Star Wars Saturdays: "Return of the Jedi" sticks the landing

Imperfect as a movie, great as a trilogy-capper

On Saturdays, we’re going through the entire STAR WARS saga in episodic order, a series that will include a number of pieces that have never appeared online before taken from my book 200 Reviews, available now in Paperback or on Kindle (which you should really consider buying, because it’s an awesome collection!). We continue today with the third film in the original trilogy, RETURN OF THE JEDI. Enjoy…

Return of the Jedi

1983, Dir. Richard Marquand

Originally published in the book 200 Reviews

I’ve never fully understood the disappointment apparent in many peoples’ reactions to Return of the Jedi. I will be the first to admit it is, on the whole, a lesser movie than the original Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back, but that hardly makes it a bad one, nor a weak conclusion. On the contrary, I have always felt Return of the Jedi is a rather splendid send-off to the trilogy, facing the multiple cliffhangers from Empire Strikes Back head-on, especially where the revelation of Luke’s parentage is concerned.

Luke’s story is by far the most compelling part of the film, and one of the best elements of the entire Star Wars saga. In this final chapter, Luke must take the last steps necessary to become a true Jedi Master, confronting Vader, the Emperor, and his own weaknesses in the process.