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I'm surprised to hear that the speeder bike scene didn't do anything for you, it's one of the highlights for me and everyone else I've heard talk about it. The way it combines miniature work, live footage, and green/blue screening is pretty impressive.

As for the tonal whiplash, I've never really had that problem myself. I think the film does a good job of separating the goofy scenes from the dramatic ones. I also don't think the Ewoks in the final battle were meant to be seen as goofy; based on what's been said by the cast and crew, it seems like they were meant to be seen as noble warriors in that battle. That's a definite miscalculation on Lucas' part, but I don't think it was deliberately pandering to children in that sequence.

Something I'm surprised you didn't mention was the second Death Star. That's a pretty common point of contention between fans of the film and its detractors. Personally, I think it works for three reasons. First, within the fictional universe, building a new one is a reasonable decision on the Empire's part. It did work the first time, and the only reason it was destroyed was a one-in-a-million shot by a Force-user no one knew about. So long as they account for that, the new Death Star would be unstoppable once completed. And wouldn't you know it, the Emperor did account for that and manipulated Luke into coming aboard the new Death Star so he couldn't blow it up.

Second, the way it's destroyed is different from what happened in the climax of Star Wars. If you break down how the climaxes of each film are structured, they're very different. Star Wars' climax is very lean and focused, whereas ROTJ has three threads running at once. There's the space battle, the forest battle, and Luke's battle. The space battle is only one part of the greater whole, and it also plays out very differently from how it did in Star Wars. The action and the way the Millenium Falcon destroys it are fundamentally different from how Luke destroyed the original. Despite the use of the same weapon, the way the climax feels is significantly different, due in large part to the next point.

Third, the role the Death Star II (Electric Boogaloo) plays in the story is not the same as the role the first one did. The first one was the symbolic representation of the Empire's power and ruthlessness, as well as a ticking clock for the heroes. This second one is neither. It's bait for the Emperor's trap. Even if it wasn't working, the plot could proceed the same as it does. It's functionality only serves to reinforce the Emperor's cunning, showing that he was able to both hide it from the Rebellion while it wasn't working, and trick them into attacking after it became operational. The Death Star II is not the main threat, the Emperor is.

Okay, that turned out way longer than I expected. 😛

Minor correction: Sebastian Shaw would be at least the fourth person to play some aspect of Darth Vader.  Olympic fencer Bob Anderson played Vader in the lightsaber sequences in Empire and Jedi.

One of the challenges of Return... The first movie didn't have any promises to deliver on. It just had to be a fun adventure film. The second movie didn't really have any promise to fulfill except to give us another fun adventure and deepen the world building. But those two films set up promises that Return had to fulfill. It had been set up as a conclusion, and that, I think really hamstrings the creative process. If they'd followed the original serial framing where it just needed to be another fun adventure, I think it would have been easier to deliver something better. And Revenge has an even bigger problem of having to fulfill more promises...one of which is ending on a predetermined down note.

I don't know how true it is but I heard the Ewoks were supposed to just be Wookies but they didn't have the budget so they just... cut them in half to make Ewoks. That or my dad just lied to my and is laughing his ass off.

I think 1986's Labrynrh makes for a good comparison. It's clearly a kids film, but the effects are so impressive and the story is so entertaining that adults seeing it for the first time can walk away loving it.

5:45 you can never get me to hate this scene. Thats ben burtts (sound designer for star wars) cameo where he does an impression of the whilhelm scream which he made famous!

Man, the speeder bike chase and the Endor space battle were my favorite parts of the entire OT.

Might be the time period you grew up in, but most movies just didn't do stuff like that back then. It was something special.

Reminds me of the time my wife saw me playing Link to the Past and commented on how old the graphics looked. My answer was back when I was a teenager they were cutting edge.

I just remember that it was a “happy ending” but sucked that there weren’t anymore movies, my childhood was ending, growing up, growing “old”.  Can’t believe it was 16 years until the prequels started.  Seemed like a lifetime.  God, time flies when you get older.  16 years ago now was like yesterday.

Good video! But you skipped over the fact that ROTJ has the best space battle ever! Nearly 50 years later, the attack on the second Death Star is as exciting as anything ever filmed.

I love the Ewoks. 😂

Edit: I agree the movie could have been much better. I enjoy it, but it isn’t the same quality as the first two.

I saw it in theaters and I agree with you about the beginning and ending. The ewoks felt to me like a commercial for new merchandise. Which my son was thrilled to let me know.
Thanks for your deep dives. I always learn something new in your videos.
Never forget the Wilhelm scream !

14:45 - I’ve been enjoying these reviews so far, so when this series gets to the prequels, I really hope this channel doesn’t fall into the trap of underplaying the effort that goes into digital effects in comparison to the classic practical effects. I love practical effects and models, but I also know that digital still takes a whole bunch of time and effort, so the CGI in the prequels is still really impressive to me, especially given the technology at the time and how they blended digital and practical effects together. The Phantom Menace was basically the first modern VFX movie, so the fact that they did all of that with fricken 1990s technology is nuts to me.

Seems like the DGA completely lost that fight in the end. So many movies don’t have titles in the beginning anymore

6:46 Just how interchangeable are Imperial officers? Just ask Private Perkins who's been strangled by Vader over 30 times!

Return of the Jedi was released the same month as my 4th birthday. I remember my parents taking me to see it at the theater.

Christopher I love your stuff and for a month I was so afraid that you weren't releasing this series anymore. It's by far my favorite ..
Anyway, commenting for boost. I hope the numbers on these pick up!! ❤❤🎉

I think what's most interesting about star wars is that none of the Lucas-era films are fundamentally the same. Star Wars went wrong when they tried to do the same thing again but new. And thats why it is 'ok' that Episode 6 is tonally different from the others, in fact all are tonally different from each other.

I like ROTJ. It's an enjoyable end to the story. Has some small problems, but is still fun to watch. A lot of its strength is in the fact that we are invested in these characters. Which is really a strength of the previous movies. But it still makes this one easier to watch.

On my last rewatch I enjoyed ROTJ the most out of the original trilogy. I can't say exactly why as it's been a while now, but I like that it slows down in the middle and feels well sandwiched by action. Of course I agree with all your points, the movie is of course flawed, but I remembered it as a fun and fantastic finale.