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Star Wars 6: Return of the Jedi

[This review includes spoilers.]

Han: "A Jedi knight? I'm out of it for a little while, and everybody gets delusions of grandeur."

I hate Ewoks. I hate their cute, fuzzy little faces and their squeaky little voices. And why? Because they almost single-handedly turned the heaviness volume way down on this movie. This one could have been the best of the trilogy. Instead, it was the weakest of the three. Although I must be fair and admit it wasn't just the Ewoks. Much of Jedi just felt juvenile, like blue elephants playing the xylophone, generals that looked like toads, Carrie Fisher in a steel bikini.

But there's still a lot to love about Jedi. I always enjoyed the long rescue sequence in Jabba's palace, Luke's calm ascension to Jedi knighthood, and every freaking scene with Darth Vader. I loved watching the Emperor trying to turn Luke to the dark side, as Luke was turning Anakin back toward the light. Yes, the blue bolts of death coming from the Emperor's hands went on way too long, but Darth Vader finally redeeming himself and sacrificing his life for his son was classic.

As always, the visuals were stunning. Simply outstanding. Nothing else looks like a Star Wars movie. For the record, I have to say I liked the revisions that Lucas made to the re-release. There was something fitting about Hayden Christensen as one of those three spirits in the end, and I loved the addition of the celebratory scenes on all of the planets. And I always thought that Lucas did a masterful job of continuity in matching up the details in both trilogies. The only discordant detail was Leia's memories of her mother, and I shouldn't say more because it will spoil the prequel trilogy.

Bits and pieces:

-- I don't hate the speeder chase through the redwoods. It's better than the pod race in episode one.

-- Light on the dismemberments this time. Darth Vader lost his artificial hand (and we don't get the story behind that one until Episode three). C3PO lost an eye.

-- If you're considering a rewatch of the Star Wars movies, you might want to check out Samantha M. Quinn's article, How to Watch Star Wars.

Quotes:

C3PO: "R2, I have a bad feeling about this."

Yoda: "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it rule your destiny."

Han: "Keep your distance. I don't know. Fly casual."

Han: "Great, Chewie, great. Always thinking with your stomach."

Part of me feels that every Star Wars movie should get four stars because, hey, it's Star Wars, the geek Holy Grail. But if I'm honest with myself -- three out of four stars,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

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