5) Star Wars: Episode VI – Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Directed by: Richard Marquand
Written by: George Lucas, Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, David Prowse, Alec Guinness, Warwick Davis
There’s a lot to love about Return Of The Jedi – and some at which to cringe. The trio of Han, Luke, and Leia begin the film fighting to be reunited, as Han is frozen in carbonite in the palace of notorious crime lord, Jabba The Hutt. Luke, Leia and Lando Calrissian try to rescue him, resulting in Han being woken, but Leia being enslaved by Jabba, and Luke, Lando and Han being taken to the Pit of Sarlacc for execution. The group escapes, with Leia killing Jabba The Hutt – and they then join the mission to destroy the second Death Star that is nearing completion.
The film thrives on each member of the team seizing the chance to make their own individual contribution to the fight. They work together to free their comrade, then essentially split up to fight on. Lando leads the fighter attack on the deadly structure, Han leads the ground forces to disable the shield generator on Endor, Leia gets to chase some stormtroopers on a 74-Z speeder bike, before being saved by some Ewoks, and Luke confronts Darth Vader, once and for all.
It’s a highly satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy, and one that does great justice to these wonderful characters. However, there are some cringe-worthy flaws. The enslavement of Leia by Jabba The Hutt is nothing more than the gratuitous objectification of this otherwise brilliant female character. She has spent two films being a capable, fully-clothed leader, and her treatment in the Hutt palace is nothing more than the act of bringing a powerful woman low. This is slightly counteracted by the fact that Leia gets to throttle her captor with his own chains, but she must still suffer the indignity of clambering around to escape wearing nothing but a gold bikini.
Then, there’s the ending on Endor. Having successfully completed their mission, and with Darth Vader dead, Han, Luke, and Leia regroup amid the treetops of the Ewok village. It’s at this point that all of the air is cleared, and all the brewing misunderstandings about their relationships with each other are resolved – but it feels very much like a rushed attempt at tying the ribbon on the already completed package.