Review 20: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
Set approximately one year after The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) leads a mission to rescue Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the clutches of the grotesque gangster, Jabba the Hutt and he and his companions succeed.
Meanwhile The Empire, with the help of Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), is building a second Death Star in order to crush the Rebel Alliance. Since Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) plans to personally oversee the final stages of its construction, the Rebel Fleet launches a full-scale attack on the Death Star in order to prevent its completion and kill Palpatine, effectively bringing an end to the Empire, but first they must destroy the energy shield that's on the nearby forest moon of Endor. So Han leads a team including Luke to blow the shield. Luke meanwhile struggles to bring Vader, who is his father and himself a fallen Jedi, back from the Dark Side of the Force.
The plot is superbly written, it brings the right amount of intensity, depth and action the bring about the absolute perfect finale to the Star Wars. What it lacks in the darkness, intrigue and pychological complexity that The Empire Strikes Back had, it more than makes up for it with a
At its core, Return of the Jedi is mainly a story about a father and a son: Luke is faced with the emotional struggle of somehow bringing Darth Vader back to the good side but at the same time, The Emperor is looking to use that familial relationship to his advantage and turn Luke to the Dark Side.
The film opens with a heist as Luke and the other attempt to rescue Han from Jabba the Hutt, the hesit itself takes up the first 30 minutes of the film, but rathe than feeling like a distraction, George Lucas and director Richard Marquand structure as a sort of miniadventure showing is the ins and outs of the crime slugs syndicate as well as subtly hinting at a darker turn for Luke.
As Roger Ebert stated in his original review "Return of the Jedi is, in a lot of ways, both a familiar movie and a new one. It concludes the stories of the major human characters in the saga, particularly Luke, Han, Leia and Darth Vader. It revisits other characters who seem either more or less than human including Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (Alec Guinness), Yoda (Frank Oz), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and the beloved droids C-3PO and R2-D2 and old concepts such as the Death Star.
But beneath all this Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi is a truly wonderful film filled with a lot of new and imaginative characters (the Ewoks) and secrets: This film answers all the basic questions of the original trilogy. We finally find out the secrets of all the characters (Luke, Darth Vader, Princess Leia... Han). Also the second Death Star is not just a recycling of the one in A New Hope it's represents the obstical the the Rebels have to overcome to restore freedom to the Galaxy, the same thing goes to The Emperor, Luke must get past him to bring back Darth Vader.
Throughout the space battle, Director Richard Marquand intercuts between spectacle with scenes of highly entertaining banter between Lando Clarissian and his co-pilot; an peculiar little character named Nien Nunb (puppeteered by Mike Quinn and voiced by Kipsang Rotich). They have a very Wallace and Gromit esque dynamic which mirrors that of Han and Chewie.
Richard Marquand's direction is the cinematography is beautiful and captures the beauty of Tatooine and Endor in particular. The special effects are fabulous (possibly the best effect is the Millenium Falcon, after three movies, this scrappy little ship culminates its arc by being the one to lead the Space Battle on the second Death Star. The score by John Williams is excellent, the action scenes/space battles are brilliantly well choreographed and terrifically put together, the costumes are magnificent, the creature design is masterful, the production design is spectacular, the make up is rich, and the effect of the closing sequence is emotionally breathtaking and satisfying.
The acting once again is brilliant, particularly from Mark Hamill who really matured in this film and to watch his character grow is just stunning. What would you do if you believed you were invincible? Would you willingly enter Jabba's palace unarmed? Surrender yourself to the Empire because you feel there is the faintest, wildest chance you could redeem the most feared villain in the Galaxy? Watching the descions made by Luke in this film, it's clear that in the way that he clearly trusts the force as well as feels it and lets it guide him along. Luke is basically the last Jedi at this point in the saga.
Harrison Ford is such a joy to watch here as Han Solo By this point in the trilogy, it's clear that his loyalty to his friends has crowded out his selfishness and his responsibility to himself and conquuring his fear of the past
Carrie Fisher gives possibly her most dramatic performance in the saga I think she handles the the revelation of her relation to Luke really well
Billy Dee Williams is terrific once agin playing Lando Clarissian. After betraying Han in the The Empire Strikes Back, the journey he goes on in this movie is almost like a shot of redemption as he's made a General in the Rebel Alliance and volunteers to lead the attack on the second Death Star. Even when the odds situation seems hopeless, Lando plays the game like a natural gambler, trusting his friends down on Endor and having faith that they might still have a chance at victory.
Frank Oz and Alec Guinness are fabulous in their scenes as Yoda and Obi Wan
Anthony Daniels is as nuerotic as always,
Ian McDiarmid is a wonderfully magnificent addition to the trilogy playing Emperor Palpatine, he is the true creator of chaos throughout this trilogy, a master manipulator who performs all of his acts behind the scenes and is a masterclass in ruling through fear and manipulation.
Return of the Jedi is a fitting end to a classic trilogy, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic
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