Search - Star Wars Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition) on DVD

I can feel your anger

Joker | Michigan | 08/28/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've always felt Return Of The Jedi (1983) is the weakest of the three original Star Wars movies from the first trilogy, though it's a great movie. I have to rank one of the three movies in third place, so this is the one that's third. I have the 2004 enhanced edition of this movie with added scenes and some minor and major changes made to already existing scenes, so I'll be reviewing this version.

I want to start with some observations and opinions about the opening sequence in Jabba The Hutt's palace. First of all, the entire scene with the music and dancing was changed DRAMATICALLY and for the WORSE. The music is entirely different and not as good, in my opinion. Lots of additional creatures/characters were added, and some were CGI creatures that seemed like they would fit in more with Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Back in 1983 George Lucas started getting carried away with the quantity and diversity of his creature creations. Compared to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, the creatures in Return Of The Jedi suddenly became a little more puppet-like, visually colorful, and child-like. A New Hope had a smaller budget than The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi, so it prevented George Lucas from making the cantina sequence at Mos Eisley the way he originally envisioned it to be. So, with a larger budget in 1983, he was able to put lots of the above described creatures in Jabba's palace to kind of make up for the cantina sequence in A New Hope that was not to his liking. The scene in Return Of The Jedi was in Jabba's palace instead of the cantina, but it was on Tatooine, bottom line. But the problem here is that in this 2004 enhanced version Jabba's palace was even MORE littered with various creatures/characters, including CGI creatures.

Return Of The Jedi is a great movie, but I rank it in fifth place out of the six movies. It ranks above The Phantom Menace and below Attack Of The Clones.

I own the 4-DVD Trilogy set that includes the DVD of bonus material. On this DVD, Harrison Ford said that he told George Lucas before Return Of The Jedi was made that he felt that Han Solo should be killed off in Return Of The Jedi. He gave his reasons (he has no mom, no pop, and no real connection to the rest of the story). I'm with Harrison Ford on this one. It wouldn't have been such a bad thing if Han Solo was bumped off in this movie. If he had been killed off early in the movie, it would make the viewer start to worry about the other characters. Instead, who dies in this movie who's part of the rebellion? Yoda! I didn't like seeing this, though I understand it fully and how it is important to the rest of the story.

I really didn't care for the Ewoks. Never have. They're OK, but a little too child-like.

Chewie looks like a Yorkie at times in this movie. That's not a bad thing at all.

Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine was AWESOME. My favorite character in the whole six-movie series. I like the fact that McDiarmid is a dual character during the prequels - the Chancellor and Darth Sidious. He has two sides to him and leads a secret life.

After the light sabre fight with Vader, Luke is on the ground receiving lightning bolts from the Emperor. It looks like Luke is in such great pain and agony during this scene. After Vader lifts up the Emperor and gets rid of him, Luke calmly gets up off the ground and seems to be just fine, like the lightning bolts were no big deal. Huh? Vader was so concerned about his son being electrocuted that he killed the Emperor. Then Luke is just A-OK. I guess the Emperor's lightning bolts weren't so lethal afterall.

Why is a 30-year-old Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen's) ghost at the end of the movie? It should be a 50-year-old Anakin Skywalker's (Sebastian Shaw's) image instead because 50-year-old Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader died in Return Of The Jedi, not a 30-year-old Anakin Skywalker played by Hayden Christensen. Besides, Luke never saw a 30-year-old Anakin Skywalker in episodes IV, V, and VI. Instead, he saw a 50-year-old Anakin Skywalker after he unmasked Darth Vader, so how can Luke even recognize Hayden Christensen at the end of the movie?

The music in this ending sequence is different than the original 1983 movie, but it doesn't bother me.

I like this movie overall, both the 1983 and 2004 versions. This 2004 version has a lot of good scenes that were added along with some already existing scenes that were altered. Watch to find out what they were.

Overall, I recommend this classic Star Wars flick."