Face-Off: Return of the Jedi vs. Revenge of the Sith

Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford as Han Solo
Carrie Fisher as Leia Organa
Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO
Kenny Baker as R2-D2
Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca
Ian McDiarmid as Emperor Palpatine
Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi
David Prowse as Darth Vader
James Earl Jones as the voice of Vader
Sebastian Shaw as Anakin Skywalker
and Frank Oz as Yoda

After helming the first movie in the series and turning STAR WARS into the behemoth it would become, George Lucas took a step back and let someone else bring the second installment to life (Irvin Kershner), and then did the same for the third entry with Richard Marquand taking over duties. Kershner’s style varied from Lucas’ by favoring a more grounded, character-centric approach for a darker feel, while Marquand went back to the more colorful side of things, trying to blend humor and spectacle with some of the more mature dramatic stakes. On the energy side, Marquand knew how to keep things moving (with Lucas around to help film the VFX sequences), with tons of action right from the start and filling up a large chunk of the runtime. Where he falters a bit (and this is also due to the scripting) is how he tries to juggle aiming the movie at both kids and those who had grown up and been watching the movies for years. There are some heavy, sometimes odd, adult moments (slave Leia costume, space gangsters, and son-daddy drama), and stuff squarely aimed at kids (little space bears), and looking the full package is a strange experience. Marquand was smart enough to know that audiences of varying ages would be watching but didn’t quite know how to blend it all together. The action in the final half of the movie and the heavy presence of Ewoks rings hollow in execution – more like a playful space adventure than something with rousing finality. However, Marquand being great with actors the scenes that work the best are the quiet ones, like with Luke, talking with Yoda before he passes on, or with Leia on Endor. This is especially so when he’s with Vader, the emotional tension lingering between the characters, the director staging their interactions like a play on a small stage. Perhaps the reason why it seems like the movie has two different styles clashing – sometimes at once – is because Lucas had a much stronger presence on set this time around, especially when it came to heavy visual effects scenes. When it comes down to it, Marquand did he best work with the smaller, more emotional moments, which is where the story really gets driven home – but his work (with Lucas’ eye looming near) with much of the rest of the movie never feels like more than basic popcorn entertainment. As fun and exciting as it is, for a finale with so much on the line, a simple fun adventure is not the approach it should have been made with. 

At the end of EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, everything was on a bit of a slump for the gang. Han was trapped in carbonite; Luke had his hand cut off and learned he had way more family issues than he thought and; in general, the Empire was on the upswing. Leading into the finale, that left a lot for writers Lawrence Kasdan and Lucas to handle come ROTJ, but the result can’t help but be a story written into a corner with no place to blast off to. While many look to EMPIRE as the peak of the saga, many didn’t like it when it came out (including Lucas), which no doubt had some impact in JEDI being written as a way of bringing back some colorful fun to the series. The first third of the movie is all about the gang saving Han from Jabba the Hutt, Luke more wise and powerful from his brief training with Yoda. None of it has much impact on the story other than to be brisk and get everyone back together. From then on the plot is – and has been chastised plenty for being – essentially the entire final act of NEW HOPE: the Empire is building yet another Death Star, and they have to blow it up. As far as plotting and character development goes, JEDI is undoubtedly a weak movie, with characters like Han and Leia left to do much of nothing except shoot at Stormtroopers all day, listen to 3PO translate shit, and be quip machines (in Han’s case). Where Kasdan and Lucas get the most mileage is out of the story of Luke and his relationship with Vader, which gets ample development after the events of EMPIRE. After realizing there is capacity for darkness in him, Luke understands he has a chance to bring his father back to the light, and the scenes with the two of them together are some of the best of the trilogy. The template for a grand finale wasn’t quite existent at the time JEDI came out, so I can see how trying to wrap everything up on a story front was such a challenge to write. On one end, the finale has some emotional resonance, and that’s with Luke and Vader. Everything else can’t help but ring hollow, with the relationship between Han and Leia having nowhere to go after EMPIRE and with no one left with anything to do except race through set-pieces.

Bits:

Jabba’s Palace

Freeing Solo

Jabba and the Jedi

The Rancor Pit!

