Lt Ripley

That's the difference between a retarded villian and a smart villian. You do not undermine your superiors authority or go behind his back if you are smart. You do not want your superior having any inkling that you are going to take him out.

Iron_Giant

Jedi has always gotten a bum rap, it was a great movie.
1. Open 20 minutes (until Jabba blows up in the sand)
2. Air Motor Chase
3. Space battles (almost overwhelming, may have been too many ships)
4. Space ships chasing inside the hollow Death Star
5. Luke telling his sister the are related
6. Empire
7. Darth and Luke battle it out
8. Darth saves the day (Anakin really did bring balance to the Force)

Iron_Giant

That is the way of the Dark Side...

Lt Ripley

But...but there was still good in him.

james2025a

I have always like dJedi. I think a large part of it has to do with the fact that i was a kid (10 years old) when it came out and i had loved the other two. I do actually prefer Jedi to Star Wars. IMO Star Wars/A New Hope is maybe the least enjoyable. I still like the movie a lot...but i just find too many areas in it where it drags. The whole Tattoine bit with Luke and his Uncle and Aunt, R2 buggering off into the desert. And to be honest i think the whole Death Star thing at the end is a bit over rated. Empire really brought it to another level. But i think the Space battle at the end of Jedi was fantastic...the best out of the whole series easily. I liked the way Luke was portrayed....i was sick of him being a whiny brat. Remember also that maybe a year or two has passed between films in this universe....so i think its justified that he has learn't more, become more experienced and level headed. I also like the Vader/Luke fight at the end. I don't think any of the fights in any of the films matches the the one in Empire...but this is a great fight none the less. I have been and never will be a fan of Ewoks though. I wish Lucas had stuck with his original plan of having them as Wookies....now that would have been kick ass.

Egon's Ghost

Well put. A true fuckin' epic.

Lt Ripley

But I was going to go to Tasche Station to pick up some power converters!

FRwL

He gave it 4 stars

Kudama

I'll admit that, after Lucas went wealth mad (like Michael Jackson) and turned out the last three bloody turds, the ROTJ is brilliant by comparison. Shown with the first two films to stand up against...it is the beginning of the : pukingsmilie:

Strevlac

Thread revival time.

So I've obtained "grey-market" HD reconstructions of the original versions of these movies and watched them over the last few nights for the first time in many, many years. Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back are still exhilarating. The kind of movies that just make you feel like a million bucks after watching. But....I was surprised how crappy & boring Return Of The Jedi was. So naturally I came to DVDTalk to read folks opinions.

It doesn't surprise me that there are others that have issues with this film but what does surprise me is no one has mentioned the generally crappy technical filmmaking. It all feels so clunky and slapdash. All of the scenes feel like first takes. It also feels like very little care went into lighting, photography and editing. And a lot of the special effects are worse than Empire which was made three years earlier. In comparison Empire is a swiss fucking watch. Every shot is beautiful and perfectly framed & edited and the drama builds beautifully...there's an elegance the way it goes from A to B to C. Jedi is all fits and starts and seems like a bit of a mess...especially the rancor pit and that sail barge battle.

Still, there are a few things to like. Jabba is a great character. The speeder bike chase is ok. The space battle lacks tension but flying inside the death star, blowing up the thingamajig and racing back to the surface was great. Admiral Ackbar is cool. Ian McDiarmid was pretty good. Vader's funeral pire and John William's music made a great little scene. Can't think of much else good I'm afraid.

Anyway, that's my impression.

brayzie

ROTJ was my introduction to Star Wars so that's why I have a soft spot for it. After watching ESB a few years ago though, I realized, THAT film was the best one of the trilogy.

But I still like Return better than the original Star Wars aka ANH. The final confrontation between him and Vader alone makes up for any flaws in the rest of the film, for me atleast.

A New Hope is okay but the effects aren't as good as the next two installments, and Luke is really, really whiny, and looks completely different for some reason. I like Flash Gordon better than ANH.

The Antipodean

I like ROTJ a lot for sentimental reasons but agree it is the worst directed of the original trilogy. Very poor job.

Greg MacGuffin

I think I read somewhere that he was in a boating accident between Episode IV and V and had to have his face surgically reconstructed.

Edit: wikipedia says it was a car accident that occurred as they were finishing up Episode IV.

Michael Corvin

I don't have the same hatred as others for ROTJ. My biggest complaint is that after the kick ass intro at Jabba's palace the movie just grinds to a fucking halt until the final battle at the end. The second act is just dreadfully boring.

Nick Martin

For years I would fast-forward the VHS through almost the entire Jabba sequence up until Luke starts slicing people up with his new green lightsaber. I just hated that whole sequence as a kid.

I have the same "grey market" 'Despecialized' versions as well, and started watching Star Wars, not titled "A New Hope" last night.

islandclaws

The final battle between Luke and Vader, and Williams' score during it, always gives me chills.

The rest of it? It's fine, but I've also never been a huge SW fan.

toddly6666

I personally believe that ROTJ is the most rewatchable one ouy of all 6 movies. Maybe not the best movie, but the most rewatchable.

Strevlac

Yeah. From the second they leave Tatooine until Admiral Ackbars "It's a trap!" the movie is skull-crushingly boring. It's not that there's a lack of action. It's a lack of good drama. What happens during this, oh hour and a half? A lot of walking around in the woods intercut with the Emperor mumbling to Vader from his comfy chair. It'd be nice if Vader could've randomly killed someone every 15 minutes or so just to help keep us awake.

My Other Self

I grew up on the OT but ROTJ has always been my favorite. A lot of it now looking back is nostalgic but the scene in the forest with the land speeders is one of my fondest memories.

I would've ranked them as ROTJ, ESB, and ANH but after watching Empire a few months back I was actually kind of bored.

Shannon Nutt

Noooooooooooo! That's not true! That's impossible!!!

Throwing Copper

I guess I'm kinda weird as well. The original Star Wars is and always my favorite. Empire just bores me in a lot of parts, but none more than the long scene with Yoda in the middle.

Now, the last hour or so of Empire is great, but I just don't care for the stuff in the snow or the Yoda parts.

Cloud City kicks ass, IMO.

Nick Martin

Modified to reflect my similar view, just about the different films.

Shazam

I've always liked RotJ. Even the Ewoks. They showed that one didn't have to be physically mighty to bring down dictators.

Timber

I like RotJ but I've always felt it suffers from bad pacing in the middle. Pretty much the period between the escape from Tattooine until Luke meets Vader is really slow.

dhmac

Why grey market versions? Why not the 2006 DVDs with the original theatrical versions of each movie on bonus discs?