Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) Reviews

• Flawed, very entertaining solid third sequel an epic conclusion to the original trilogy!

  ivo-cobra82016-04-28

  Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) is a third sequel in the original Star Wars trilogy it is flawed, yet very entertaining solid third sequel and an epic conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy. Honestly in my opinion Return of the Jedi is far way better film than The Force Awakens, that movie was a disaster and it sucked, I rather watch this movie any time. It is not my favorite film in the series and I don't love this movie that much like I love the first two movies, but I like it and it think it is very good at some points. The film has a lot of problems, that hurts the movie. I still have enjoyed this movie and I had a lot of fun. Return of the Jedi (1983) is directed this time from Richard Marquand a different director than it was directed from Irvin Kershner and George Lucas. This movie was released on the same year that I was born in 1983. The film is pretty good on it is own way, but on the other thing it suffers from problems and flaws. Things I like in this movie: The first hour is set back on planet Tatooine which is a rescue mission which I like, the story is set where the first movie begins and ends here. Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Princess Leia Organa, C-3PO, and R2-D2 return to Tatooine to rescue Han Solo (who was encased in carbonite at the end of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back) from the gangster Jabba the Hutt (voice: Larry Ward). A battle on ship, with Luke steadily taking the fight to Jabba's men. During the battle, Leia strangles Jabba to death with the chain around her neck and with R2-D2's help escapes from her bonds. The heroes destroy the ship, kills the bad guys and save Han solo. I love the explosion, the rescue and than they are all save. I love that we find out from ghost of Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi (Alec Guinness) that Leia (Carrie Fisher) is the sister of Luke ( Mark Hamill). I love that Luke revels to Leia that she is his sister. I like the battle on the Endor, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Ewoks are battling Stormtroopers to destroying the shield generator for the second Death Star and they do the destroy it. Lando and his assault team destroys the deaths tar on the end. Luke face Darth Vader and the evil Emperor and fights both of them, while they where both trying to bring him on a dark side of the force to join them. I love when Vader toys with the notion of turning Leia to the dark side, Luke gives in to his rage and furiously gains the upper hand in the battle, slicing off Vader's right robotic hand in a rage in one swift cut, and makes his father succumb to defeat at the mercy of his son's blade. Realizing that Luke cannot be turned, the Emperor uses Force lightning against him to torture and attempt to kill him. Deeply affected by the sight of his son dying before him, Vader repents and turns on the Emperor, throwing him down a reactor shaft to his death. Luke try's to save Anakin but he dies before he could save him. I feel that Luke's transition from a teenager to calm and collected warrior of the Force feels very authentic. His conflict between Darth Vader and the Emperor contains some of the best scenes in the entire saga. Things I don't like: The film has a few problems that are really unnecessary and I really hate it: This movie's biggest flaw is the pacing, the Ewoks and their role in the film. Star Wars been in a forest, aren't Star Wars suppose to set in the Galaxy and not in the forest? Personally I don't mind the Ewoks, but their introduction causes the movie comes to a screeching halt. Another fault of this movie is its attempts at humor. It feels often unnatural and forced a lot of the time. The Phantom Menace has been notorious for having this problem as well, but they most likely originated here. Master Yoda dies in this film! Why? Watching Yoda in the prequels I have really enjoyed him much more than I have watching him in the last two movies. Little guy grove up in to my heart. So I disagree about him dying. I am giving this movie an 8, I watch A New Hope and Retun of the Jedi on TV as a kid I don't remember watching The Empire Strikes Back, but I have saw those tow movies and still I like Return of the Jedi a lot.

• Underrated

  avenatticlint2006-03-29

  I noticed that A NEW HOPE and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK are in the TOP 10, but that this one isn't even in the TOP 100. This movie has a bad reputation because of Ewoks, but there are so many reasons to love this movie: -The Rescue of Han Solo from Jabba: This official wraps up the Han Solo in debt sub-plot that was established when we first met the character in A NEW HOPE. -The Emperor was Finally Revealled: Well alright this might not work as well now that the prequels are out but this was the first time we saw The Emperor as kids. -The Speeder Bike Chase: Alright, so this was a special effects moment. But it was definitely one of the most memorable and exciting moments in all the films! -The 3 Part Climax: 1) The Battle of Endor (Led by Han and Leia) 2) Luke Confronts his Father & The Fall of the Emperor 3) The Destruction of the Second Death Star (Lando's Moment) -The Final Celebration with Our Heroes: Like I said, this movie gets a lot of crap because of the Ewoks but I think it's kind of cool that while the entire galaxy celebrates the FALL OF THE EMPIRE, our heroes are having their own private party in the woods with each other. All in all this was a great final chapter for our heroes and a fitting end to the STAR WARS story.

