- Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
- Release Date: May 25, 1983
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70Brings things to an almost cheesy conclusion. Given the gripping, dark elements that creator George Lucas introduced in the two previous films, the third movie’s outcome smacks of PG-rated populism rather than artistic fulfillment. But the experience is still highly entertaining. [Special Edition]
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100'Return of the Jedi' is fun, magnificent fun. The movie is a complete entertainment, a feast for the eyes and a delight for the fancy. It's a little amazing how Lucas and his associates keep topping themselves.
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75Less original than the first "Star Wars" and less resonant than "The Empire Strikes Back," but packed with fast-paced action and downright cuddly Ewoks.
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75A potent reminder that these characters and the actors who brought them to life will never return again. Seeing the very end of an endlessly hyped trilogy somehow puts a lump in the throat. [Special Edition]
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75Cuteness is the watchword here. The dark, eerie atmosphere that oozed from every frame of "The Empire Strikes Back" is gone. Instead, for Return of the Jedi, we have good triumphing decisively over evil, a too-pat resolution to a love triangle, and walking teddy bears.
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All the parts of Return that deal with Luke's faith in his father and his appeals for him to reject the dark side of The Force are very emotional. In fact, the best sections of Return are extensions of the melancholy implications of "The Empire Strikes Back." [Special Edition]
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70The dialogue is repetitive ("I won't give in to the dark side of the Force!" "You will!") and significant characters from earlier films -- notably bounty hunter Boba Fett and Yoda -- are dispatched without fanfare, and the whole business has a slightly rushed, perfunctory feel at the same time that it feels oddly attenuated.
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40Unfortunately, the problems with Jedi cannot be fixed even with the best digital software in the galaxy: the weak story (another death star assault, another visit to Dagobah, the exotic planet of the trees, annoying teddy bears), the bad performances..., the burp jokes (three in the first half hour--I guess I missed the toilet humor in the first two) and Luke's bizarre-looking hair mop. It's sad. [Special Edition]
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83Best of all, a revisit with Jedi makes a viewer appreciate spectacle, presentation, mythology -- that, and the power of a bitchin' helmet to speak volumes in a language even an alien can understand. [Special Edition]
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Ultimately, Jedi even backs off some of the more tantalizing possibilities suggested by the cliffhanging scenario of "Empire." This inhibition appears to grow out of consideration for the feelings of the juvenile audience, which can enjoy an abundance of thrills and close calls while resting assured that nothing catastrophic is going to be fall the heroes.
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40Hamill is not enough of a dramatic actor to carry the plot load here, especially when his partner in so many scenes is really little more than an oversized gas pump, even if splendidly voiced by James Earl Jones.
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20Return of the Jedi oesn't really end the trilogy as much as it brings it to a dead stop. The film...is by far the dimmest adventure of the lot.
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20There is hardly any point in discussing the direction of a picture like this, in which almost every shot has been predetermined by the requirements of the special effects, yet director Richard Marquand fluffs the two or three real opportunities he has, rendering the long-delayed character climaxes with a chilly indifference.
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30Downright repetitive! [30 May 1983]