Logan Sork Film Reviews
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
After the release of The Empire Strikes Back in 1980 people desperately wanted to know what would happen next on the adventures of our brave heroes, especially after that jaw dropping cliffhanger of an ending. People would have to wait until 1983 when Return of the Jedi was released, and this film had a lot to live up to. Not only did the film have to be good in its own right but it also had to deliver a satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that would satisfy most, if not everyone. This was not helped by the fact that the film underwent a much more troubled production than the previous two installments. So, can this film overcome the pressure and troubled production to deliver a satisfying conclusion to the original saga?
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi is directed by Richard Marquand and is the final installment of the original Star Wars trilogy. The film picks up some months after the previous installment, with Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) leading a daring rescue to save the captured Han Solo (Harrison Ford). After the mission, the group rejoins the rebellion, who have discovered that the evil Emperor (Ian Mcdiarmid) has secretly been reconstructing a second Death Star with plans to wipe out the Rebellion for good. Knowing this may be their last stand, the Rebellion lead a mission to deactivate the shields protecting the Death Star so they can bring down the Empire once in for all. Luke meanwhile has a more personal matter to attend to: confronting his father, Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and trying to save him from the dark side.
Before we dive into some of the stuff that’s not the best, I must acknowledge that there are quite a bit of good things to be found in this film. Much like the previous films of the trilogy, the characters and the actor portraying them are absolutely wonderful. The returning characters are better than ever, with Luke Skywalker finally growing into the wise warrior he set out to be in the first film, delivering some great action sequences and even a few words of wisdom. Another character who has really grown is Fisher’s Princess Leia, who has gone from princess to an inspirational military leader. Han Solo hasn’t changed much, but he has become more loyal to his friends rather than himself, a nice albeit small change to a great character. Darth Vader, who has served as the film’s main antagonist thus far, also has a great arc as he battles the good and evil within himself. Joining the film’s cast is Ian Mcdiarmid as the sinister Emperor who, after two films of buildup, delivers an understated yet terrifying performance as the series ultimate villain.
The primary story and themes are also fantastic as the film deals a lot with the inner battle of good and evil within ourselves. This can be seen in the plot that involves Luke, Vader and the Emperor as the Emperor tries to bring Luke over to dark side of the force while Luke is trying to bring his father back over to the side of good. This tug of war between three drastically different people over what is essentially the soul is an incredibly powerful story and leads to some great confrontations both physically and mentally. In fact, it’s so good it almost makes the main plot of destroying the Death Star look a little childish by comparison. That’s not to say it’s not fun or entertaining, just that it lacks the emotional drama that the battle between Luke and Vader creates. There’s also a sense of déjà vu that accompanies this plot point, seeing as the race to stop a destructive super weapon was already the final battle of the original Star Wars. Despite this imbalance, the overall story is still very strong.
Despite the story’s strength however, I will admit that there are some pacing issues with this film. This mostly concerns the first act, which concerns the rescue of Han Solo from the nefarious gangster Jabba the Hut after his capture in the previous film. Again, this part of the film is very goos as it has a lot of great character moments and some great action sequences. However, it almost feels like it’s from a different movie and doesn’t really have any impact on the overall plot. Despite the relative unimportance of this part it goes on for a long time, causing the film to drag on until the start of the main plot. Even after the plot gets started up again, there is an extremely annoying section involving little bear like creatures called Ewoks. These creatures do little to nothing to impact the overall plot and were only put in at the request of franchise creator George Lucas as a way to sell toys. As a result, we spend a lot of time with them, causing the film to lose significant momentum. Thankfully the film manages to pick up itself even after it’s occasional slow points.
When it comes to the technical aspects of the films such as the sound design and special effects, they are still very good…for the most part. As mentioned before, the film underwent a somewhat hectic production, resulting in not enough time to refine all of the visual effects. As a result, there are some visual effects that look great and some that don’t look so great. Thankfully however, they are not bad enough to take you out of the film entirely. The biggest offenders mainly involve the uses of green screen during certain sequences and a couple of stop motion models, other than that however the effects are pretty good. As is the incredible sound design, especially when it comes to the final space battle.
In the end the way I would describe this film is good…just not as good as the previous installments. This film has some major flaws including some pacing issues and some unrefined special effects. However, it also more than makes up for it with some thrilling action scenes, fantastic characters and a gripping and dramatic story. These elements more than over come the films flaws, bringing a satisfying ending to one of the greatest film trilogies of all time.
9/10