I just watched ‘Return of The Jedi’ again recently in hi-def. As a kid, distraught the the ‘baddies’ had ‘won’ in ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’ I loved Return of the Jedi’s optimism, the colours, the creatures and the sense that the Empire was finally going to get is ass-kicked. As I have gotten older, and seen ROTJ countless times, I do find so e of it problematic: The plot is choppy, there is none of the tetchy dialogue between Han, Luke and Leia that made the original ‘Star Wars’ (1977) a delight, and it stops and starts breaking the pace.

As with the below reviews, I do not have a problem with the Ewoks. As a kid and indeed now, I don’t see them as ‘cute’ (barring that baby one that gets scared at C-3PO’s story, aww!), rather, they are simply another set of creatures in the Star Wars Universe, like the Jawas, and it is hard to level the ‘cutesey’ accusations at the Ewoks when they get so stuck into the battle, unafraid to shoot Stormtroopers with arrows, crush Walkers with logs, and lasso Biker Scouts until they smash into trees. One would argue that they are a violent and savage race when it comes to it. And if that weren’t enough of a defence, the Ewoks are NOT rendered in CGI. My defence rests! The problem I do have is in the scenes at The Ewok Village, where the plot grinds to a halt for Luke, Leia, Han and then Luke and Vader to havre some slow scenes. This breaks up the breathless pace, that sense of going from one situation to another that made ANH and ESB so entertaining. And Leia in a bikini? May I venture a controversial view as a male? This is unsesscesary. I was around 4 years old when this came out, so it was never sexy for me, and sadly feels like a precursor of the poor treatment of female characters Lucas woould later dish out in ‘Revenge of The Sith’ where fiesty Leia’s mother dies from a broken heart. Shame on you George. Ther stories of Carrie Fisher’s misgivings about these scenes back this up. Is it sexy for me now? A little. Is it neccessary? No. The more I watch ROTJ, the more I see the flaws, however a part of me that is still a child still adores the bright colours, the vivid greens of Endor, Admiral Ackbar shouting ’IT’S A TRAP!‘, Jabba’s slimy denizens, harking back to the Cantina scene of ANH, and the spectacular space battles. That part of me will always have a soft spot for ‘Return of the Jedi,’ and keeps me coming back for more. I will likely leave it for awhile now as I can get sick of any film, but I know that after a break I’ll be happy to Return to a galaxy far far away, Ewoks and all.

Curt Milner.