There are a lot of disparate strands to weave together, with a trip to Yoda and Ben Kenobi to reveal the identity of the "other" mentioned in " Empire" and Darth Vader's continuing recruitment of Luke to the dark side. Harrison Ford famously thought Han should die in the film, but that would rid us of the essential chemistry generated between the three, something the film itself recognizes. The entire first act is dedicated to rescuing Han, with the subsequent two covering the core three characters of Luke, Han, and Leia pulling together for the Rebel cause, which is a smart move. Structurally, it's a bit of an odd beast. But it's a glorious end to the trilogy that features an excellent leading performance by Mark Hamill, a dynamite final act with spectacular cross-cutting, amazing creature work, and a John Williams score that proves what we've always known: He's the MVP of the entire franchise. Yes, it has some decidedly obvious flaws and some unengaged performers. "Return of the Jedi" might have been the first of these films to suffer from, as the shimmering ghostly spirit of Ben puts it, "a certain point of view." With six years between the film and the first " Star Wars" picture, which had been reissued with "Episode IV - A New Hope" at the head of the crawl in 1982, kids had grown into teenagers who decided they were too cool for the more "childish" elements like the Ewoks, and as such, the furry critters are still divisive to this day. can continue that fight, there's still a loose thread to be resolved, namely the fate of Han Solo, last seen frozen in carbonite and flying Boba Fett Freight to be delivered to Jabba the Hutt. The Rebels have a plan of course, and the serendipitous army of murderous teddy bears that are the Ewoks. "Jedi" opens with the Empire deep in the construction of a new bigger, and deadlier battle station, looking to cement their victory against the Rebel Alliance and rule the galaxy once and for all. It's still remarkable that " The Empire Strikes Back" ended the way it did with an open cliffhanger, even if its success and the production of the next chapter were all but guaranteed. The Force that is the Lucas/Disney marketing machine is still with us, even if Ben Kenobi and Yoda are not. Just like in 1983, you can go to a store and pick up a Death Star-full of merchandise, including special reissues of the original action figures. Even after four decades, the more things change, the more things stay the same. " Return of the Jedi" celebrated its ruby anniversary this May and received a limited theatrical release.
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