Star Wars: A New Hope took the world by storm when it was released in 1977, playing in theaters and capturing the hearts and minds of every demographic for a year straight. Then, three years later, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back came along and showed itself to be one of the greatest sequels ever made, with its only true competition in that category being The Godfather Part II. And that’s a title it’s held onto for 45 years. In other words, A New Hope set the bar sky high then the sequel came in and either batched the bar or exceeded it, depending on who you ask.
So, the level of anticipation couldn’t have been higher for Star Wars: Return of the Jedi when it was announced that filming was set to being on January 11th, 1982. This was the conclusion of a trilogy that, so far, had been perfect. It was a movie that had to stick the landing. And, whether you asked audience members at the time or people today, the answer to the question of whether it stuck the landing is likely going to be something along the lines of “Ehh, kinda.” Why is that? Let’s unpack the aspects that don’t quite measure up to its two predecessors.
The Ewoks & Other Questionable Elements
The biggest issue people had with Return of the Jedi was the Ewoks. People enjoyed the back-and-forth between C-3PO and R2-D2, they were fine with a Wookiee playing chess (well, Dejarik, aka holochess), but little teddy bears that speak in “Yub nub” and “Yaa-yaah” was just a hair too much for them.
The Empire Strikes Back ended on a fairly depressing note, though one that wasn’t entirely without hope. The Ewoks were just too much of a step in the opposite direction. This is especially true when you consider the true flaw of Return of the Jedi, which was that it in and of itself has a tonal disparity problem.
Not only were the Ewoks a step in a silly direction after the serious A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, but they were also a step in a silly direction after a very serious first half. In fact, the first half of Return of the Jedi is the grimmest the IP had been up to that point. We go from Jabba the Hut opening a door beneath a frightened and dancer’s feat so she can be devoured by a monster to Leia playing with a goofy little bear on a log. It’s a big leap.
There were other issues with the Ewoks, too. For one, they came across as an attempt to sell toys, which the franchise was already starting to be well known for. Granted, a lot of people bought the toys and lunchboxes, but the Ewoks represented a desire to sell toys as opposed to create a narrative that could naturally lead into toy sales.
Then there’s the fact that the battle on Endor is a blast-exchanging firefight that represented the culmination of all the battles that came before. It was what came after the destruction of the Death Star and the battle of Hoth. So, for the Rebels to come out on top even though they had limited soldiers and teddy bears against a ton of Stormtroopers and AT-STs just felt like an oddly deflated climax.
The Luke-Vader-Emperor scenes are great, but everything else about the climax feels off. On top of the battle of Endor the second attack on the Death Star felt repetitive. Just because something worked once, and was intense once, doesn’t mean it’s going to be as effective a second time.
There are plenty of other issues scattered throughout Return of the Jedi. For one, the whole plan to rescue Han was less a plan and more a fingers crossed situation. Any number of things could have gone wrong. And, considering Leia was captured, did go wrong. But at least the Jabba’s Desert Skiff scene is fairly intense. That is right up until Boba Fett unceremoniously dies with a stupid burping sound effect.
As a whole, Return of the Jedi is fun enough, and it is a classic of ’80s cinema, but it was also the first true sign that not every corner of the Star Wars universe needed to be explored. As the decades have worn on there have definitely been Star Wars movies worse than it, but it’s still a big step down from A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
How do you feel about Return of the Jedi? Let us know in the comments.