Return Of The Jedi: Special Edition (1997)

Starring - Mark Hamill; Harrison Ford; Carrie Fisher; Billy Dee Williams & Anthony Daniels Director - Richard Marquand MPAA - Rated PG for sci-fi action violence. Return Of The Jedi: Special Edition is the third installment of the Star Wars trilogy and the second best of the three (Star Wars being the best). Although, Return Of The Jedi is probably the most disappointing when it comes to the Special Edition version. It picks up where The Empire Strikes Back left off -- Han Solo is feeling somewhat confined and Luke Skywalker is dealing with some serious parental issues. In this film, Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) travel to the forest moon of Endor. There they must try to deactivate the generator that powers a shield protecting the Empire's new Death Star. Once the shield is down the Rebel armada plans to attack the Empire's new space station in their final showdown with Darth Vader and friends. If you don't know all this by now, most likely you have either been in a coma or living in a South American jungle for the last 15 years. Unlike The Empire Strikes Back, which bordered on depressing in places, Return Of The Jedi is much more fun. The scenes on the Endor moon involving the Ewoks are especially good. They are probably the cutest creatures to ever hit the big screen, with the possible exception of E.T., Steven Spielberg's little alien that hit theaters the year before Jedi. Return Of The Jedi also benefits from what seems like the most action of the three films. This is highlighted by the spectacular battle between the Imperial forces and the Rebel/Ewok team. I must confess to being a much bigger Han Solo fan than I am a Luke Skywalker fan. So if I have one criticism of the movie it is the extended periods in the film that focus on the Emperor's attempts to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force. It's a minor complaint, but one worthy of note. Although it is not a point large enough to prevent me from ranking Return Of The Jedi as one of my favorite films of all time. Return Of The Jedi serves as a fitting end to one of the greatest series of movies ever produced. It ties up all the loose ends of the previous films and stands as a reminder that sequels don't necessarily have to be inferior knockoffs of the original film. Now, my second complaint (actually more of an observation) is the fact that updates that the trilogy received for its re-release in Special Edition form did very little to benefit Return Of The Jedi. First of all, special effects had been advanced greatly from the time Star Wars was made until the time Return Of The Jedi was made. So Return really doesn't benefit from the improved special effects that make the special edition of Star Wars such a treat to watch. Nor does it contain any lost footage like the Special Edition of Star Wars. All it really does contain is a new dance sequence in Jabba The Hut's palace, a couple of shots of various celebrations at the end of the movie and a new musical score for both the enhanced dance sequence and celebrations. I have to admit while the new dance sequence and celebration shots where nice they certainly aren't worth watching the Special Edition for. As for the new score to accompany these new sequences -- call me resistant to change, but the old one was just fine. Changing the old score was the only thing that I can honestly say that I think was a mistake. It's not that it was bad, but I think most Star Wars fans are like me in that they have probably seen Return Of The Jedi a dozen times. When a familiar piece of music wasn't where I expected it to be I felt as if I was missing something. Hey, the original John Williams score was brilliant - don't mess with perfection. But don't let this minor criticism make you think that the update hurts Return Of The Jedi, it's still as wonderful as it was when it was first released. My point is merely that if you can't find the Special Edition in your local video store; don't be too disappointed -- the original version isn't a whole lot different. For a few brief seconds towards the end credits, maybe it's just a little bit better. Whether you've seen the first two films or not, Return Of The Jedi is easily two of the most enjoyable hours you will ever spend watching a film. A word of warning though; if you are simply renting the Special Edition to see the improvements -- don't bother. You will just end up being disappointed. Rent the updated version of Star Wars instead. 10/10 Reviewed October 27, 1998 by Joe Chamberlain