It’s the 3rd and last of the Star Wars original trilogy movie’s titled Return of the Jedi. this movie hasd a lot to live up to especially since the last movie was such a near-perfect experience. Even though in some cases it’s a bit of a step backward on a story level, that still is in no way a criticism of how well made this movie is made and how it brings the original trilogy to a satisfying conclusion.
After the events of The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and the rest of the gang along with C-3PO and R2-D2 attempt to break Han Solo free from his carbonite grave from the slimy hands of Jaba the Hut who lives on Luke’s home planet of Tatooine. They manage to free Solo and Luke makes an offer with Jaba but he declines and orders to execute him and his friends. fortunately, they escape and meet up with the rebel alliance who has gotten word that Darth Vader and his crew are building a new Death Star and that the emperor is supervising the build. Meanwhile, Luke heads back to the Dagobah system with R2-D2 to finish his training with Yoda but he dies from old age leaving Luke heartbroken.
Luke catches up with the rest of the crew as they are planning to attack the Death Star. The group heads to a nearby planet where the shield generators are protecting the death star and manages to come across little bear-like creatures called Ewoks who decide to help the gang in their fight against the empire. Luke goes off alone to confront Vader and the Emperor so he can try to save his father from the dark side of the force while the rest of the crew try to sneak past imperial forces to turn off the shield generators so the rebel alliance can attack the Death Star before it gets built.
Bottom line, this third movie does everything to conclude everything the previous movies had set up. Character arcs are finished and a lot of story elements make grand returns and exits. It still is a brand new story and it does not repeat anything from before but it still keeps true to the Star Wars franchise. The only thing holding the movie back from an A+ grade is some of the minor nitpicks I have when it comes to pacing and certain scenes of the movie, but as I said before, this third installment does come full circle when it comes to completing the epic space tale from the last two movies. The characters still have that same charm and likability as they did previously. The droids are still the most hilarious part of the entire franchise especially C-3PO with his line delivery. The biggest character the movie throws at us is the Emperor and he is everything you need in a threatening villain. He is entertaining in his performance and menacing in his actions.
The visual effects are great as per usual and continue to impress me on how they were put together. There is a great use of puppetry and stop motion effects that are masterful and mind-blowing in how they were made. Costuming on some of the alien creatures is a step up from before as they are more expressive and lifelike than ever before. Although it’s unfortunate to say that much like A New Hope, they do add CGI into the new versions and it’s, unfortunately, more distracting to the movie than it is helping the movie look better. Sometimes it can look cool with added ships and machines roaming about the scenes but sometimes it can look kinda embarrassing especially when it comes to the infamous dance party sequence on Tatooine. Composer John Willams is back and he completely owns it with the music score, even if it’s not quite as powerful or refreshing as the last times he’s scored a Star Wars movie. Regardless, the music is still epic to listen to and still leaves its mark as part of filmmaking history.
It may seem like that I’m downplaying this third installment but that is far from the truth as I still think this movie is a great conclusion to the original trilogy of Star Wars with its great characters, impressive practical effects, and a story that finishes all the things the first two movies started. It may not be the best Star Wars movie in the original trilogy but it still is amazing and that’s should be enough for me to recommend it to fans of all ages.
(Final Grade: A)