Hype is an overused word in Hollywood but in the context of “Return of the Jedi” it was totally justified. For three whole years, planet Earth had been on hot coals, waiting to find out what Luke Skywalker’s parentage meant to that galaxy far, far away, and if there was a way back for Han Solo after being transformed into a novelty coffee table.
In the wake of the famous cliffhangers of “The Empire Strikes Back,” it’s no surprise that “Return of the Jedi” was a box office success. But not everyone was happy with what “Star Wars” creator George Lucas and director Richard Marquand delivered.
For some viewers, “Jedi” was just the one with the teddy bears (sorry, Ewoks), a glorified toy commercial with a sagging mid-act and too much sentimentality. It was the one where “The Empire Strikes Back” MVP Han spent much of the film reduced to a mere spectator, where iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett walked out in a blaze of embarrassment, and – in a barely plausible twist out of nowhere – Leia turned out to be Luke’s twin sister. What are the chances?
All of these criticisms are justified. “Return of the Jedi” is arguably the weakest of the original trilogy, and for the first 16 years of its life it was considered the worst “Star Wars” movie.
And yet, these things are relative, because 40 years and eight films later, there is no doubt that the sixth installment of the Skywalker saga is up there with the best star wars movies. If nothing else, it beats the prequels, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” and the films’ current nadir, “The Rise of Skywalker,” hands down.
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Getting “The Empire Strikes Back” on screen had been a torturous process for George Lucas. In fact, the world’s biggest independent filmmaker, he was betting “everything I had” on the film’s success, and he nearly ran out of money on several occasions. However, when “Empire” became a smash hit, all of those concerns evaporated. This is evident from the ambition of “Return of the Jedi”, where everything is bigger – often in exhilarating ways.
Luke Skywalker’s home planet of Tatooine has been a “Star Wars” mainstay since the original film, but it’s never been a more exciting place to visit than here. Led by “vile mobster” Jabba the Hutt – himself a wondrous creation – this wretched hive of scum and villainy is a feast for the eyes, teeming with action figure-ready alien races that have regularly popped up in the franchise since.
This variety continues in the Rebel Alliance pre-assault briefing in Death Star II, in which the old guard is joined by new faces such as Admiral Ackbar (a Mon Calamari), Nien Nunb (a Sullustan) and Orrimaarko (a Dressellian). Although barely appearing on camera, the latter was also immortalized in plastic as “Prune Face” – her closest touch to fame was arguably this Sketch “Robot Chicken”.
The action sets also rank among the best in “Star Wars” history. The whole Jabba sequence is the perfect palate cleanser before the story returns to the hustle and bustle of the Galactic Civil War, but the pivotal fight over the Sarlacc is the notable standout. A spectacularly chaotic piece, it harkens back to the adventure series that inspired “Star Wars” in the first place. It’s still a shame what happened to Boba Fett.
The much-imitated Speeder Bike chase is a glorious excuse for Lucas to recall his youthful penchant for fast cars, when space battles are truly out of this world. Indeed, Lucas’ in-house effects team at Industrial Light & Magic have outdone themselves so much with their maelstrom of A, B, X and Y wings – not to mention the new armored space station even more powerful than the first. Dreaded death. Star – that it remains arguably the best example of model-based pre-CG space battles on the big screen.
In fact, “Return of the Jedi” always looked so good that Lucas couldn’t get any better when he gave the film a digital makeover for the 1997 Special Edition and 2004 DVD release. to the augmented X-wings of “A New Hope” and the subtle cosmetic tweaks of “Empire”, the new song and dance number (featuring a tour around the hottest victory parties in the galaxy) and surprise cameo for prequel model Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen felt like change for change’s sake.
With the Han thawed out as more than a full-fledged player — he barely gets to pilot the Millennium Falcon — the dialogue in “Return of the Jedi” lacks the more quoted “Empire” snap. Nonetheless, the studious Luke Skywalker finally gets to fulfill his destiny as the savior of the galaxy, and come the final act, his journey certainly lives up to the billing. That owes a lot to Ian McDiarmid’s set-chewing performance as the trilogy’s chief antagonist, the New-Look Emperor. For his brief appearance in “The Empire Strikes Back,” Palpatine was played by actor Marjorie Eaton’s unlikely chimera, the voice of Clive Revill, and the eyes of a chimpanzee. And then who can forget the crucial lightsaber duel on the Death Star.
Subsequent saber battles may have been faster and more complex, but few can match the emotional stakes of this battle for the souls of two generations of Skywalker. When Darth Vader finally redeems himself by throwing his boss down a reactor pit, it’s one of the most powerful moments in the entire saga – that you’re saddened by the death of a character who, moments earlier , was the (second) baddest guy in the galaxy hints at a deeper emotional depth than is usually credited with “Star Wars.”
But above and beyond everything else, there’s one thing that sets “Return of the Jedi” apart from every other film in the canon – its fully functional ending.
Yes, the story has continued since in “The Mandalorian” and the three following films, but for 32 years, the triple whammy of Luke earning his Jedi stripes, the destruction of the Death Star and the death of Palpatine were an end point. . (“The Rise of Skywalker” tried to do a similar job but – like the film as a whole – the ending was simply a rehash of past glories.)
The conclusion of “Return of the Jedi” brought the arc of Luke Skywalker to a satisfying close, but – as subsequent movies and TV shows have proven, not to mention decades of non-canon books and comics – it also offered possibilities. After “Return of the Jedi”, “Star Wars” could have continued as it wanted. But even if the franchise had left it there, it still would have risen as the greatest happiness in outer space (almost) forever.