comparison to Vader

PROS

• A satisfying end to a phenomenal trilogy. The final scenes themselves are well thought out and planned
• Exciting action and special effects that [mostly] hold up. The Speederbike chase is one of the trilogy's highlights
• Well designed and crafted character moments from a variety of angles. There is great closure from almost every angle here
• Still has originality in spades
• Good cinematography, better editing, and another amazing original score
• Entertaining end and send-off to one of the best trilogies ever

Retro Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10