50 Good Things About Return of the Jedi (21-30)

21. Han looks at his ship one last time: After some unconvincing banter between Han and Lando, this little moment where he stares at his ship, believing it will be the last time he will see the ship is nice. This was a perfect moment for the character. Yet, His character doesn’t serve the story that well after this.

22. The Music during the Yoda Death scene (Paul’s note): Paul brought it up, and it is a good point. Williams wrote a nice cue during this scene. Williams brings back one of the best themes, besides the Empire theme, to Return, Yoda’s theme. (Note: The Extended Soundtrack with this on it is one of the better tracks.)

23. Wedge Returns!: I always liked Wedge and it was neat that Lucas included him in every major rebel space ship battle. In this movie, he gets a little more screen time. Denis Lawson is the shit. “Wow, that got him.”

24. Admiral Ackbar: Okay he’s probably one of the worst Commanders since that Captain of the Enterprise B, but he certainly looked cool. Come on, a Fish Guy. (Lando must not respect him, because he never listens to his orders. Then again, no Fish Guy can order Mr. Cult 45.)

25. The Rebel Fleet going into Hyperdrive: I always loved this short scene. We see Lando lead the smaller fighters between the larger ships with a cool Special Effects shot of all the ships zooming away at the end of the scene. This is what Lucas always does right.

26. R2 zapping that Stupid Ewok: I only wished we had more of this…

27. The Emperor: Ian McDiarmid just does a wonderful job with this limited role. We only get small hints that there’s a reason why this little old man is the leader of the largest power in the galaxy. (I have to give Lucas credit for expanding Ian’s role in the prequels, and making him a fascinating character.)

28. The AT-ST: Every boy, and some girls, wanted this ‘chicken walker’ as a toy. Even though they made a small appearance in Empire Strikes Back, their big moment came in this film. I think I had this toy, but I couldn’t get the cooler AT-AT toy though.

29. The Speeder Chase: It is almost required to have this on your list. You can see where Lucas was going with this for the later Pod Race scene in Ep1.

30. The Speeder Trooper hitting the tree: Remember when Luke throws the trooper off the bike and the trooper hits that big ass tree? I loved this moment, and the sound effect was great. I don’t think he’s walking away from that impact.