Star Wars Episode 6: Return of the Jedi

“When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not”. It might not be 900 years old, but Return of the Jedi certainly holds up well for its age. This was a return to form of what I expected from the series, and acts as what would have been a great finally to the series. From the action and intensity of the opening scenes of trying to rescue Han from the menacing Jabba the Hutt to the perfect ending that we could only hope for, this movie had me begging to see more.

The movie gets off to a great start. We left our group down one key member, and we pick this movie up with a plot to get him back. The whole gang ends up in Jabba’s palace, some help captive and some undercover, in what will eventually be a fight to the death. Luke’s understanding and power with the force are displayed in full effect as he pulls off stunts and avoids the blasts of many enemies as he eventually defeats almost all of Jabba’s lackeys single-handedly. Leia came back to the strong character she is as she used this time to kill Jabba who was keeping her as his personal slave. As badass of a character as Jabba was, part of me kind of hoped for a grander send-off for the gangster, however the other part of me thinks that this is exactly how he would have liked to die: being choked by a woman in a bikini as he squirmed around.

Now that the whole crew is back together and safe at last, Luke takes this time to keep his word and go back to see Yoda to finish his training. 900 years old was all he had in him, unfortunately, as once Luke got there Yoda decided that now was his time to pass on. He left him with a few key points though, as he told him to fully become a Jedi Master he would need to confront his father, and also that he had a long-lost twin sister that he didn’t know about (which he quickly deduces is Leia). He gets back to the others just in time to volunteer for a mission led by the newly promoted General, Han Solo, where they will travel to a nearby moon to disable a protective barrier which will allow the rebellion to destroy another Death Star.

I’ll take this time to say that the landscape and scenery of the planet Endor far surpasses any other that I had seen to this point throughout the series. Here we also meet the local Ewoks, which are essentially cute little stuffed teddy bears. I know some people thought these characters were simply a clever way of selling children’s toys, but I refuse to believe that people didn’t care for the little guys. During the battle, I nearly shed a tear when two Ewoks were side by side when a blast came and knocked them both over. One got up and tried to help his fellow up, and then quickly realized that he had died. Watching this Ewok as he kneeled beside his friend and cried on his body was truly the saddest moments of the series to date.

As the epic battle ensued, Luke gave himself in so that he could see his father and try to turn him to the light side. Vader immediately dismisses this option, and sends Luke to see the powerful emperor. The emperor baits Luke into trying to kill him, to give into his hatred. Luke eventually takes a swing, only to be stopped by Vader. Luke and Vader have the best lightsaber duel to date, finishing the opposite of the first battle - Luke standing above his father having cut his hand off. At this point, he turns to the emperor and throws away his lightsaber proclaiming that he will never give into the dark side. The emperor decides that Luke must die if he won’t join his side, and using what we can only assume is powers only known by the dark side to send lightning shooting into Lukes body. Darth Vader had seen enough of his son being tortured and decides to pick up the emperor and throw him down a large hole to his death. This is one issue that I have with the film – if the emperor is so powerful, how can he go out like this? He was literally picked up and dropped off the side of a railing, never to be seen again.

With this victory, we also see that Han was successful in his mission, and it allowed his good friend Lando the opportunity to go in and strike the death star at its core, destroying it for good. The film ends with everyone happy as a clam, and showing the parties that erupted across the galaxy due to the fall of the empire.

I’m truly surprised that I didn’t have much else negative to say about the movie. I went years thinking that this was the weakest of the original trilogy, and now as I watch it years later I found out that this is peak Star Wars to me. Great set pieces, great music, great action, and the characters were developed and were portrayed in a deep and meaningful way. I’m hoping that the lower expectations and higher results continues in the prequel trilogy, so without any further ado, I’m headed to watch The Phantom Menace!