Franchise Reviews: Return of the Jedi

I'd have to say right now that this is the film I like the least within the classic trilogy. But does that mean I hate it? Not at all. But there are some major problems that are hard to ignore.

Let's address the main one; the stories. Yes, there are two stories in this film which have little to do with each other.  The stories aren't bad, they're just distant.

The first part sort of picks up where the last film ended, with Luke and his friends trying to rescue Han Solo from the crime boss Jabba the Hutt. I do love the visuals and low lighting within Jabba's palace, where he lives like some kind of medieval robber-baron. Lando is already undercover, Luke offers him his droids as a goodwill present, while Leia poses as a bounty hunter and hands over Chewie to gain access to Han. When her cover is blown and she is made a slave, Luke comes in himself but is also captured after defeating one large beast, and is then scheduled to be fed to another. However, he is confident that he can escape, so I can't really tell whether he's improvising or planned a capture from the beginning. But it means we get one man-on-monster deathmatch followed by an all-out brawl with Jabba's goons. When you get down to it, you just need to have some action.

After that somewhat lengthy diversion, the main story begins. The Rebels have discovered that the Empire is building a new Death Star, and the Emperor himself is overseeing the construction, now the battle is on to end this war once and for all. Han leads a commando team to a forest moon to destroy a shield generator protecting the Death Star so Lando can lead a space assault. Meanwhile, Luke travels to the Death Star with Darth Vader in the hopes of turning who is now revealed to be his father. There, he meets the Emperor, who seeks to corrupt him. This results in the action being divided into three parts: The duel between Luke and Vader; the space battle; and the land battle where the Rebels are aided by a group of teddy bears.

Wait, what?

I'm with a lot of fans that the Ewoks were a kind of stupid addition to the climax with a less-than-subtle environmental message. But to give them some credit, they are kind of resourceful, and they do hold their own against the Empire. Besides, I watched Pom Poko, so I can't really complain.

In conclusion, Return of the Jedi is by no means a bad film, but it's not the great follow-up to The Empire Strikes Back, although that's a hard act to follow. Nonetheless, the action is still great, the characters are memorable, and they do get some truly emotional scenes.

Of course, killing the Emperor would not mean the war would end. So naturally, there is room for more films (not prequels). I'll talk about The Force Awakens when I can get tickets for it.

See you then, and may the Force be with you. (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist)