LBY >>>>>>>>>> Gizmo
Star Wars really winning hearts with baby Yoda.
Star Wars Re-Review - Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
This is the movie that cemented my love for Star Wars when I was 5 years old. It is my earliest theater memory along with Temple of Doom and Romancing the Stone (my parents were awesome) and as I mentioned earlier was part of a double feature with Empire Strikes Back. The whole opening scene where Vader is getting on the slow ass construction issues with the Death Star and telling him the Emperor is coming got me excited to finally see him in person, and then the Jabba's palace scene plays out wonderfully with a badass Luke taking on a Rancor and then the Sarlacc rescue was recreated several times in hand dug pits in my back yard. One day rain came as I was doing this and I quickly buried some troopers and Lando for safety as I ran in clutching the others, they are still buried back in my parents yard somewhere... will have to do an archaeological dig soon.
Then we had MORE awesome scenes! The speeder chase on Endor! Han attacking the bunker with Ewoks! And of course the climatic duel with Vader as the Emperor cackles and looks on. 5 year old me was in heaven, but how does the movie hold up today?
Surprisingly, I still really enjoy ROTJ for long stretches despite this film being one of the first ones criticized on Internet forums back in 1983! This one is clearly a huge tonal shift from the dark and moody Empire Strikes Back, but there are enough classic scenes to make up for its more innocent approach. I am indifferent to Ewoks now, but I did love them as a kid. I also like the idea that they more than likely ate the Imperial Troops they killed as they seemed to have a knack for cooking people alive so that is pretty metal.
The highlights for me continue to be Jabba's Skiff Fight, the speeder chase on Endor, the space battle of Endor, and the iconic throne room duel on Death Star II that has my single favorite shot in nearly all of the saga. THIS tracking shot of Luke going berserk on Vader as the operatic score rises still sends a chill down my spine (starts at 1:26):
Return of the Jedi is not without its flaws. Many things that went on to plague later entries are born here, but they are not enough to distract from the overall experience. I do agree with Harrison Ford that Han should have died in this one to raise the stakes, but it is still a fitting end to the original trilogy. As far as Special Edition changes the only majorly stupid one is the Jedi Rocks dance sequence in Jabba's Palace, most of the other ones are well done (like adding the beak to the Sarlacc Monster) or harmless.
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Re-Review Score: 8/10
And of course this classic scene spawned thanks to the second Death Star:
FYI: Kevin Smith has announced that "Clerks 3" is coming. I enjoyed Clerks II in color.
Bwhahahahahahaha. I cant unsee this now.
Star Wars Re-Review - Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Home stretch! Just one more movie to go after this and my journey to The Rise of Skywalker with my son is complete. But first, I must say that this teaser for The Force Awakens is still one of my favorite Star Wars trailers ever:
The Force Awakens represents a lot of things to me. First, it represents the first Star Wars movie I was able to watch with my son in the theater and experience with him and that will always be special. The other big thing it represents is a promise of great Star Wars content for years to come! While the verdict is still out on that, Disney's acquisition has been a blessing and a curse and in many ways The Force Awakens is a microcosm of that.
I actually hadn't watched The Force Awakens in quite a long time and was looking forward to viewing with a fresh set of eyes. I remember the first time watching it in the theater and enjoying it, but being taken aback about how much it felt like a reboot of A New Hope. A young person on a desert planet comes in contact with a droid carrying secret data which is also being sought by an evil man in a black mask? Seriously? They even used concept art from Tatooine that was meant for Return of the Jedi for the "new" planet of Jakku. Regardless the movie was swift and fun, and I really enjoyed some of the new characters like Rey and Kylo.
Actually, I think it may be easier to just break this down by the good and bad for the film for me:
The Good
- Some of the best special effects of the saga
- Great to see old characters again
- Kylo and Rey are interesting characters
- The idea of Finn being a deserter from the First Order is a neat concept
- BB-8 is a fun addition
- The pacing of the movie is very fast and tight
- Love the "flashback" scene when Rey touches the lightsaber
- The final lightsaber battle is pretty haunting and beautiful
The Not So Good
- This is very much a reboot of A New Hope despite what anyone says
- Death Star type weapon... again
- World building is lacking. It feels like they go from a desert to a planet with trees to a snowy planet with trees with not much going on in those worlds
- Production design seems lazy. Slightly updated stormtrooper armor and the rest just seems like they took old stuff and painted it black like the TIE fighters
- Cool concepts are introduced and quickly forgotten i.e. The Knights of Ren
- Zero explanation of the Resistance or the First Order and why it seems like nothing has changed since the fall of the Empire
- The music gets lost in this one. Where is the memorable new theme from this film?
Perhaps my biggest issue with The Force Awakens is that they could've went anywhere with this story and instead chose the safest path. I can handle another planet sized weapon, but how about this time the good guys take control of it instead of blowing it up? Then we are left with something familiar but new. After Star Killer wipes out the Republic core worlds and now the good guys have the weapon in their hands what do they do with it? Instead we are left an ambiguous ending with Rey holding out a lightsaber to a concerned looking Luke. At the time I was ok with that because I felt JJ setup some good questions to be answered, but the lack of overall story plan really manifests itself in this first entry into the sequel trilogy as we will come to find out.
I understood that The Force Awakens had the unenviable task of satisfying old fans and bringing in new ones, but they needed more confidence in telling a new story in my opinion. It is what it is, and what it was just seemed to be good enough to me. Overall it was a fun, harmless film but I felt like I just wanted to get to certain cool parts when watching it again.
Next up: The Last Jedi.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Re-Review Score: 7/10
This is my favorite thing to come out of the Force Awakens:
I have been rewatching all as well, will finish the second half of force awakens tonight.
I am reminded how much Fin drives me crazy, can't stand the character.
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