Star Wars : Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) Film Review

The last of the original trilogy. And I have to say that watching the three of these films almost back to back have made me less hateful. No, I wasn’t hateful. I was indifferent. No, I think now I am indifferent. Previously, I was disliking. Now, I totally see what people love it so much, but it ain’t my cup of tea.

What didn’t I like? Well, I think the problem with no seeing it over a gap of several years means I didn’t really see the character development happening, especially of Luke. It feels as though one second he is a young fool and the next a wise Jedi (or close to) and, despite several films of plot development, I didn’t feel that I’d seen him grow. Also, if the Emperor was that easy to get rid of, why hadn’t they? And seriously, how quickly can you rebuild a Death Star? Like, months? Surely, it should have been decades or longer. Oh, I also didn’t like the ewoks.

What did I like? I liked all the action in the forest. And while a lot of it was really spoilt by the terrible acting and heavy-handed clue giving, treating the audience like fools, it was still pretty. Actually, there wasn’t much more I really liked about it. But I guess the characters had kind of grown on me, and I was glad to see all ended well. Now, the new one? Well, goodness only knows what I’ll think of that.

Return of the Jedi won Oscars for Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Effects – Sound Effects Editing and Best Music – Original Score.

 

Star Wars : Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Film Review

Okay, so this is the post Star Wars world. And just because things are going well, doesn’t mean that things will continue to go well, and things are now not going well for our heroes. I must admit, I don’t remember the details of this film nearly as much as I remembered Star Wars. Still, not loving this film, but not hating it.

What did I not like? Oh, dear, the acting. Mark Hamill is a lot better in this film, but overall, jeepers, it’s all so terrible and heavy-handed and yawn. Plus, could the scooby gang be any cheesier? What did I like? The ice planet was pretty cool. And there were some cool fight scenes.

The Empire Strikes Back won Oscars for Best Sound and Visual Effects and was nominated for Best Art Direction – Set Design and Best Music – Original Score.

Star Wars : Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) Film Review

So, over the last few years, I’ve allowed myself to admit something that brings shame to any self-respecting Gen X geek such as myself; I don’t like Star Wars. And no, I’m not just talking about the apparently god-awful prequels, because I believe I have only seen a part of one of those. No, the original. And I’ve avoided re-watching because I have little interest.

And now, there is apparently another Star Wars film that is, this time, quite good. And I’ve been sucked in to going to see it. And so, I need to revisit the first ones. Because apart from all the usual spoilers, all I really remember clearly are the trash compactor scene, flying through the woods and um, oh, the dead bodies of Luke’s aunt and uncle.

I’m not going to do a plot summary; it’s about wars that happen in the stars. There’s other stuff you should know, but just watch it.

Was it as bad as I remember? Look, no. But I still didn’t like it. I found the acting absolutely appalling, the story quite tedious and I had little interest in the world I was shown. What did I like? The humour – between Han (Harrison Ford) and C3P0 (Anthony Daniels), there are a lot of fun lines. Um, that’s pretty much it. I understand why people love it. I can see the elements that would make it loved and I get why people want to watch it over and over again, and share with their kids and all that. Just… not me. Thanks, though.

Star Wars won Oscars for Best Art Direction – Set Design, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Effects – Visual Effects, Best Music – Original Score and for Sound Effects, and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Alec Guiness), Best Director (George Lucas) and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (George Lucas).