The Boy Who Loved "Star Wars"
Posted : 3 months, 1 week ago on 25 January 2024 10:28I can't review "Star Wars" as a movie. It represents absolutely everything good, fun and magical about my childhood. There's no separating it in my mind from Christmases, birthdays, summers and winters growing up. In the winter, my friends and I would build snow forts and pretend we were on Hoth (I was always Han Solo). My friends' dad built them a kick-ass tree house, and that served as the Ewok village. They also had a huge pine tree whose bottom branches were high enough to create a sort of cave underneath it, and this made a great spot to pretend we were in Yoda's home. I am unabashedly dorky when it comes to "Star Wars" and I think people either just understand that or they don't. I don't get the appeal of "Lord of the Rings" or "Star Trek" but I understand the rabid flocks of fans that follow them because I am a rabid fan of George Lucas's films.
I feel no need to defend my opinion of these movies as some of the greatest of all time. Every time I put them in the DVD player, I feel like I'm eight years old again, when life was simple and the biggest problem I had was figuring out how I was going to track down a figure of Anakin Skywalker.
Grade (for the entire trilogy): A+
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Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi review
Posted : 8 months, 2 weeks ago on 28 August 2023 12:440 comments, Reply to this entry
The most peculiar Star Wars and under appreciated
Posted : 1 year, 6 months ago on 17 October 2022 05:530 comments, Reply to this entry
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi review
Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 14 October 2021 02:530 comments, Reply to this entry
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi review
Posted : 7 years, 4 months ago on 14 December 2016 04:470 comments, Reply to this entry
A spectacular, though flawed conclusion
Posted : 8 years, 4 months ago on 16 December 2015 11:330 comments, Reply to this entry
A great movie
Posted : 8 years, 10 months ago on 12 July 2015 08:56āReturn of the Jediā isnāt as good as āA New Hopeā or āThe Empire Strikes Backā, but it is still a work of cinematic art, thanks to its amazing fight sequences, cutting edge effects, great performances and moving sequences.
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A classic
Posted : 8 years, 11 months ago on 23 May 2015 04:320 comments, Reply to this entry
Luke Be a Jedi Tonight!
Posted : 9 years ago on 4 May 2015 01:20Itās not easy calling Return of the Jedi your favourite Star Wars film. Were as when someone says The Empire Strikes Back is their favourite they get cheers from the crowd. Call Return of the Jedi your favourite you get boos and hisses followed by a rigorous defense of your opinion. Well, it could be worse; those who call the prequels their favourite usually get stoned or hanged by a lynch mob.
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I find Return of the Jedi to be the film in the series which satisfies me the most in this swashbuckling space adventure. I like how it combines elements from both A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back from Hopeās light-hearted nature and the nostalgic return to Tatooine, to Empireās darker nature with Luke confronting Vader and the Emperor. But when I think Return of the Jedi I think redwood forests. The forest moon of Endor is such a splendour to look at, and once again proves that Planet Earth is the greatest movie set of all.
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Letās talk about everyoneās favourite addition to the Star Wars universe, shall we? I am indeed speaking of the Ewoks. The dismissive statements towards these creatures that the empire was brought down by a bunch of teddy bears I find to be very close-minded. I completely agree with George Lucas that they showcase how it is possible for a primitive race to bring down a technologically advanced superpower such as the empire is inspired by the Viet Congās offense against the Americans during the Vietnam War. I like this message as itās true that the most advanced technology isnāt always the best means; sometimes less is more. I know many say the idea of Ewoks helping bring down the Empire was highly improbable. Well, my answer to that is remember Yodaās lesson in The Empire Strikes Back, āJudge me by my size do you?ā. The cute nature of the Ewoks (along with their whimsy yet epic theme music) provides a counterbalance to the darker scenes in Return of the Jedi. Yet the Ewokās themselves are not without their own darker side. At one point in the film, they have no remorse when they intend to burn out heroes alive and notice how they use the helmets of dead stormtroopers as musical instruments.
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Likewise, Return of the Jedi has too many puppets? Iām used to hearing people complain about movies which use too much CGI but a movie using too many practical effects - thatās a new one. The creature department and their astounding levels of creativity employed for Return of the Jedi hit it out of the park with creations such as the odd-looking yet enamoring fish create that is Admiral Ackbar. Itās just a shame people look at this cynically and say they were just trying to sell toys.
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Return of the Jedi does not disappoint in its reveal of Jabba the Hut. The space gangster whose name is mentioned in the previous two movies with no indication as to whether or not he was a human, an alien or something different altogether (at least in the original theatrical versions). In a masterwork of puppetry, Jabba is a wonderfully, horrendous creature design; an extreme, gluttonous version of Sydney Greenstreet. Return of the Jedi also contains the iconic bikini Leia. More than just a sex symbol (insert Tex Avery wolf here), it also gives way to the powerful image of Leia strangler Jabba, her enslaver with the very chains attached to her body.
