Sometimes You've Gotta Hit The Return Key.

One of my most vivid memories of growing up was the drive home from the movie theater after seeing Return of the Jedi with my dad, Normality. My head was spinning with visions of bounty hunters, speeder bikes, and B-wing fighters. Without a doubt, Return of the Jedi was the coolest movie a kid could possibly imagine. Here’s a pic of the ROTJ storybook I had as a kid. I always thought Luke’s hair looked pretty rad in this picture.

This weekend I watched ROTJ with the Kyality Kids for the first time. I know, I know it’s a bit early to be showing these kids those kinda scary scenes with the Rancor and the Emperor. But I sat there and cuddled up with them during those particular scenes—and I have to admit—the Kyailty Kids are serious Star Wars enthusiasts. They were glued; they didn’t want to miss a thing.

I realized it had been a while since I’d actually watched good old ROTJ. It was interesting to see how it held up over time. I have to admit—it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. Granted the acting was either over the top or uncannily stale. But things like the star-fighter dogfight scene still looked fantastic. The old-school motion-control model effects are definitely better than CG in my opinion.

It was really the little things that got to me. For instance, how does Luke know that Artoo would be serving drinks on Jabba’s sail barge and that he’d be able to launch his lightsaber at the perfect moment? Why aren’t Luke and Leia even squinting on the speeder bikes? Seriously, aren’t they going like 150 mph? And when the team gets captured by the Ewoks, why the crap does Leia show up all of the sudden with a tailored hemp dress on? Aren’t they heading into battle the next day? Shouldn’t you probably stick to the fatigues there Princess? (Or at least put on the brass Jabba bra again, sheesh.) And who the crap made that hippie outfit for her anyway? Did Wicket W. Warrick just bust out a loom and whip up a quick pattern or something?

Anyways. If you get a chance, go ahead and hit the Return key again for kicks. It’s good fun, and way better than the recently released Clone Wars feature. And maybe, just maybe you too can spot Luke’s glove switching hands while he’s riding his speeder bike!