RoJ

So, in our viewing of the full 6 episodes in chronological order, we are currently up to Return of the Jedi-and at a point about halfway through. So far, I would have to say that it is the worst of all six in terms of everything from plot & development to amount of cheese. That said, I realize that we have yet to see what I consider to be a wonderful piece of cinematic work, which is the rag-tag fugitive fleet's attack on the 2nd Death Star (the whole-"it's a trap" sequence).

A few ruminations from what we saw last night:
1. Sharon noticed a few places where it seemed like there was CG animation on some of the added scenes for the latest release. I thought that all the added scenes were originally made and just offered now as sort of a "director's cut." One that comes to mind now is that extended (and very lame) musical performance in Jabba's palace by that pot-bellied thing with the lips on the end of its snout. It just screamed "Pixar."
2. What purpose did it possibly serve for Leia to bring Chewbacca in as a fake prisoner? If the whole point was about gaining admittance to the facility, why doesn't she just do what Lando did. Somehow, inexplicably, he got in and is just lurking around in the background for the first few scenes. Following that exchange, she then had two rescues to perform, rather than one. That requires a lot of explanation, unless we are to assume it was the most boneheaded plan in the history of the Republic.
3. Not paving any new ground here, but what an incredibly underwhelming end to Boba Fett. No veneange for that supposedly monumental scene where, as a child, he sees his father killed by a Jedi. No successful use of all his gadgets. Just "whump" and down in the pit (unless we are to believe that he activated his rocket from the pit and escaped when we weren't looking).
4. Many things that seem to require some sort of explanation in Luke's visit to the palace. First, why did he not devise a plan with Leia ahead of time? Second, why did he send R2-D2 into the palace with his lightsaber and enter it himself, later, unarmed? Everything we see from the Jedis in episodes I-III give you every reason to believe he could have gone in there with his lightsaber, defeated everyone within the place with one hand tied behind his back, and walked out with Han. This should be no problem at all for the Son of the Chosen One!
5. When C-3PO says, "Master, you're standing on..." wouldn't a person of reasonable intelligence assume the intent of the phrase was to warn him. Perhaps even to warn him that he was standing on something away from which he should move? Not so easy a piece logic, it appears, for the Son of the Chosen One.
6. Why not use a mind-trick on the Rancor?
7. For that matter, why not use a mind trick (or Jedi reflexes and some hand-to-hand combat-or some telekinisis, for God's sake!) on any one of the guards coming to get him out of the Rancor pit. Or on any of the guards that are with him out on the execution skiff.
8. Not to be undone in the stupidity department, they leave Luke's arms free during the attempted execution, so that he can conveniently do his diving-board trick. They leave his arms free! A Jedi knight! Sheesh!
9. Again, probably not paving any new ground here, but Good Lord, Luke doesn't look nearly as coordinated, limber, or artistic as all the other Jedis we see in his use of the elegant light saber. He's just hacking around like a blindfolded 5-year old going after a Star Wars pinata. They're not clean kills at all. Everyone he slices is still alive enough to scream as they fall off the skiff.
10. What the hell happened to the whole Jedi ethic thing? His friends are safely aboard the skiff. Jabba is dead. Escape is theirs, but as a final "fuck you," he finds it necessary to instruct Leia to fire a cannon onto Jabba's yaht, causing it to explode and destroy any who might have happened to survive the earlier hoopla.