Winning the Victory: A Movie Review of Richard Marquand's Academy Award-winning "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi"

Original 1983 poster

1997 special edition poster

An evil empire is constructing a "remake" of a giant space station weapon. There is only one chance for their enemies to destroy the weapon, but their Jedi hero is onboard, fighting the evil Darth Vader. This basically sums up the last half hour or so of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (formerly titled Return of the Jedi).
The film was nominated for many Academy Awards, winning Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects. It also won Best Dramatic Presentation at the 1984 Hugo Awards. The movie stars Mark Hamill as Jedi knight Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as pilot Han Solo, and Carrie Fisher as Alliance leader Princess Leia.

SUMMARY

   The film opens with the site of the nearly-constructed Death Star II. Darth Vader arrives and informs the lead officer to work faster because the Emperor is on his way to personally inspect the space station. The officer nervously promises to double their efforts.

   On the sand planet Tatooine, droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are sent by Luke Skywalker to make an offer for Han Solo's release (who is frozen in a substance known as carbonite). The vile alien who holds the pilot captive (Jabba the Hutt) refuses, but keeps the droids as servants. Later, a bounty hunter arrives with Chewbacca as his prisoner. Jabba pays the hunter for the capture of Chewbacca.

   That night, the bounty hunter makes his way to Han, who is hanging on a wall. He frees him from his carbonite prison and takes off his helmet to reveal that he is actually a she: Princess Leia. The two are caught, though. Han and Chewbacca are thrown in a jail cell, while Leia is forced into slavery.

   Soon, Luke Skywalker arrives in hopes of a rescue, but all of the heroes end up being caught. Luke, Han, and Chewbacca are going to be fed to a monster for Jabba's enjoyment. Eventually, the heroes are able to defeat Jabba and escape.

   They return to the Rebellion for a mission debriefing. They are told that the second Death Star is above the forest planet Endor. A small group will take a stolen Imperial ship, land on the planet, and blow up the small bunker that provides the shield for the Death Star. After being split up, they soon all end up at a village full of small bear-like creatures called Ewoks.

   The last thirty to sixty minutes of the film is devoted to a few "storylines": Luke Skywalker dueling Darth Vader on the Death Star, the rebel soldiers battling Imperials on the planet, and rebel pilots trying to destroy the Death Star.

CONTENT

   Throughout the movie, laser guns are fired (humans to fully-armored humans), and people are shot, though this is bloodless. There are also explosions, frightening creatures, etc. Emperor Palpatine's face is deformed, and, while he still looks quite human, it can possibly be frightening for younger viewers. 

   There are a couple kissing scenes in the film, but this is not the worst of the sexually suggestive content. While serving as a slave for Jabba, Leia is forced to wear a skimpy costume, which is very immodest. We always skip these scenes, but they unfortunately make up roughly twenty minutes of the film. Apart from this, there is a scene where scantily-dressed female aliens dance in a sensual manner for "entertainment." This scene is pretty short, though.

   I believe there is little, if any, language in the movie.

   There is the use of the Force and characters mention the light and dark sides (similar to Yin Yang/Middle Eastern philosophy). Luke is supposed to "bring balance to the Force" by defeating the dark side (again, Yin Yang rings a bell). Parents might want to talk to young children who might not be able to discern between right and wrong in this area.

   I think Return of the Jedi has the most interesting plot of the three original Star Wars films, but it also perhaps has the most immoral content. These, I think, created a fine line between the PG rating that it had and the PG-13 rating that it possibly should have received. While not as bad as many films, there is enough content (largely in the first half of the film) for parents to be cautious.

   I have always enjoyed the exciting Star Wars films, and Return of the Jedi is (I think) one of the best of the six. I eagerly await the sequel to it (Star Wars Episode VII) in 2015.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 136 minutes

Rating: PG

Director: Richard Marquand

Producer: Howard Kazanjian

Music: John Williams

Year of release: 1983 (original edition), 1997 (special edition)

Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens, adults