Hi everyone, please enjoy this guest review by John! - Mark
THRILL SCALE 1-10
9
HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?
Probably 25 times
BEST SEQUENCE(S)
Top 3 sequences include the escape from Jabba's floating yacht-thing, the forest moon speeder bike chase, and of course the battle of Endor
BEST LINE
“Now, Luke Skywalker…you will die.”
WORST LINE
“She's my sister”
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE
83%
ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS
"Though failing to reach the cinematic heights of its predecessors, Return of the Jedi remains an entertaining sci-fi adventure and a fitting end to the classic trilogy."
IMDB SYNOPSIS
“After rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempts to destroy the second Death Star while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.”
DIRECTOR
Richard Marquand…a Welsh director who was best known at the time for having directed a Nazi WWII spy movie, a Beatles documentary, and a failed horror flick
MAIN CAST
The usual suspects. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, the talents of James Earl Jones and Frank Oz. Ian McDiarmid's performance as Emperor Palpatine is chilling
THOUGHTS
I feel compelled to offer a few disclaimers in the name of transparency - the first being that this movie was my introduction to the Star Wars franchise.
I was a little kid in the late eighties, and Jedi came on TV one night. Back then, when something cool came on our TV, my older brother and I would rush/panic to find a blank tape (or one deemed suitable for taping over), and we'd quickly fire up the VCR to record whatever cool thing was on the TV. We were pop-culture obsessed kids living in the sticks. We never knew how long it would be before something good would be on that TV again, so we made sure to try and capture what we could for re-watching in the interim.
So, that original copy of Jedi that we taped was almost certainly edited for TV, and didn't really pick up until Luke was a hologram in Jabba's palace. But I loved it. I watched the hell out of it. It inspired and influenced me in untold ways.
I mention this mainly because for me, this movie is soaked with nostalgia, and nostalgia is a powerful Force (pun intended). It can suspend logic, cloud our judgement, and warp our memories...a Jedi mind trick, if you will. I am surely not impervious to its charms.
The 2nd disclaimer is that this movie came out in 1983. We have since gotten 2 other full trilogies in this franchise, not to mention countless spin offs in the form of stand alone films, prequels, series, both animated and live action. There have been over 40 years of context and perspective since Jedi was released, and it's important to note that a review done in 2026 undoubtedly benefits from that context, and therefore will not be written or received the way a review from the early 80's would be. Obviously.
Ok, disclaimers are done.
Return of the Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie, hands down. I think it's the best film in the franchise.
Why? Simply, it's the most fun.
If this review reads like I'm defending more than actually reviewing, well, yes that's fair. This has been my relationship with ROTJ. I defend it, because it's great. Here's why.
To start, it's considerably less depressing than its predecessor. Let's remember that the previous movie in the franchise, The Empire Strikes Back, is tonally very dark, and it goes very badly for the Rebels (good guys). Their base on Hoth gets destroyed. Luke nearly gets eaten by a Wampa. Lando betrays his old friend Han Solo, who then gets tortured, frozen in carbonite, and sold by a bounty hunter. Vader strangles like, everyone. Luke gets his hand lopped off by his Dad (there is a weird theme of arms being cut off in this franchise, there are 2 dismembered hands in Empire alone).
In contrast? ROTJ has big wins for the Rebel Alliance, right out the gate. Lots to cheer for. It has new, cool aliens and species. Rancor fights? Sarlacc Pits? Hell yes. We get to meet Jabba The Hutt, and peek into the seedy happenings of his interstellar gangster underworld. We get visits from old friends, and amazing clashes in outer space between the Rebel and Empire star fleets. Not to mention…speeder bikes! Forest moon tree villages! Also, Luke Skywalker finally becomes a badass and with his now well-honed Jedi skills. Massive showdowns between good and evil. FUN.
Furthermore, it just looks great. Excellent special effects, set design, costumes and puppetry make ROTJ the most visually impressive film in the first trilogy, hands down.
And now, a word on Ewoks.
Star Wars fans of this era love to hate on the Ewoks, the cuddly yet dangerous inhabitants of the forest moon of Endor. It's not entirely unwarranted - Ewoks were at least partially created with heavy merchandising in mind, making them an easy target for angry franchise fans to point at and say “see they only did it for the money!”
To this, I have one rebuttal - this is a STAR WARS movie we're talking about here. Of course there was merchandising in mind. George Lucas and his two movies preceding this were probably responsible for more garbage merchandising than Disney and Snoopy combined. They sold Star Wars lunchboxes, toys and bed sheets, yes. But they also licensed Star Wars Shampoo, Funk albums, tape dispensers, BBQ's, toilet seats and plungers (all real things). These guys, for lack of a better word, were merchandise WHORES. So I don't think it's fair for these fans to go clutching their pearls over management's intent to exploit some of the new characters for merchandising.
Others like to scoff at the suggestion that the Ewoks would be able to take out the rebel forces on Endor, armed with only their sticks and stones against lasers and heavy war machinery.
Right, because we've seen so many great feats of battlefield excellence from the Imperial STORM TROOPERS. They are famous for being able to shoot things and capture people (sarcasm heavily implied).The storm troopers, or in this case, Scout Troopers (cooler helmets), are comically bad at their jobs in every SW movie. Ewoks could, and did, wallop them. The Ewoks also successfully kidnapped a space pirate, Wookiee, Jedi knight, two droids and a rebel commander/Princess. They're very capable. They're on home turf, everyone else is an interloper. The whole “their ancient technology could never” argument....what in the Colonialist bullshit even is that? GTFO. Ewoks are rad and I'm tired of people acting like they're not.
I also like to point out that unserious, mildly goofy characters have been prevalent in this franchise from the jump (R2D2 and C-3P0, anybody? Jawas?)
I have seen other reviews before where people complain about character development. I don't agree with this either.
Luke Skywalker, for one, finally BECOMES COOL. He starts dressing in black and Jedi mind tricking people. He has an android hand. He isn't a whiny little farmer anymore. Truly, Luke peaks in this film.
Han Solo actually has a mature moment, does the adult thing and tells Leia he will not interfere in her relationship with Luke Skywalker (he then finds out they're siblings, ugh). This is pretty emotionally intelligent for a smuggler whose hetero life partner is a 10 foot Wookiee.
Vader finally sees the error of his ways, after losing (you guessed it) a hand. Maybe the Dark Side isn't so great after all.
And Lando Calrissian has gone from a greasy political figure in an uppity cloud city to a selfless ace pilot rebel leader. Not unlike his old pal Solo, he finally shucks off the stink of interstellar smuggler and embraces his true calling as a resistance hero.
No character development? Hardly.
It's not a total departure from the tone of the previous entry in the franchise. There is some real darkness in ROTJ as well, and it shoots lightning from its hands whilst wrapped in a black, hooded cloak. Emperor Palpatine is downright scary. And evil. And clearly enjoys the evil. The scene near the end where he tortures/nearly kills a basically unarmed Luke Skywalker is genuinely chilling, and the malicious smile Palpatine wears while committing this act is forever burned into my memory. Old people are not to be trusted.
This is long in the tooth, I know. So I'll wrap it up. Is ROTJ the best Star Wars movie? Yes. Thank you.
Up Next: Hey gang, it's Mark again! Thanks for the review, John! Coming up next, I'll be jumping back into the action, because I decided that I will personally review the first movie of every trilogy (and also I'm going to do Solo, because I actually kind of forgot that I haven't seen it yet). So with that said, we'll be talking about the first Star Wars movie that I ever saw in the theatre, The Phantom Menace. Meesa excited!
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