Star Wars: All The Movies Ranked From Worst To Best
3. Return Of The Jedi
When was the meeting where we all decided we didn't like Return Of The Jedi as much? Because I sure missed it. Episode VI has had a delayed backlash in recent years, with many now quick to declare it a major step down from the other original trilogy classics (and some even going as far as to calling it a bad film). Quite why is unclear - part of of it seems to be that many of the major fan complaints with the prequels seem to have their origins here (and that is somewhat true - producer Gary Kurtz dropped out on the back of some of Lucas' more commercial decisions), making it hypocritical to despise Jar Jar yet love Wicket. But this near-proliferation hides that this is a painfully contemporary stance - back in 1994, Kevin Smith based one of Clerks best exchanges around the crazy suggestion Empire was the superior sequel, clearly working against the grain. And while I wouldn't argue it's better than Star Wars and Empire, Jedi is still a brilliant film. It fully embraces Lucas' original idea of an ongoing serial, devoting the first third to cleaning up Empire's cliffhanger (the whole Jabba plot is one of the franchise's best extended sequences), then diving into a thematically continuous plot that offers up a great sense of resolution, from the big - Luke redeems Vader - to the personal - C-3PO overcomes his personal weaknesses and tells a good story (something seeded in the first movie). Richard Marquand may not be the most personal director, leading to suggestions George Lucas ghost directed vast swathes of the film, but that doesn't mean there's no some interesting choices here. What any distaste of Return Of The Jedi really shows is how Star Wars fans have a tendency to over-egg various elements (something the film sends up by slaying Empire's silent badass Boba Fett in the most flippant way possible) - the Ewoks may not be the most inspired creation ever, but the teddy bears never overstay their welcome (seriously - the golden deity subplot is humorously brief and their role in the Battle of Endor feels well structured). Besides, it's all worth it to have two/five movie's worth of build-up finally culminate with Vader's return to the light side.
