The final chapter of one of the most iconic trilogies of all-time has everything set up for a dramatic finale.
We see a lot of our characters have dramatically changed since the events of The Empire Strikes Back.
The Empire is on a high and almost completing construction of their new battle station. There is so much confidence in the Imperial forces, that we are going to finally see The Emperor.
Meanwhile, our heroes are battling on Tatooine. It was nice to see the planet from A New Hope again. However, we are here to finally see Jabba The Hutt after only getting mentions in A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The creature design of Jabba is quite impressive as is the high amount of other creatures within his palace. It must have been a nightmare for the makers to get everything working. In the middle of these creatures is Princess Leia in an outfit that has become so popular that it is worn by a lot of cosplayers at various Comic Con events for the last 30 years.
The rest of the film gradually builds up to three battles in locations fairly close to each other. It is well developed and the action is constantly exciting, tense and exhilarating.
We see Luke Skywalker looking to fulfill his destiny and the Rebels aiming to wipe the Empire out once and for all.
This is clearly Skywalker's film. The first time we see him, he has become a powerful Jedi and feels quite imposing on screen. His final interaction with Yoda is heart-breaking as the old generation of Jedi is slowly fading away. Skywalker is given the final bits of information before going to join back with the Rebels.
But also stealing a lot of scenes is Ian McDiarmid as The Emperor. From his sinister entrance, McDiarmid's performance fits in with his characters persona perfectly.
We also see a new planet (technically, it's a moon) that our characters land on. The use of the forests of northern California was a good choice in creating the environment. We also get straight into the action with an amazing chase scene. It will instantly want you to be on one of the vehicles in the scene and try it out.
We also get an introduction to the natives of the planet. Over-time they gradually divide people. Some people use them as an excuse to compare this film to Muppets In Space. I agree, they have problems in terms of the way that they can be a match for the Stormtroopers during the big battle scene on Endor. But I and many others would see it as an entertaining alternative whilst the Rebels are on that moon. You still feel for the characters, particularly in one emotional scene.
The performances are all good. We are more than familiar with them and none of them seem to go down paths that would look peculiar for them to go down. Mark Hamill completes his trilogy with a well rounded display that sees his character fulfill his destiny and discover his past.
McDairmid as I said becomes quite a presence as the main villain ahead of Darth Vadar for this episode. The combination of Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher as Hans Solo and Princess Leia has great chemistry for the scenes on Endor especially.
John Williams' score remains as good as the others. However if I was being picky, I would say this was his weakest. But it still has that Star Wars feel to it and has nice individual pieces. The battle scenes still look good and enjoyable despite a few moments looking quite dated.
There is not much light-sabre action. But when there is some, it has that great combination of being emotional in both the fighting skills and acting.
Despite it being the weakest of the original trilogy, director Richard Marquand has made a great film, has a lot of strong elements and gives us a well-rounded trilogy.
It does have its problems, mainly with the natives of Endor matching the Stormtroopers in their battle on Endor which I have already mentioned. It has some highly emotional scenes that have become as memorable as the best scenes from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
For the third and final time, I decided to go for the original cut. Despite some nice additions to the scenes at Jabba's palace and the alternative music for the final scene, there is one addition at the very end that I just cannot stand. People who have seen this film will completely understand my reason for not watching the latest edition.
Rating: 8/10
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