Lightsaber Escape

Choking Out Jabba

Sarlacc Eats Fett

Yoda and Luke

Yoda Dies

Luke and Ben

Speeder Bikes!

Ewok Feast

Luke and Leia

Luke and Vader 

Battle of Endor 

Vader vs Luke

Vader Defeated 

Shock Therapy

The Man Under the Mask

Destroying the Death Star

Pyre for Vader

Lines:

Luke: “I'll not leave you here. I've got to save you.”
Anakin: “You already have, Luke.”

—–

Ackbar: “It's a trap!”

—–

Han: “Who are you?”
Leia: “Someone who loves you.”

—–

Luke: “You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before and I don't believe you'll destroy me now.”
Darth Vader: “You underestimate the power of the Dark Side. If you will not fight, then you will meet your destiny.”

—–

Yoda: “Luke, the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned, Luke. There is… another… Sky… walker.”

—–

Luke: Search your feelings, Father, you can't do this. I feel the conflict within you. Let go of your hate.
Darth Vader: It is too late for me, son. The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now.
Luke: Then my father is truly dead.

—–

Vader: “Nothing… can stop that now. Just for once… let me… look on you with my own eyes.”

—–

Obi-Wan: “So, you have a twin sister. Your feelings have now betrayed her, too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side… then perhaps she will!”

—–

Han: “How we doin'?”
Luke: “Same as always.”
Han: “That bad, huh?”

—–

Han: “A Jedi Knight? Jeez, I'm out of it for a little while, everyone gets delusions of grandeur!”

—–

Luke: “Never. I'll never turn to the Dark Side. You've failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
The Emperor: “So be it, Jedi!”

—–

Yoda: Sick have I become, old and weak… When nine hundred years old *you* reach, look as good *you* will not, hmm?

—–

Obi-Wan: “Your father… was seduced by the Dark Side of the Force. He ceased to be the Jedi Anakin Skywalker and “became” the Sith Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So, what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.”

—–

Luke: “Your overconfidence is your weakness.”
The Emperor: “Your faith in your friends is yours!”

—–

Han: “Now don't get jittery, Luke. There are a lot of command ships. Keep your distance, though, Chewie, but don't *look* like you're trying to keeping your distance.”
Chewie: *Chewie Noise*
Han: “I don't know. Fly casual.”

—–

You can’t talk about the impact of STAR WARS without bringing up John Williams and his iconic score. The man has given life to the galaxy far, far away, with his consistently terrific scores, and his work on JEDI is as exceptional as the rest of them. The score finds him exploring a variety of sounds, from the familiar, militaristic vibe of “Into the Trap” to the more whimsical tracks during the time on Endor with “Parade of Ewoks” and “The Forest Battle”. And even if the Ewoks themselves get a certain amount of scorn from fans, how can you not love them when they're jumping around to that Yub-Nub party jam, which you can listen to on repeat on the soundtrack.  Overall, he really honed-in on a heightened sense of emotion with many of the best tracks, like the danger and villainy in “The Emperor” or the pure sense of adventure with “The Return of the Jedi”. There are a lot of shifting tones and locations in JEDI, going from the seediness of Jabba’s Palace to the forests Endor and then on the Death Star, all having a different vibe. Williams masterfully blends everything JEDI offers with a score that keeps it all on a grand, imaginative scale. An undoubtedly great score, I don’t think it quite leaves the impact or capitalizes on the emotional stakes of REVENGE OF THE SITH, the score for which Williams put on an operatic scale no other STAR WARS movie has lived up to.
 

