Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi

In the mid 90’s, I borrowed the Star Wars videos from my cousins and became a fan of some of the greatest movies ever made. For a time, I couldn’t decide which one was my favorite. As a young kid, “Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” was my favorite Star Wars film because it was the only one I remember seeing on TV before the mid 90’s. Since then, it is still one of my favorite science fiction films but I like other Star Wars films more. The story in this final episode has a resolving ending with plenty of drama. The film has humor and special effects that I can’t believe were possible back in the year that I was born. The special effects team deserved their Special Achievement Oscar. As a side note, I will reference the prequels in my review of this story.

Darth Vader gets an intro much like on the first movie, which is cool. We also get a new, entertaining villain in the form of Jabba the Hutt. Jabba is reminiscent of gangsters from real life but he also represents a dragon from mythology. His place feels like a dragon’s lair. Once we get to the sarlacc pit, Jabba comes across as a pirate captain. The fact that Han Solo is a pirate-type character contributes to this reference. Defeating Jabba is another labor or quest for Luke on “The Hero’s Journey”. Luke has to save the girl from the “dragon” and fight the rancor. I love the gag of Luke giving the droids away thanks to Anthony Daniels’ acting as C-3PO. When we see Lando in disguise, we know for sure that Luke has more of a plan in mind than just showing up to bargain for Han’s release. I also love how Boba Fett flirts with the girls in the special edition of the film. Another funny moment is the guy who mourns the death of the rancor and the first conversation between Luke and Han (“How we doin’?” “Same as always.” “That bad, huh?”). Additional humorous lines also come from Han during Jabba’s judgment. Because Luke didn’t have a lightsaber when he kills the rancor, it sells the idea that the one he lost is irreplaceable. Luke’s new lightsaber comes as a surprise as a result. Before it ignites, we can’t really tell what R2 launches in Luke direction. When I first saw the film, it was a great moment thanks to editing and timing. John Williams’ music once again does wonders in creating a sense of adventure. The ensuing battle is a great action scene and I love how Han unknowingly takes revenge on Boba Fett. It appears that the Empire still doesn’t know that the Emperor is a Sith Lord like Darth Vader. Just as one of the devil’s lies is “There is no devil”, the Emperor has brought about this apostasy from the Force without publicly revealing himself. He performed genocide on the Jedi and disguises the fact that he is Sith Lord, which leads to the majority of the Galaxy ceasing to believe in a higher power than himself. From the Emperor’s first scene, we get a sense of dread. Is the Emperor’s foresight correct? Is Luke destined to fall like his father before him? I am glad that director Richard Marquand suggested to George Lucas that Luke should return to Degobah. Despite this long exposition scene on Degobah, our attention is maintained because of what we learn. Yoda would continue to train Luke if he could but because he is dying, he tells Luke that he has the ability to learn everything else on his own. He senses how much Luke’s skills have developed since he left. Luke is in the best position right now to fulfill the prophecy that his father could not. Luke however cannot bring himself to kill his own father. Obi-wan and Yoda would have told Luke the truth about Darth Vader but he was not ready as they said in the last film. In order to defeat one’s enemy, one must first know one’s enemy and Luke did not know Darth Vader back in “The Empire Strikes Back”. They would not have had Luke kill Vader without Luke knowing the truth. A big part of Anakin’s fall was the Emperor and so Yoda takes the time to warn Luke of this. I love Obi-wan’s exposition now that we have seen the prequels. We have seen Anakin when he was a great pilot for example. The line “He’s more machine now than man” has become an oft-quoted/referenced line in pop culture but it tell us a lot about Anakin’s fall to the dark side. The suit of Darth Vader prevents his humanity from being in control. I like how Han is now a general in the Alliance. Gone is the selfish mercenary but he is still cynical. As he says, “Hey, it’s me.” Unlike the other films in this trilogy, our heroes are given a mission half way through as opposed to having their plans change by unforeseen surprises multiple times. I like how the size of the superstar destroyer is revealed gradually in scene where the rebels try to sneak through customs, sort of speak. Luke knows that Vader let them through and this leads him to surrender himself later. I like the Ewoks personally and I am sure that the "hate mail" they get today did not really start until the internet took over the world. They provide humor and become heroes. I like how the one ewoke distracts the stormtrooper holding Leia prisoner for example. The line “What the…” is quite funny. Chewie trips a hunting trap and best of all, C-3PO is mistaken for a god. This is reminiscent of what happened to the Spaniards when they came to the New World. I love how Luke finds this funny. It is very Jedi like while Han is impatient and annoyed with these “teddy bears” worshiping C-3PO. It is pretty funny when C-3PO uses the word “Boom” when explaining his “magic”. It almost sounds like he is saying to the Ewoks, “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry." Another moment with subtext in this movie, thanks the prequels, is the first scene between Luke and Vader. I wonder what was going through Vader’s mind when Luke requests the same thing as Padme did, “Come with me.” The subsequent line “It is too late for me, son” was proof to me that Luke is right; there is good in Vader. The revelation that the Emperor has been doing what he does best is hard to take in. He has deceived the Rebel Alliance and set up a trap for everyone. A very big question everyone has is why does Vader stops Luke from killing the Emperor. Isn’t that what Vader wants; for he and his son to rule? Doesn’t he want to be free of his master? My interpretation is that Vader is luring his son to join the dark side by stopping him from killing the Emperor. Luke will desire the Emperor’s death more if he has to work for it.