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My favourite action scene in any movie ever is a toss between the final car chase in The Blues Brothers and the escape from Jabba in Return of the Jedi (with the later speeder bike chase not being far behind). Talk about a āHow are they going to get out of that?ā moment; in which they do in a convincing, heart racing like crazy manner. I love how the escape is one big elaborate plan which all our heroes are in on, not to mention the introduction of Lukeās green lightsaber in a shot that couldn't look more majestic. Also, I never understood peopleās love affair with Boba Fett, so his death didnāt bother me. To the contrary I find his death to be interesting in how unconventional it is; this tough badass who doesnāt go out with a bang, but rather dies in a humiliating fashion. I was more concerned with Lando being on the cusp of death!
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The second half of Return of the Jedi is one of the most intense, involving and grand cinematic experiences. Cutting between the assault on the imperial cruisers and the second death star, the assault on Endor and the powerful emotions when Luke is confronting Vader and the senile, scenery chewer that is Emperor Palpatine; it perplexes me that people can put down this movie so much. Having a second Death Star sounds like a lazy idea on paper but I fell they get away with it due to the immaculate execution. I love the incomplete appearance of Death Star II and the filmās final battle involves ships navigating through the tunnels and into the center of the battle station makes for a dogfight even more exciting than that from A New Hope. Likewise, while itās near impossible to go into these movies for the first time fresh unless youāve spent your whole life under a rock, but I didnāt have previous knowledge that Luke and Leia are brother and sister; which is one surprise the original Star Wars trilogy had for me.
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Science fiction cinema had never seen a finer moment between the final confrontation between Luke, Vader and the Emperor. The optimism of Luke Skywalker to find the good in someone as evil as Darth Vader and bring him away from the dark side is inspiring in this powerful arch of redemption as Vader returns to the light side just at the very end of his life; a life he sacrificed in order to save Lukeās. The unmasking of Vader is enough to make grown men cry, and seeing the ghost of Anakin Skywalker played Sebastian Shaw (sorry Hayden Christensen) appear to next to the ghosts of Obi-wan and Yoda is awe-inspiring. Revenge of the Sith, a Shakespearean tragedy? Pfft, please. This is proper storytelling tragedy. I couldnāt ask for a better finale to a better trilogy. Ah, Return of the Jedi, I know people give you flak but to me, youāre perfect the way you are - Ewoks and all.
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Excellent Climax To The Story And The Originals..
Posted : 13 years, 5 months ago on 25 November 2010 07:27There have been quite a few trilogies that have ended badly but there are some that have ended amazingly that did live up to the predecessors like Return Of The Jedi did (Back To The Future: Part III, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, Star Wars: Episode III ā Revenge Of The Sith and The Bourne Ultimatum are other examples. This was perhaps the most emotional of the original trilogy and most thought-provoking too. It is like stuck in the middle between quite a slightly light-hearted film (A New Hope) and quite a dark film (The Empire Strikes Back.
Darth Vader and the Empire are building a new, indestructible Death Star. Meanwhile, Han Solo has been imprisoned, and Luke Skywalker has sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to try and free him. Princess Leia - disguised as a bounty hunter - and Chewbacca go along as well. After this, Luke discovers that Darth Vader really is his father and that rocks his decision whether to fight him again and kill him. The final battle takes place on the moon of Endor, with its natural inhabitants, the Ewoks, lending a hand to the rebels. Will Darth Vader and the dark side overcome the rebels and take over the galaxy or will Luke redeem his father and become the good Jedi Knight that he once was?
Mark Hamill shows once again that he is Luke Skywalker! I mean, could've slightly improved on emotion and having the courage to step up to Vader and the Emperor but still did a good job. Harrison Ford was again amazing as Han Solo. Despite this was made after Raiders Of The Lost Ark, I do think that the Indiana Jones character came from Ford's portrayal of Han Solo so there'd be no Ford-Indy without Ford-Solo just like there'd be no Indiana Jones franchise without Star Wars seeing as they were both created by the same guy: George Lucas. Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia wasn't only awesome acting but made her even more sexually attractive that she already is especially in that slave outfit she was in during the time they all have with Jabba at the beginning parts of this film. Ian McDiarmid was awesome as the Emperor! Weird because he is 20 years younger here than in the prequels and his character in the originals is older than in the prequels but in the prequels, McDiarmid is 20 years older but his character is 20 years younger than the originals. He delivers great performance from him in this one and awesome from him in the prequels too.
I somehow find it ironic and quite unusual that Star Wars is a George Lucas franchise but my favourite Star Wars films aren't even directed or written by George Lucas. Richard Marquand is probably only known for this like Irvin Kershner is for The Empire Strikes Back and despite they're both not very well-known directors except for these two Star Wars films, they are both a lot better directors than George Lucas is. Kershner may have The Empire Strikes Back more epic but Marquand made Return Of The Jedi more emotional so they're about even on terms of who directed better.
Overall, Star Wars: Episode VI ā Return Of The Jedi is an absolutely brilliant science fiction film that is a great end to a legendary franchise! Well, end regarding episode and timeline order but not the end of Star Wars. There were the prequels but only Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith turned out a success critically. It is my second favourite Star Wars film after The Empire Strikes Back.
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