Star Wars: Episode 6 - Return Of The Jedi (1983) Review

Star Wars: Episode 6 - Return Of The Jedi (1983) Review 

 To finish off the original Star Wars trilogy it is time to review Return Of The Jedi, a truly iconic film that had to really deliver as the payoff for the first two groundbreaking films and this is my review for the film. The premise of the film sees Luke Skywalker have to return to Tattoine to confront Jabba The Hutt in an attempt to rescue Han Solo, while Darth Vader & The Emperor are in the midst of builing a new Death Star in order to crumble The Rebel Alliance.

Main Character

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker gets his final run out as the main character of a Star Wars film and I actually think this is his best performance as the character in the original trilogy. You can see he has progressed plenty since his encounter with Vader in Empire Strikes Back and you see he is truly on his way to being a true Jedi. But as I have mentioned in previous reviews he still makes some mistakes and acts out of emotion, I think you appreciate his performance more after you have seen the prequels and seen how the Jedi act there it shows Luke has more personality and feels more human and easier to connect with. 

Supporting Characters

Harrison Ford & Carrie Fisher are back as Han Solo & Leia and they both do good jobs in their roles and still give their all to the characters, however, I think it is clear to see their characters aren't given as much time to shine as they did in the previous film. Reports were that Ford wasn't keen to do this film but they convinced him to do it and maybe that was the reason their characters weren't given as much to do. Now we get to such an interesting performance and character and that is Darth Vader, he is more then just the intimidating monster in this film. He has so much depth to his character and you can see how much turmoil he is going through due to his deep feelings and even though you don't see his face you know exactly what he is thinking and you can see that turmoil very clearly. Ian Mcdiarmid plays The Emperor in the film and he was the perfect big bad for this film, for the previous films you wonder how this guy has so much power but you see it in this film. He is the ultimate evil in the film and his complexity and motivations are really dastardly and it is really easy to hate him and root for Luke against him.

Story

The story has some really interesting things about it, the turmoil in Darth Vader is easily the most interesting part of the film and easily the dynamic between Luke, Vader & The Emperor is captivating and keeps you interested throughout. However, my main criticism for the film is the lack of interest I have in the Han & Leia story on Endor and really my main gripe for the film The Ewoks. I know the empire are never really shown to be that strong in the films but I just can't take seriously that a bunch of bears can deal with The Empire. It also shows the first time that I feel George Lucas chose merchandise over the film by making the ewoks more child friendly instead of a legitimate threat, honestly, I feel like this film would have been better if they had just replaced the Ewoks with The Wookies and used that to give Chewbacca a bit more to do and I feel like this was a missed opportunity.

Script

The script for this film was great, the relationship between Vader, Luke & The Emperor is handled perfectly in the film and the dialogue moves you incredibly. The drama is off the chart in the film and it is a perfect emotional end to the franchise, mixed with a bit of well placed humour, with mainly Harrison Ford being Harrison Ford.

Style

The style of the film is great, the action scenes are really exciting and they are really varied from the venture to Jabba's palace to the final lightsaber battle on the Death Star. They are all exciting and look great especially for the time it was made, I loved how physical the lightsaber battle is and really uses the story to drive the fight as a very personal situation instead of the gymnastic style used in the prequels. Also even though I complain about The Ewoks I cannot deny the action scenes they are in are quite entertaining and feel very different to the previous two films. As the other films I watched the special edition and there is only one big difference that I really had an issue with but it doesn't cause the film to go down a rating.

Overall

Overall this is one of the greatest final parts of a trilogy ever made, it really delivers on the stories that you care about and gives a very satisfying conclusion to the original Star Wars franchise. This for me is the weakest of the trilogy but is still fantastic and a worthy end to this trilogy.

Rating - 9/10