Meanwhile, I love the humor of Chewie and the ewoks hijacking the Imperial walker. Additional humor comes from the booby traps of the ewoks during the Battle of Endor. This climax shows that technology doesn’t matter; it is how you use it. Both the Empire and the Rebels use spaceships and other forms of technology but the Empire trusts in their own strength & armament while the Rebels trust in their cause & in the Force. Vader turned to the dark side because he had a pre-existing relationship with the Emperor. Luke is fully aware from the get-go that the Emperor is evil. Thus, whenever the Emperor speaks during the lightsaber fight, Luke is reminded of Yoda’s warning concerning him. Vader’s temptations however are harder to resist. Luke’s struggle with this father is reminiscent of how the Greek gods would struggle with their fathers. There are also hints from Shakespeare of Hamlet and his relationship with his father. Vader knows his son better than the Emperor. Vader turned to the dark side for the love of a woman and once it is revealed that Luke has a sister, Vader has just been given the upper hand. He uses Luke’s love for his sister against him, just as the Emperor used Anakin’s love for his wife against him. The music during Luke’s use of the dark side is pretty ominous. After cutting off his father’s hand, Luke understands just what is happening to him. He sees that he is following the path his father took. As he looks at Vader’s severed arm, he sees the consequences of the dark side. Vader is an artificial man in many ways. Luke’s rejection of the dark side is amazing acting from Mark Hamill. Luke throws his lightsaber aside so as to make his point clear. The lines in this moment are very well written. Because Vader is always over confident in his abilities, he never expected Luke to subdue him. It is here that Vader learns the truth that the Emperor meant to replace him with Luke. It was why the Emperor allowed Luke to be tempted to join the dark side instead of just killed. Vader also recalls when he killed Count Dooku and how his son is strong enough morally to reject the Emperor when he was not. The love that Luke has for his father is very reminiscent of Padme. With all this on his mind and with the Emperor killing his son, Vader sacrifices his life for his son’s. He destroys the Emperor because he understands that the good side of the Force truly is stronger than the dark side or how else could Luke reject the Emperor’s temptations. The will of the Force was always that Anakin “destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force”. The only way that this could happen is for the Sith to be destroyed from the inside and when Anakin became Darth Vader, he was still on the path to achieving this destiny. It is touching that Anakin would rather die seeing his son through his own eyes than through Vader’s synthetic eyes. These scenes are great concluding moments of the whole saga, being intercut with the battle. The Millennium Falcon’s last second escape from the exploding Death Star is awesome because of Lando’s victory yell. I like Han’s reaction to learning that Luke and Leia are brother and sister. As he and Leia kiss, it clicks in his head that this is good news for him. For clarification, Luke is burning the Vader’s suit because Anakin’s body faded away as we will shortly come to realize. He was given the opportunity to join Obi-wan and Yoda because he accomplished the will of the living Force. By burning the suit, the dark side will not be remembered (I guess the suit wasn't fully destroyed). As a final humorous moment, the ewoks are using stormtrooper helmets as percussion instruments and I really like that. I also like that Luke acknowledges Wedge, the X-wing pilot. Unlike most fans, I am glad that we see Hayden Christensen at the end. It makes sense that Anakin’s afterlife form would be that of his younger self, before he turned to the dark side. "Return of the Jedi" concludes with yet another curtain call but we also get a bow from the supporting cast via the netherworld of the Force. The second last shot of the saga shows characters from the prequel trilogy and the last shot shows the characters from this trilogy.

Due to problems with the Directors Guild, Writers Guild and the Motion Picture Association during “Empire”, Lucas left all three making it impossible to hire Steven Spielberg as the director of “Return of the Jedi”. As good as this movie is, it could only have been better with Spielberg’s storytelling abilities. As a kid, the Emperor was a very entertaining evil character thanks to Ian McDiarmid. My favorite moments of his in this movie are when he is tempting Luke to take up his lightsaber. Luke’s costume once again shows his growing maturity in that he is wearing black. For those first time viewers, it also could foreshadow his possible fall to the dark side. It is obvious by his first appearance in the film that Luke has matured and grown more powerful. As mentioned, the special effects are great. The speeder bike chase is a lot of fun and I can’t imagine how hard it must have been back in the early 80’s to create it. I will now address those fans that have become anti-fans due to the fact that Lucas is always updating these classic movies. My big question is why can’t you just ignore any changes that Lucas makes and instead focus on what you have always liked about Star Wars. Instead of being upset that Han shot last for example, why can’t you just laugh at the fact that he pays for the “mess”? I will now pull out the big guns. If Lucas were to pass away tomorrow, it would mirror slightly what happened after Michael Jackson died. Fans would throw down their imaginary weapons of hate and would praise him for what he did. We would all forget about who shot first, who said “No”, who digitally blinked and the problems with the prequels. Instead we would see him as the storyteller that he is. So why wait until after he is gone? If you don’t like the new changes to the classic Star Wars movies, then you don’t have to buy the new versions. I stick with a certain set of DVD’s that I have because they connect very well with the prequels. They have special features that are not available on the Blu-rays and so I don’t want the Blu-rays.

“Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi” brings about a great conclusion. You get eye candy, humor and also drama. I have optimism concerning this saga that has become a cultural phenomenon. I think that because they relate so well to stories that are already timeless that they will remain timeless for decades to come. The original trilogy has already been credited with changing the world. I can’t wait to show my kids these movies. “May the Force be with you.”

5 Stars out of 5