• The Boy Who Loved "Star Wars"

  evanston_dad2005-12-02

  A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.....There was a boy who was only two years old when the original "Star Wars" film was released. He doesn't remember first seeing the movie, but he also doesn't remember life before it. He does remember the first "Star Wars" themed gift he got...a shoebox full of action figures from the original set. He was too young to fully appreciate how special that gift would be. But years later, he would get what to this day goes down as one of the best gifts he's ever received: another box full of action figures, ten of the final twelve he needed to complete his collection. It's now legendary in this boy's family how the last action figure he needed, Anakin Skywalker, stopped being produced and carried in stores, and how this boy went for about ten years (until he got into college) trying to track one down and finally bought it from someone on his dorm floor for a bag of beer nuggets (don't ask...it's a Northern Illinois University thing). I can't review "Star Wars" as a movie. It represents absolutely everything good, fun and magical about my childhood. There's no separating it in my mind from Christmases, birthdays, summers and winters growing up. In the winter, my friends and I would build snow forts and pretend we were on Hoth (I was always Han Solo). My friends' dad built them a kick-ass tree house, and that served as the Ewok village. They also had a huge pine tree whose bottom branches were high enough to create a sort of cave underneath it, and this made a great spot to pretend we were in Yoda's home. I am unabashedly dorky when it comes to "Star Wars" and I think people either just understand that or they don't. I don't get the appeal of "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Trek" but I understand the rabid flocks of fans that follow them because I am a rabid fan of George Lucas's films. I feel no need to defend my opinion of these movies as some of the greatest of all time. Every time I put them in the DVD player, I feel like I'm eight years old again, when life was simple and the biggest problem I had was figuring out how I was going to track down a figure of Anakin Skywalker. Grade (for the entire trilogy): A+

• A touching end

  ladysolo1999-05-11

  I'm sick of people whining about Ewoks! True, they're not the best thing that ever happened to Star Wars, but they DID happen, so deal with it! Besides, they ARE cute, and I don't care if they're marketable. Yubb Nubb! This movie always leaves me in tears. It's perfect. The end could not be better. I'm excited for The Phantom Menace because it will suddenly throw the focus of the whole story from Luke to Anakin. I love how he is revealed at the end - it would be too unresolved any other way. So those of you who are complaining that Vader's helmet was removed, take a moment to think about it. It's very effective. Vader, the man who hid behind a mask for 20 years, is finally revealed as a sick-looking man. He is not entirely machine - he's vulnerable. I don't know how the casting director happened to pick such good actors in A New Hope. They all do so well. They are believable characters. Hamill does an excellent job with his dramatic character development. Fisher does a fine job being a female role model (I mean, come on! She killed Jabba even when so many others had failed!). Harrison Ford - need I say more? The music is once again brilliant. It's so very touching and significant when you can pick out character themes at different parts of the movie. The best climax is when Luke shouts "NOOO!" and jumps out to fight his father in the Final Battle. John Williams is nothing short of a genius! What an amazing man! Already, the movie has so much more meaning for me because of Episode I. I can't wait to finally see it in the theatres (CAN I WAIT???) and then watch the original trilogy yet again. Bravo!

• ...and the trilogy is finished with yet another great film.

  Gen S2rt1999-01-12

  After "Star Wars: A New Hope" redefined science fiction, and "The Empire Strikes Back" redefined "Star Wars", it's hard to believe that the third and final film of this trilogy can manage to be as good as the other two, but this one really does a nice job. The first part of the film resolves the cliffhanger left by the previous one, with an elaborate escape plan that is in keeping with the incredible suspense and action of the first two films. Then the film moves back to the rebel alliance and what's going on in the war. There is a lot of action in the scenes building up to the rebellion's final confrontation with the Emperor. When the battle begins, the audience is already on the edge of their seats from everything leading up to it, and this final battle is even more intense than those from the other films. This climax is definitely more dense with action than any other part of the trilogy, with the most at stake for the rebellion. This is continually changing between a ground battle between the rebel strike crew on land (including Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Leia), the battle raging on in space (including Lando), and a confrontation between Luke and the Emperor on the new Death Star, which leads up to another duel with Darth Vader. It is really intense since the rebels constantly seem to be losing the battle that will determine the outcome of the war, and there seems to be no escape. Although I think the idea of Ewoks overpowering stormtroopers is a bit far-fetched, it didn't seem very unrealistic since they were more of a distraction that the rebels could use, rather than an actual threat to the stormtroopers, although they did have some luck fighting them. There is also a twist or two at the end that nobody saw coming, which may not be quite as stunning as that of "The Empire Strikes Back", but still complete a very spectacular trilogy very well. With the light tone of "A New Hope" and the more sinnister tone of "The Empire Strikes Back", this film really completes them by combining the two in this grand finale. The Special Edition for "Return of the Jedi" concentrated on what would have been nice to change, since not much of the original really needed it. Fifteen years of technology advancements didn't seem to make up for fifteen years of deterioration as far as the rancor scene is concerned, and there still is the occasional disappearing TIE fighter, but other than that it was good. The gaping non-threatening Sarlaac's mouth was given moving tentacles and a huge fly-trap looking head that emerged, which definitely added to the suspense. Also, the disco was taken out of Jabba's palace, and the lame ending of the original was replaced by a huge victory celebration spanning the entire galaxy, instead of just a small Ewok village, which was the case of the original and that didn't really end a story this big the way it deserved. It's hard to say which of the three films was the best, but since it's all part of the same story, the over-all trilogy is like one big, outstanding film. A THIRD must-see for film fans.