I’ll admit that I enjoy bashing George Lucas…a lot. I’ve stated on many occasions that I feel Lucas’ creative decline started with Return of the Jedi. He played it safe and didn’t take the chances that he took with Empire Strikes Back. Empire Strikes Back will always be one of the best Sci-fi films from my generation.
However, I’ve bashed Return of the Jedi pretty much since I’ve started this blog. Yes, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel, yet I don’t find shooting fish that much enjoyable to begin with. I decided to write 50 things I found good about Return of the Jedi.
I believe a magazine named Sci-fi Universe wrote 100 things that sucked about Return of the Jedi. They ripped the movie to shreds, and I still have that issue around here somewhere. I figured I’d do the opposite and force myself to note all the things I liked about this flawed film instead. I’ll do ten each post from time to time.
1. The Opening Shot: After the opening scroll flies away, there’s an impressive shot of the half constructed Death Star II above Endor. The music here is mysterious and the shot of the Star Destroyer moving into the screen was nicely directed. It gives us a connection to A New Hope and Empire with their opening Star Destroyer shots. Nice work.
2. The Wimpy Commander: You know that guy that has the ‘oh, shit Darth Vader’ expression when Vader comes walking out of the shuttle. It goes to prove that this commander probably kissed someone’s ass to get the promotion and position. If he didn’t shit his pants when Vader arrived, he surly did when Vader told him that The Emperor was arriving soon. “The Emperor is coming here? We’ll double our efforts.”
3. Luke’s Black suit: Nice change from the lighter tones we saw from the earlier movies. Now we know where Venom came from…
4. Boba Fett likes the ladies: This was added to the Special Edition version. Boba was such a bad ass, and now we discovered that he kept his pimp hand strong. Hey, clones need loving too. “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Boba Fett &$%*.”
5. Boba’s nod to Leia: When Princess Leia is dressed in the bounty hunter gear, Boba gives her an approval nod.
6. Admiral Piett’s Return!: There was a lot of wonderful stuff with Piett during Empire, and we nearly thought he was going to die at the end of Empire Strikes Back, but I guess Vader had a soft spot for the guy. Great actor and character, despite the fact he’s not given much to do in this movie. “It’s an older code.”
7. Mark Hamill’s Performance: He plays Luke with more confidence. It shows there has been at least a year between Empire and Jedi. He’s learned something from his defeat in Empire. There’s a great message in that.
8. John Williams’ The Emperor Theme: Using low male voices, it’s one of the better cues in Return. Nice use of it in Ep 1-3 too.
9. That Fat Dancer: The one that dances behind the cute one during Jabba’s band number. I’m guessing Jabba doesn’t really care if they’re skinny or fat.
10. The New Jabba Song: While it is still bad, the Special Edition song is better than the old ‘Work it out’ tune. Gotta love the new CGI character too. Plus, there’s a little more footage added to scene.
AWESOME pic of the Death Star.
ReplyDeleteWierd thing is i was just looking for a great pic of it because my hubby is going to have me paint it onto a small replica we're creating for our mini action figures
Admiral Piett is the only notable Imperial commander in the whole SW universe. I remember the end of ESB waiting for him to start grabbing his throat as Vader sqeezed the life out of him. I do wish there was more of him in Return...but that's how life goes in Lucas' sell out world.
ReplyDeletepaul
Mayren: I love the design of the Death Star II. It really looks like something that looks like something under construction. It gives the movie its look.
ReplyDeletePaul: I didn't notice the Piett role was reduced in this film until I watched it recently. The actor is just great, he can display smugness and fear in the same scene. Watch the way he acts when Vader enters any scene