I believe that when discussing the visual effects of the original movies there is a certain matter that needs addressing. As any STAR WARS fan knows, Lucas decided to go back and add in certain special effects for re-issues some years ago, and many, many of these additions have a, to put it gently, off-putting effect. In the case of JEDI, the major CG changes include the horrific digital makeover of the Max Rebo Band and singer Sy Snootles; the inclusion of other cities celebrating at the end and; *sigh* Hayden Christensen being added as Anakin’s ghost at the end. It goes without saying (but I will), these inclusions are unnecessary and unsightly. However, these are things that can be shoved to the side, and it’s still very easy to admire the original, practical effects that dominate JEDI and reaffirm the original movies as pioneers of visual effects. The cast of colorful alien creatures in this outing has arguably left the greatest mark on the series compared to the others, like the still-disgusting mound that is Jabba the Hutt, the deadly Sarlacc, the vicious rancor and even Salacious Crumb, what with all his wild and silly antics. The continuing power of the older STAR WARS movies is that, from a visual standpoint, they still hold up remarkably well given their age. JEDI has more then-modern effects that have indeed shown a bit of wear – such as during the speeder bike chases – but other visuals like the in-production Death Star and space dogfights are still impressive to this day. Even the Ewoks, as annoying as they can be, look incredibly cute and there's a part of me that hopes there is a forest world out there filled with these little space bears. The more recent movies have embraced the style of practical effects seen in the original movies like JEDI, steering away from the over-usage of CGI and green screen which – as I will discuss – loses this section for SITH.

As I mentioned before, the ending of EMPIRE left the stakes very high for the filmmaking team going into JEDI, them having to deliver to audiences a finale that lived up to the epic expectations. In the arena of spectacle, JEDI has some large set pieces that remain incredibly fun all these years later – such as the escape at the Sarlacc pit, the battle over Endor and the final fight between Luke and Vader. Sadly, one of JEDI’s biggest cruxes is that nothing in this movie, on a spectacle front, matches what came before – especially in EMPIRE.  Considering the characters don’t feel as explored this time around, throwing characters like Han and Leia into the fray on Endor plays out as very by-the-numbers, with that whole sequence’s reliance on Ewoks more campy than exciting. Now, these sequences are well-done on a technical level, and there’s a pure, colorful sense of adventure that comes with rewatching these movies, which makes JEDI a fun, solid entry to go back to. But never watching it do I get the sense that anyone who made it fully realized the level of spectacle this final outing should’ve had. It’s fun but hollow, and lacking in any sense of grandeur that was very much present in the previous two movies. What makes SITH so superior to JEDI on this level has little to do with the visual effects, but with the emotional stakes Lucas builds upon in his movie, which is something JEDI lacks on virtually every level, lessening its visceral impact.

Awards

Oscars:

• Won – Special Award for Visual Effects 
• Nominated – Best Sound
• Nominated – Best Sound Editing
• Nominated – Best Art Direction
• Nominated – Best Score

**Another 22 Wins and 16 Nominations per IMDb**

Praise

• Rotten Tomatoes: 81% (94% Audience)
• IMDb: 8.3 (Top Rated Movie #80) 
• Metacritic: 58 (8.3 Audience)

Money:

• $309 million ($475 million globally)

A fun sci-fi flick it is – filled with all the fantastic trimmings that make STAR WARS iconic – RETURN OF THE JEDI is – as far as a trilogy conclusion goes – simply fine. When it comes to the conclusion of the story for Luke Skywalker (at least until the new movies) and Vader, it hits all the right notes and finds father and son reconciling before the end, the power of good overcoming evil. But going back to the spectacle element and the scripting section, everything else about the movie is lacking in any sort of depth or sense of grandeur, with the action being serviceable but empty and the character development of everyone outside of Luke and Vader being virtually non-existent. Characters we have grown attached to like Leia, Han and Lando are lumped into big action set pieces, and are there simply to shoot at Stormtroopers and root for Ewoks tossing rocks, with their own stories having nowhere to go. Leia gets slightly more attention than others, being included in the Skywalker bloodline, but even then, it’s just as a last-minute revelation that somewhat expands the lore (but isn’t explored in the movies until LAST JEDI). At the end of the day, it all comes down to the execution of it all. There’s no real sense of scope, and there’s little reason to care about what most of the characters are doing in the great scheme of it all. Yes, we got to pick up with these characters in these new movies, but who the hell knew that was going to happen even heading into this decade? As far as the plotting is concerned much of the movie feels like a retread of the first, and when it comes to the full arc of the characters in this trilogy is concerned, RETURN OF THE JEDI doesn’t quite do everything justice in the end.