I think I’m okay with Jedi now. But still, it won’t be critically rehabilitated in the near future, and we still won’t have a SW film like Empire.
Here’s how I contrast the similar aspects between ROTJ and The Prequels:
- ROTJ is shot on film; The Prequels are digital
- Ewoks are costumes with actors; Gungans et al are CGI with voices
- Han and Leia have pre-existing characters, well defined and developed prior to ROTJ; Qui Gon, Maul and Padme are bland and never explored
- Jabba the Hutt (great character design); The Prequels are never more than derivative of this
- ROTJ space battle is brilliant, with intricate models and a supporting cast we care about; TPM space battle is tensionless, the others in The Prequels are tensionless and weightless CGI
- Some of the acting in ROTJ is truly great, Mark Hamill, Ian McDiarmid and the collcetive Darth Vader shine; in The Prequels… need I say more?
- Camera angles and blocking is far more interesting in ROTJ, the cinematography is actually engaging; in The Prequels anything without total CGI is static and flat angled
- ROTJ only 3 scenes of 2 people sitting or standing and talking and NO COUNCIL MEETINGS; Too many too count in the Prequels
- Score in ROTJ is incredible and brings a lot of emotional heft, even where it is otherwise lacking; despite being the best part of the prequels, nothing other than Duel of the Fates stands out, and it can’t elevate the script’s inability to relate to the audience