Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Phil Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew and Frank Oz. Script by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, from a story by George Lucas. Produced by Howard Kazanjian, music by John Williams directed by Richard Marquand. Running time 132 minutes.
The concluding chapter in the original Star Wars trilogy arrived three years after Empire into a world that was Star Wars obsessed, and its haul at the boxoffice set a record that wouldn't be beaten until the arrival of Avengers: End Game in 2019.
This time round, Lucas (creatively spent) embraced the maxim, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." and elected not to come up with something new but just to remake Star Wars and change some of the locations. It was so successful that Disney used the same technique with 2015's Star Wars: The Farce Awakens.
This time round, Luke, who has grown up to become a 'self-identifying', self-taught Jedi knight armed with his kit-built part-works light sabre, embarks on the most ridiculous rescue mission in the history of anything by giving away all his worldly goods (two third-hand droids), getting his sister kidnapped, his best friend's best friend arrested and handing himself over to the galaxy's worst gangster in multi-staged mission that needs everyone involved to be captured and delivered to a location in the middle of the desert to work. After that, Luke remembers he's left a vulnerable old man alone in a run-down, damp-ridden hovel with no food or fuel after promising he'd be back and races off to make sure he can't be accused of elder abuse by social services. Meanwhile, his dad is suffering some serious work-place bullying from his boss and is forced to try and recruit his own son into the business.
To achieve this, the Empire decides to bankrupt itself by building a second Death Star (because the first one was so successful) and advertising the event in the hope that the ever dwindling Rebel Reliance will send its entire fleet, numbering in the 10s of ships to attack the battle station. However the Empire isn't stupid and does away the single exhaust port weak-spot and instead builds a remote shield generator on a planet ruled by teddy-bears so stupid they build huge bon-fires in the tree-top cities of wooden huts and bark ropes.
Anyway, Luke ignores all advice and visits his dad at work and ends up helping to kill not one but two more old men and then secretly burning their bodies in an attempt to destroy evidence, which takes his body count of old men to four. Jesus, Luke really hates the elderly.
And that's the plot, sort of.
By the time this came out I was 20 years old, at art college and still dazed by the awesomeness of The Thing, Blade Runner, Wrath of Khan and Megaforce that had come out the previous year and thought that Star Wars now seemed lame-o in comparison.
Over the years I rewatched it countless times and seen it at the cinema each time it's re-released. Of the three Star Wars films it's the most skillful in terms of the special effects, it's bloody well directed by Marquand and the action is deeply impressive, however the writing is weaker, Han Solo has become a shadow of his former impressiveness and at times comes across as a petulant teenager, particularly when chastely snogging Leia or leading a band of generic red coats, sorry green coats, on a mission to take out the field generator. (hey, doesn't he do the same thing in The Farce Awakens, wow, talk about de-ja-vu). And Luke just doesn't cut the mustard as a wise old Jedi master, judging by this film all it takes is a few lame mind tricks and the ability to get your ass handed to you in every fight, and his attempts at wisdom and leadership comes across as delusion.
Anyway, it's still a satisfying conclusion to these first three films and let's face it everything else that came after it pales into insignificance. I never would have believed that I'd reach an age where the news of yet another spin-off TV show, or block-buster film set in a galaxy far far away would leave me, not giddy with excitement, but world-weary with grim foreboding. If only Lucas had left well enough alone.
Anyhoo, it's done! Next up the sequels, I bet they stand the test of time!
8/10
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