Return of the Jedi


"Short help's better than no help at all."   - Han Solo


release year: 1983 (with 1997 special edition)
genre: sci-fi/action/adventure
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/15/22 and 8/24/13 and home DVD, 4/12/09 and theater 3/16/97, and theater and HBO many times in the 1980s

synopsis: The Empire is at it again, building a new and improved Death Star. Before they can deal with that, however, the heroes have to rescue Han Solo from the corpulent slug gangster Jabba the Hutt. Also, Luke is headed for a final confrontation with Darth Vader and the Emperor.

impressions: Again, I'm not going to go into much detail about this movie, since anyone reading this has seen it many times already. I didn't really detect the new scenes, except for the added mouth/tongue in the Sarlaac pit, which was stupid. This one had the Jabba/Tattooine scenes and a big space battle, which were good, but also the Ewoks, which were not quite so good. The big ending segment was derivative of that from the first movie, which also made me feel cheated. I believe this is one of the weakest of the original trilogy; the one thing it does do is clear up the relationships so that Han and Leia can have a romance.

something this movie has that no other movie has: the Sarlaac pit!

acting: The Emperor really had a bigger role here, as did the Ewoks I suppose.

final word: A classic of sci-fi adventure and series-ending sequel.

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