Annlyel shares her favourite moment from Richard Marquand’s climax to the Original Trilogy – Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
For some Return of the Jedi is one of my favorite installments in the Star Wars franchise. I’m not of that portion of Star Wars fans. After Han’s daring rescue on Tattooine by his friends, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian I always find myself checking out … And don’t get me started on the Ewoks. I mean, think about it. If a Star Wars movie came out now featuring an alien race of teddy bears with bow and arrows or spears those “cute creatures” would get slammed by the internet but, luckily, Return of the Jedi came out in 1983. Yeah, I’m not an Ewok fan.
But there are a lot of moments in Return of the Jedi that are enjoyable and have wowed me for years. However, there is one scene that is clearly the greatest of them all and that’s the moment when Luke flips.
No, not when Luke Skywalker physically flips onto that ledge when he’s talking to Vader. I’m talking about when he emotionally flips as Darth Vader threatens him by announcing that he’ll turn Leia to the dark side.
There’s something so powerful about that scene. Luke is filled with a terrifying rage as he batters Vader’s defenses, Vader is defeated, Palpatine cackles in genuine delight as he sees the power he will have with Luke as his pupil, but Luke understood what he was becoming and he fought back.
He turns with a defiant expression on his face, and tells Palpatine, “Never. I’ll never turn to the dark side. You failed, Your Highness. I am a Jedi like my father before me.”
And every time he says that I feel like pumping my fist in the air and whooping with joy. Luke Skywalker is one of the greatest heroes ever to be brought to the big screen and this scene epitomizes why.
Oh, snap! The Force Awakens is next. Fun!
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Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Author
Hello everyone. My name is Annlyel James. I’m a young woman who loves movies of all genres (specifically ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel movies.) I am also a Senior Correspondent for The Future of the Force.
