"50 Reasons Why Return of the Jedi (isn't all that great)"

[Qonundrum]

https://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/50-reasons-why-return-of-the-jedi-sucks/

It was always a half-baked retread of the 1977 original. and I've blathered on some of the points before, but there are a few details that certainly surprised me.

Side note: (#31 and #41 are my favorites!! #15 should have been obvious at the time for anyone who's sat through the then all-three outings... Few would argue against #1, and-- c'mon, y'all know it'll be a thoroughly fun read! )

But I'll agree, #14 has the author stretching because "49 Reasons Why Return of the Jedi Sucks" just doesn't feel the same...

Here's a partial excerpt:

Rather than floating in one place, he fades in 20 feet away and walks up to Luke, eventually resting his non-corporeal butt on a rock. The ensuing two-way conversation scrambles to tie up too many loose ends at once, made worse by the fact that the character saying it all shouldn’t even be there on such a literal level. And unlike his similarly flawed Dagobah appearance in Empire, Jedi never lets us see Obi-Wan fade back into oblivion once his message is delivered. For all we know, he and Luke could have spent hours hanging out and gossiping like housewives.

To be fair, ROTJ has one real strong point despite the partial plot repetition: The Luke/Vader/Emperor scenes make up for every little nitpick and then some.

 

[BillJ]

Number 10 says it all for me...

10. Solo – In Empire, Threepio stated that the carbonite would keep Solo safe, provided he survived the freezing process. Safe, yes, but Threepio said nothing about the side-effects. Namely, that people in carbon-freeze gain 20 pounds and take on the demeanor of Ward Cleaver on Quaaludes. Wars and Empire established Solo as a braggart, pirate and all-around scoundrel. In Jedi, he’s just a good-hearted, slack-jawed simp whose comments and actions are almost exclusively played for laughs.

In not a single scene does Solo have the same acerbic edge he possessed in the previous films. Harrison Ford does nothing to help the situation (perhaps to his credit), acting with a boredom rarely paralleled as he kills time waiting for another Indiana Jones installment.

He was bored, I was bored.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

I didn't read the article, but a lot of people complain about Luke's poor plan to rescue Han. it was not a poor plan to rescue Han.. because it wasn't a plan.. not really.

His ONLY plan was to find a way to get everyone inside. He likely didn't know they layout of the palace, how many guards were there, what their relative strengths were. It's possible he didn't even know what Jabba LOOKED likle. So the only bit of planning he could do was just enough to get everyone of his friends in the palace. Lando would be a guard, Chewie and Leia and would be bounty and bounty hunter respectively, the droids would be a peace offering, etc. He knew (and had enough faith in his friends) that once everyone was inside and once he could have a look around, that the time to put everyone in motion would become clear.. without him even having to say it outright.

 

[Campe]

Although a lot of the points are nitpicky (I mean, it is a list of 50), the article does bring up some good points. It’s just not a great movie. But it has some great sequences!

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

A new Hope is the best film. Empire is the most well-made. Jedi has the single best SCENES in it

 

[fireproof78]

ROTJ suffered most from sequelitis and behind the scenes ups and downs. I mean, one draft had Wedge panicking on an escort mission, which I don't think fans would have appreciated. Also, drafts considered having two or three Death Stars being constructed, not just one.

I think the Death Star retread is probably my biggest struggle, along with the uneven flow towards the middle. of the film. Han Solo definitely feels like an afterthought at times. But, the throne room sequence and space battle are top-notch.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

It's been 18 years since he wrote that article which was written 18 years after ROTJ. I may not be around to see his insights into ROTS lol

 

[ichab]

When has ROTJ ever been considered GREAT? Most fans consider it inferior to the two previous entries.

 

[Vger23]

So the prequels totally suck, the new movies obviously are abominations, and ROTJ blows Wookiee chunks.

Got it.


For everyone keeping score, the most succcessful movie franchise in history has only produced 2 good movies out of 9 (22.2% success rate).

Genre fans crack me up.

 

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

So the prequels totally suck, the new movies obviously are abominations, and ROTJ blows Wookiee chunks.

Got it.


For everyone keeping score, the most succcessful movie franchise in history has only produced 2 good movies out of 9 (22.2% success rate).

Genre fans crack me up.

it's the idea.. the setting.. of SW that is more interesting than any one film

 

[BillJ]

For everyone keeping score, the most succcessful movie franchise in history has only produced 2 good movies out of 9 (22.2% success rate).

I think it is 50/50 for me. With The Rise of Skywalker representing something of a tie-breaker.

 

[Vger23]

I think it is 50/50 for me. With The Rise of Skywalker representing something of a tie-breaker.

I'm on it today....family movie day!

 

[BillJ]

I'm on it today....family movie day!

Our showing starts @ 11:45. Originally, it was just me, my wife and twelve year old son. Found out a bit ago my daughter and her boyfriend are going to be in the same showing.

 

[Campe]

Our showing starts @ 11:45. Originally, it was just me, my wife and twelve year old son. Found out a bit ago my daughter and her boyfriend are going to be in the same showing.

I anxiously await your review, good sir!

 

[CorporalClegg]

There isn't a Star Wars film I don't like. And if given the choice, I'd gladly choose any of the eleven out of a whole lot of other shit that exists in the world.

I also don't think any of them fall under the label "bad movie," despite how some treat it as a universal truth that TPM is on the same level as Battlefield Earth, which is absurd.

That's not to say I don't think all the films after Empire have problems. But even Clones has a lot to like about it. And as someone who lives in a desert, Anakin was totally right about the sand.

 

[Campe]

I also don't think any of them fall under the label "bad movie," despite how some treat it as a universal truth that TPM is on the same level as Battlefield Earth, which is absurd.

TPM for me is the best of the prequels. And I do find enjoyment in some form or another in all of the films. To varying levels of course.

 

[cooleddie74]

ROTJ is the weakest of the Original Trilogy films for me but it's still a very solid and extremely entertaining film that hits all the right emotional beats and concluded the OT on a very strong note. I'd never have changed "Lapti Nek" to "Jedi Rocks" but that's another debate for another post.

 

[cooleddie74]

So the prequels totally suck, the new movies obviously are abominations, and ROTJ blows Wookiee chunks.

Got it.


For everyone keeping score, the most succcessful movie franchise in history has only produced 2 good movies out of 9 (22.2% success rate).

Genre fans crack me up.

The ratio of good Star Trek or James Bond films to bad would also probably be disheartening if we polled the average Trek and Bond fans on the Internet. Given how many people in our own community express pretty strong dislike for, say, TMP, TFF, GEN, INS or BEY I doubt our own fandom would allow us to shine brightly if we saw how we viewed the movies we claim to support and enjoy both in the theater and at home.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

So the prequels totally suck, the new movies obviously are abominations, and ROTJ blows Wookiee chunks.

Got it.


For everyone keeping score, the most succcessful movie franchise in history has only produced 2 good movies out of 9 (22.2% success rate).

Interesting thing is, many have said that about the Star Trek movies (counting the TOS and TNG moves), usually referring to one as, "Oh, the good one" as if its rare for the series to have a more than one or two good (or greater) entries.

 

[Smellmet]

Swap the ewoks for wookies and ROTJ approaches (but doesn't equal) the standards of the first two in my opinion. It has other issues - pacing and Ford's performance/solos portrayal but it's high points are among the best in the entire saga.