Why It’s Still the Best ‘Star Wars’ Ending
Whether it’s waiting in a line around a mall on opening day or craving new “Star Wars” action figures at the toy store, if you were a kid there 40 years ago, you knew “Return of the Jedi” was a big deal. And you loved it.
When “Jedi” hit theaters on May 25, 1983, the box office was not ruled by the prequels and sequels. There weren’t even many movie franchises. Instead, we were just concerned about getting Han Solo out of that carbonite from “The Empire Strikes Back.”
Two more “Star Wars” trilogies followed, along with many other successful franchises that sprang up over the decades, but “Return of the Jedi” has aged pretty well. Here are five reasons why it’s still cool:
Luke Skywalker’s Hero Quest Is Still Timeless (Just Like His Dad’s)
In Star Wars, George Lucas’ 1977 original, Mark Hamill’s Luke started out as a whiny farm boy who jumped into an X-wing, used the Force, and blew up the Death Star. Luckily, he grew up a bit more in “Empire” – which was bound to happen, with all of Yoda’s lineup and Darth Vader becoming Luke’s space dad. But in “Jedi,” Luke is entirely in adult Jedi master mode, traveling to Jabba the Hutt’s palace to rescue Han (Harrison Ford), reveal to Leia (Carrie Fisher) that they are twin siblings, and confront the emperor for all marbles.
Anakin Skywalker, aka Vader, also completes an evolution, going from Jedi hero to villain lord to father of the year contender, throwing the Emperor down a well, and giving up his life for Luke’s. After all that’s happened, who doesn’t get a little verklempt when a dying Vader asks Luke to take off his mask and says – in the legendary voice of James Earl Jones – “Just for once, let me look with my own eyes.”
Thanks to Admiral Ackbar, a memorable meme is born
In 1983, everyone got such a kick from a lobster guy leading the Rebel Fleet into battle against the second Death Star. At the time, his “It’s a trap” line – thrown around when good guys expect the space station’s shields to be down but realize the Empire has tricked them – was just one of the many clever aspects of an epic “Star Wars” battle. stage.
In the 2000s, however, that simple phrase took on a life of its own. It became one of the first memes of a burgeoning internet culture, was borrowed by everything from “Family Guy” to “The Daily Show” and is still widely shared on social media as a reaction GIF. .
Princess Leia’s bikini went from degrading to stimulating
At the start of “Jedi”, Leia goes undercover as a bounty hunter to rescue her love Han from Jabba’s clutches. She found out, and the monstrous gangster enslaves Leia, puts her in a revealing gold metal bikini, and even licks her with a big, coarse tongue. She gets her revenge by choking Jabba to death with a chain, but the fashion choice has been controversial over the years, with critics decrying her sexual objectification. Fisher herself admitted she “hated wearing that outfit” in a 2016 NPR interview. “It wasn’t my choice.”
However, in recent years, there has been a change in mentality. The “Slave Leia” costume has been popularly renamed “Huttslayer Leia” by cosplayers embracing the character’s mortal warrior side. And in a USA TODAY interview earlier this year, ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ star Evangeline Lilly said that as a child she used to “fantasize about being the Princess Leia chained to Jabba”. She was so beautiful and epic. She was the ultimate heroine.
The Ewoks led a ‘Return of the Jedi’ parade of strange creatures
The Mos Eisley canteen scene in the first “Star Wars” introduced a hive of scum, villainy, and strange alien creatures hanging around and drinking heavily. It was just a taste of what was to come as “Return of the Jedi” really opened up a weird world of monsters and creatures. You had the colorful Max Rebo Band, burly Gamorrean guards and the gigantic Rancor in Jabba’s palace – not to mention the huge Hutt himself – but also Ackbar leading the rebellion and Nien Numb co-piloting the Millennium Falcon with Billy Dee Williams’ Lando Calrissien.
Then there were the Ewoks. Love them or love to hate them, these teddy bears – who pound for pound had arguably the most effective fighting force in the galaxy – just added a ton of over-the-top personality and could also take down a battalion of Stormtroopers with trees and other forest resources, à la MacGyver. And do you have Baby Yoda if you don’t have Ewoks? Not likely.
There’s never been a better ‘Star Wars’ finale
How many good third films have there been? Not a lot. “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, of course. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won the Best Picture Oscar, so that’s another one. “Return of the Jedi” is in an even more rarefied tune since it’s the best closing chapter of “Star Wars.”
“The Rise of Skywalker” was a face for the recent sequel trilogy. “Revenge of the Sith” wrapped up the prequels nicely, but it wasn’t exactly a conclusion and it was also kind of depressing. But ‘Jedi’ is a satisfying catharsis: As the galaxy celebrates the fall of the Empire, Luke gives his father a fiery funeral, then joins his friends in the Ewok village for one hell of a rage before seeing his father’s ghosts. , Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). It’s as great to watch now as it was when you were a kid on opening night in 1983, planning when to see it again next.
If only we had Disney+ back then.
Learn more about the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy:
Class :Every ‘Star Wars’ movie, from worst to best
“Return of the Jedi” is 40 years old:The 75 Best ‘Star Wars’ Characters, Definitely Ranked
Star Wars Celebration:New movie will bring Daisy Ridley back as Rey
Fun fact, ‘Star Wars’ fans:A pile of dirty dishes inspired the Millennium Falcon
USA Today
