Return of the Jedi Loses Status in Star Wars Sextet
By Demon
After hearing complaints for the last five years by fans, critics, and assorted space junkies on how the wire-and-puppet Star Wars series of old is vastly superior to the heartless, digital juggernaut that is the Star Wars series of new, it’s refreshing to see a film of the new series — Revenge of the Sith — that is actually better than at least one film of the old. (article continues after ads)
In fact, I prefer at least two of the new films – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – over Return of the Jedi, the weak final chapter of the old series, and second worst film in the Star Wars collection.
And while we’re at it, maybe even Episode I: The Phantom Menace deserves a second look in comparison to Jedi.
I’m just kidding, of course. All persuasions of the Force, both Dark and Light, seem to agree that Episode I shall forever live in infamy.
Nonetheless, after seeing Revenge of the Sith, I was inspired to go back and watch the entire six film series from start to finish (I’m sure I’m not alone here), and put the whole, sprawling thing in perspective. And it seems as if time is indeed the great healer. It had been five years now since I waited in a round-the-block queue looking forward to something akin to Luke and Han but instead found Jar Jar and The Brat. This time through there was none of the initial shock, none of the surprised dismay, none of the unexpected betrayal. I simply watched the new stuff “as is.”
And stunningly, I realized that Jar Jar actually puts in a better performance than some of the characters in Return of the Jedi!
Despite popular claims of the old series having more heart and soul than the new, this really only applies to New Hope and Empire. In Jedi, only Mark Hammil and Billy Dee Williams seem truly excited about playing their roles. Hammil, long supressed by Ben and Yoda alike, finally gets to kick some butt. He lays waste to Jabba’s dungeon pets with the zeal of Lancelot in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Williams, too, seems stoked about his role. In Empire, Lando was busy kissing Vader’s metallic ass in order to save Cloud City from the Empire. In Jedi, Lando stops playing patriarch and starts smoking bad guys. He’s a general in the Rebel Forces, commands the Millennium Falcon, and personally annihilates a new and improved Death Star (even if it is playing sloppy seconds to Luke).
Harrison Ford, on the other hand, is already displaying the signature lethargy that would characterize his Jack Ryan roles. Let’s face it, those Clancy movies would have been much more entertaining with Jar Jar playing America’s favorite CIA analyst-turned-crimebuster than Ford.
Carrie Fisher, too, could use a bit of Jar Jar’s spunk in Return of the Jedi. By the time Chapter VI rolls around, Fisher’s girlish gleam and feisty commands have been replaced with a bored, “here we go again” smirk and a husky growl that suggests she has been smoking menthols instead of Storm Troopers in the five years between films.
Even Darth Vader seems sluggish in this movie. In Empire, Vader had no problem annihilating everyone and everything in his mission to convert Luke to the ways of Evil. Vader tortured Luke’s friends and even lopped off the young lad’s hand in a light saber battle — forcing Luke to replace his sizzled paw with a cheap metal import from a planet completely modeled on China (see deleted scene on the Empire DVD). In Jedi, however, we see a fickle, second-guessing, wishy-washy Vader who has lost his George-Bush-like spirit of flying starships directly into asteroid belts in order to avoid appearing indecisive. The Luke and Vader scenes leading up to the final confrontation with the Emperor are devoid of emotion when they should be the most charged of the entire series. Instead of being truly tempted by the Dark Side (which would have breathed fire into these scenes), Luke has a smugness rivalled only by Grand Moff Tarkin.
None of this goes to say that Jedi is not a relentlessly entertaining movie. But compared to Clones and Sith, it runs a distant third. Both of these newer films have a frantic, impassioned energy about them that Jedi cannot equal — whether in the form of Yoda going Jackie Chan on Count Dooku or Annakin tearing himself to psychological shreds.
No matter. Four-of-six ain’t bad for any sextet, and I’m sure most fans would still set the record at five superior movies with one stinker. The accomplishment of Star Wars is like the Pyramids at Giza: monumental, employing thousands of designers and technicians, and touching the lives of countless millions (most of them commercially). Nevermind a missing brick or two — or one guy that grew up with the old movies, but actually likes some of the new ones better.
Related posts:
- Space Junk: Star Wars the Experience
- Star Wars Number Two
- The Clones that Should Have Been
- The Future a Long Time Ago: Attack of the Clones
- Entertaining the Crew of the Death Star
I agree with you that REVENGE OF THE SITH and even ATTACK OF THE CLONES are better than RETURN OF THE JEDI. Though I’ll be honest that I enjoy all six of the STAR WARS films. I personally even rank SITH second after EMPIRE which as many others do I rank in first, and CLONES fourth, behind HOPE in third. Although I do rank JEDI in fifth, with MENACE in sixth. (As many others do, though I actually do like the movie. I just think it is the weakest entry). For some reason I just think the middle section of the saga works best as you do. I find 5/3 to be the best because they are the most layered in darkness and rich drama, with two of the franchises better ensemble efforts. Though 5’s is the stronger and one of the reasons I rank it higher. 4 is a perfect more lighthearted and whimsical sci-fi/fantasy adventure and was the film that started it all. Nothing more to say on that one. 2 and 6 I find to have a similar issue where they both try to cover more material than they probably should. CLONES tries to fit in the start of the Clone War, the romance that leads to Luke and Leia, as well as starting Anakin’s turn to the dark side. Most of which I think works (despite a performance from Christensen that does leave quite a bit to be desired). Why I give it a bit more credit than JEDI is that JEDI seems to take shortcuts to end the saga earlier than initially intended (As Lucas planned on doing six with that set of characters before having the final showdown with the Emperor and what not). So Luke essentially becomes a high powered Jedi out of nowhere (along with the Emperor’s plans to turn him to the Dark Side not really being that convincing. I think there should be some real incentive to have a hero make a believable turn like that which is why I think Anakin’s temptation worked better) and as you pointed out Vader does have a noticeable and sudden shift in character rather than a gradual one. Still though, the throne room scenes are fantastically acted. Both probably could’ve been split into two films each really. But I have to give it to CLONES as it at least tried to address everything and not cut corners. Both do their job well enough though. PHANTOM MENACE is my lowest because while I think it doesn’t try to cram as much story in as CLONES and JEDI, it doesn’t have the same character complexities the other installments evoke and it much more of a straightforward adventure film. But it’s a fun adventure I think. We get to see some cool creatures, marvelous looking worlds, and some riveting action sequences. I think it nicely sets up the board for the game that the rest of the installments play out (Despite a few moment of Jar Jar being a bit too obnoxious). Well that’s my two cents. Good job on the article.