After my first viewing of Return of the Jedi, I thought it was the best Star Wars movie ever made. That opinion of mine continued until I finished off the saga. But back then, I was young and naïve. And so I think that now, I can see that although the Return of the Jedi is a very good film, it's not on par with the other two, previous installments in the original trilogy, but it is still superior to every film in the newer, prequel trilogy.
The film depicts the last great battle, when the mighty but evil Empire at last falls into ruin, and the Rebellion frees the galaxy from it's evil grip. It opens when our familiar band of heroes: Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3P0 rescue Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster, Jabba the Hutt. Luke has by now nearly completed his training in becoming a Jedi Knight, but as Yoda tells him before dying, he will never be a complete Jedi until he defeats Vader. It is at this point that a ghostly version of Obi-Wan reveals to Luke that Vader is in fact his father Leia is is sister. Luke confronts Vader, well as the evil Emperor, who attempts to goad Luke into joining the Dark Side of the Force.
The Return of the Jedi is a technological success, just like either of it's predecessors. Unfortunately, it is also hampered by the fact that this is not as much a memorable cinematic expierence as either it's predecessors. We can take Vader for example here. He was a dark, formidable, foreboding figure clouded in mystery. In the Return of the Jedi, he's a pathetic weakling compared to the Emperor.
Anyway, the Return of the Jedi has quite a few positive things about it. It has good acting, cool space battles, and an exciting end lightsaber duel. The Ewok creatures are memorable, but even more so is Jabba the Hutt, yet another iconic Star Wars character. In addition, the end of the film is powerful, with the Empire defeated, the Emperor disposed of, and Vader turning back to the Light Side of the Force in the end. And, believe it or not, but the “it's a trap!” line spoken by Admiral Ackbar is my favoritemovie quote in the saga.
Therefore, the Return of the Jedi is a slighty powerful ending to the saga, though not on the colossal scale as it could have been. I thought it was entertaining, and I liked the story to it and how the good guys win the end.
Star Wars is like a classic tale of good vs. evil. One of the best things about the Return of the Jedi is that we see good triumph over evil.
****/5
The BEST one!
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