Not so much sci fi as high farce (Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Limited Edition, DVD))

Member Name: thehud

Product:	Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Limited Edition, DVD)
Date:	08/01/05 (102 review reads)
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Star Wars had been an unbelievably huge smash hit movie when it came out in 1977 – it enjoyed the same sort of popularity through return to basics that Raiders of the Lost Ark enjoyed when Harrison Ford’s later cycle of movies relaunched the action adventure genre. George Lucas’ Star Wars did exactly the same, much earlier, for science fiction, and launched Ford onto the world. Star Wars, though, was an even bigger phenomenon, sparking off crappy cult hysteria about the ‘religion’ of the Jedi. Such laughable Star Trek-itis always gave me the heebie jeebies, but there’s no denying the fact that Star Wars was one hell of a great film.

Its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back (1980), managed the rare trick of at least living up to its predecessor, and had lots of highlights of its own, but, by the time of 1983’s Return of the Jedi, the magic had gone.

Lucas had little choice but to finish off the first of his sci-fi cycles because he’s left things trailing at the end of Empire, because he was a bit of an anorak who had to finish what he’d started, and because there was simply too much money to be made. In my view, however, he should have just left it at that, because Return of the Jedi is a poor shadow of the first too movies.

True enough, it doesn’t plumb the asinine depths of his later Episodes 1 and 2 (but then what could?), but it does leave a pretty bitter taste after the heights of his first two episodes (later repackaged as Episodes IV and V – please don’t ask, I can’t get excited about it, if you want to check things out then visit www.starwars.com for the whole completist view of life). Believe me, Return of the Jedi is not a good film.

It relies over much on the magic of the two earlier films, adds no tricks of its own and descends far too easily into dull farce. There’s none of the sharp and acidic sparring between the characters which made Star Wars so good, and there are too many times when Lucas simply plays to the gallery and addresses the lowest common denominator amongst his audience. Easy and weak laughs abound, and the dire scenes with Jabba the Hutt are just too close to Fraggle Rock for my liking (do you remember Fraggle Rock, as sort of Muppets for very young children – well see Return of the Jedi and you’ll get a pretty fair idea of what I mean).

Also, there are saccharine sweet, goody goody, love-ins a-plenty between our intrepid band of incestuous bedfeloows all ove rthe place and it fair turns the stomach. They LOVE each other far too much for their own good and really this is unwatchable garbage of the highest order.

Why, even heavy breathing Darth Vader gets in on the act and forsakes the Dark Side in the end. The moody, grim Black Knight of Star Wars is replaced by a stodgy, rotund weeble whose hat would be more fitting for one of the Trumpton Fireman (y’know who – Hugh, Pugh, Barley, McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grubb). The very thought of it makes me want to weep, even now.

DV was one of the truly great bad guys, but his memory is forever besmirched by Return of the Jedi.

Return of the Jedi is simply too shallow, too little, too late, too much knockabout farce by numbers to be taken seriously at any level. True enough, you have to have it to make your collection complete, but it’s more about merchandising and big bucks than any pretensions of quality or watchability.

Little plot, little action, no drama, too many weak laughs and poor effects make for very dull fare. The Ewoks are cute little teddy bear dollies and you can see Lucas rubbing his hands at the toddlers pouring cash into his coffers for the offshoot products.

I feel so ill …. RETURN OF THE JEDI SUCKS …. BADLY…..

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