Easterhay said:

So, I ask, who amongst the original fans (don't even bother posting a reply if you didn't see the films first time round - this is for the grown ups only!) genuinely thought Return Of The Jedi to be a let-down when first released? And, if so, why? Be honest now.

I do remember something that I was pretty disappointed about, from even before ROTJ came out...

That whole Death Star II thing. Even back then, at the age of 12-13, it smacked of laziness and a cop-out. I can vividly remember being let down, wondering why they couldn't come up with something more original than yet another Death Star.

There was another thing that bugged me then (and still does now) that no other straight male fanboy with a pulse is going to agree with me on, but here goes:

I didn't like the whole slave Leia in a bikini gimmick. It seemed really cheap, pandering, and unnecessary. Yeah, it was nice to look at, but at what price? I lost a lot of respect for Lucas for putting that in there, because it stooped to a level that Star Wars didn't need to go to.

Other than that, I enjoyed ROTJ immensely. Neither the Muppets nor the Ewoks really bothered me (though I always preferred the Cantina's denizens to Jabba's court, and Jawas over Ewoks), and the final scene with Luke and Vader still gives me chills. Ford and Fisher's acting was definitely weaker on this film, and their characters are very watered-down, but Hamill really stepped up here and gave a command performance in the end.

--SKot