Does anyone remember that movie magazine (not sure which one) that had the "50 Reasons why we HATE Return of the Jedi (but love Star Wars and Empire)? I don't have it, but I remember the gist of it. Basically they despised the Ewoks, they LOVED the Emperor scenes and felt cheated by the fact that he wasn't in the movie more, bashed Vader for not acting evil at all in the entire film, complained that the Han and Leia romance was reduced to a 90210-like relationship and that 3P0 had become unbearable. It's a similar reaction that a lot of fans had to Menace.

I have no problem with special effects, except when they become the focal point of the film. A lot of the special effects, esp in the OT simply enhanced the story. Just compare the level of tension in the Battle of Yavin to the other space battles. All the cgi in the world couldn't produce a better space battle. It was a combination of the effects, John Williams' awesome music, the editing, and the emotions shown by the actor and the fact that the entire fate of the Rebellion depended on a tiny fighter plane destroying a fearsome battle station. Awesome.