(Note: This is a review of the Special Edition released to theaters in 1997)
Ok, maybe this movie was the reason to retool the entire Star Wars series. The original Return of the Jedi was my least favorite of the trilogy. The cuddly Ewoks grated on my nerves. Luke Skywalker had acquired the ability to annoy me as well as to move objects with his mind. This entry, originally, just didn’t match up to the other two. But, that was my opinion before seeing the re-done version.
Somehow, either through its heavily re-edited sequences of action or as a result of new music and some new scenes, this movie has been dramatically improved. Maybe it’s because I had only seen this movie on the big screen once in 1983. Subsequent viewings were all on video or during its many airings on the USA Network. Maybe I just never fully appreciated this movie in all of its big-screen splendor. Nevertheless, the movie is now the equal of its predecessors.
Jedi resolves the loose ends of The Empire Strikes Back and pits the gang of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) and the droids (Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker) against the evil Jabba the Hutt, who has the frozen body of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in his lair. After that, they turn their attention back to fighting the Empire’s villainous Darth Vader (David Prowse) and the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid) himself.
I know it sounds like a broken record that seeing this movie on the big screen is the only way to see it. But, seriously, with this enhanced edition, it’s almost like seeing a new movie. The editing has made some of the fight scenes, especially the battle on Jabba’s sand skiff, much more exciting. The ending is more dramatic, even though the outcome is the same.
Kudos to George Lucas for updating this fantastic series of films and for “finishing” them. Initially, I was skeptical that anything could be done to improve the series but, with Return of the Jedi becoming phenomenally improved, I am now a believer that this was the right thing to do.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
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