Subject: Retrospective: Return Of The Jedi (1983)

From: "Joe Chamberlain" <[email-masked]>
Date: 28 Apr 1999 05:19:27 GMT

Return Of The Jedi
A review by Joe Chamberlain
Starring Mark Hamill; Harrison Ford; Carrie Fisher & Billy Dee Williams

Return Of The Jedi is the third installment of the Star Wars trilogy, and
the second best of the three. (Star wars being the best.) It picks up where
The Empire Strikes Back left off -- Han Solo is feeling somewhat confined
and Luke Skywalker is dealing with some serious parental issues. In this
film, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Princess
Leia (Carrie Fisher) travel to the forest moon of Endor. There they must try
to deactivate a generator that is powering a shield protecting the Empire's
new Death Star. Once the shield is removed the Rebel armada plans to attack
the Empire's new space station in their final showdown with Darth Vader and
friends. If you don't know all this by now, most likely you have either been
in a coma or living in a South American jungle for the last 15 years.

Unlike The Empire Strikes Back, which bordered on depressing in places,
Return Of The Jedi is much more fun. Especially the scenes on the Endor Moon
involving the Ewoks -- probably the cutest creatures to ever hit the big
screen, with the possible exception of E.T.. Return Of The Jedi also
benefits from what seems like the most action of the three films. This is
highlighted by the spectacular battle between the Imperial forces and the
Rebel/Ewok team.

I must confess to being a much bigger Han Solo fan than I am a Luke
Skywalker fan. So if I have one criticism of the movie, it is the extended
periods in the film that focus on the Emperor's attempts to turn Luke to the
dark side of the Force. A minor complaint, but one point worthy of note.
Although it is not a point large enough to prevent me from ranking Return Of
The Jedi as one of my favorite films of all time. Return Of The Jedi serves
as a fitting end to one of the greatest series of movies ever produced. It
ties up all the loose ends of the previous films and stands as a reminder
that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior knockoffs of the original
film.

Whether you've seen the first two films or not, Return Of The Jedi is easily
two of the most enjoyable hours you will ever spend watching a film.

10/10

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