TFA VS ROTJ

I always considered ROJ the weakest of the OT. Too many creatures (and Ewoks) for my liking, often stiff acting and not so great editing. TFA avoided such "missteps".

On the other hand there are really memorable scenes, especially the speeder bike chase, the space battle and - of course - the Emperor and plenty of impressive matte paintings (Death Star, Jabba's Castle, Headquarters Frigate hangar, Endor landing platform and so on). And all the characters' actions had a specific purpose to accomplish a goal.

The first 20-30 minutes of TFA were much more "Star Wars" than this "Muppets Show" in ROJ, but then ROJ got much better which I unfortunately can't say for TFA.

 

Well..

 

Hey that's cheating! Two opinions and already you have declared TFA the winner? I'm going to place a bounty so large on your head that you won't be able to go near any known system!

 

I love Return of the Jedi. It truly think it is fantastic. But I have to say that I like The Force Awakens better. All it does is put a smile on my face when I watch it. And the first time I watched it, I was the happiest I had been a long time.

 

Because it being a winner is true, as for the bounty send them to my address on Kashyyyk I have a army of wookies protecting me.

 

I think that they are in their own categories all together with TFA being a type of new-gen SW and ROTJ is the most direct precursor to this movie so I would think that it's pretty hard to compare the two of them.

 

ROTJ has awesome moments, but also lots of cheese. It's a fun movie though. TFA was just more mentally challenging and exciting, not as cheesy. I like them both though I thought TFA was a better over all film.

 

Well both movies are the sign of their times.

 

It's like comparing apples with oranges. ROTJ is the end of a trilogy, whereas TFA is the beginning of another trilogy. I don't think both can be compared - by me, at least.

Obviously, ROTJ has some flaws - don't get me started with "Jedi Rocks" lol - but it has the Emperor - he freakin rules - and the conclusion of the Rebellion striking a fatal blow over the Empire. Also the final duel of Luke vs Vader and Anakin's redemption.

And TFA... I loved the movie, but it has a bittersweet feeling. It is awesome, we set the baseline for the movies to come, but it makes the ending of ROTJ more poignant and endearing to watch.

 

ROTJ's feeling is of a new hope and optimism and TFA has the feeling of ANH mixed with depression.

 

You know until around 10 years ago I had no idea that Star Wars fans liked to make fun of ewoks? I saw RotJ as a kid so nostalgia is definitely informing my opinion.

I love TFA but RotJ is still ahead of it in my book. I have no problems with the ewoks, they're cute and they are my son's favorite thing in all of the Star Wars movies! The action sequences are really great, but the movie has taken on a new weight to me since I became a father. I find myself getting emotional over Vader's redemption in a way that I never did as a child.

While the Ben/Han scene definitely DID work for me, it doesn't hit me the way Luke and Vader did. So my vote goes to RotJ.

 

Even though I think the Ewoks are kind of cheesy, they are vicious, and show how a primitive and simple solution can overcome something more sophisticated. Plus, those Ewoks were totally going to eat our heroes. Probably even have Princess Leia for dessert (I think they just held on to her to fatten her up a bit). I hate to think what was being served at the victory party, but I suspect it was bbq Stormtrooper.

 

I would vote for ROTJ. Mind you, I thought the presence of a new Death Star struck me as unoriginal. And the movie did feature some sloppy acting - with the exception of Mark Hamill and Ian McDiarmid. However, I still prefer it overall to TFA. The latter struck me as a bit too unoriginal, despite excellent performances from John Boyega and Harrison Ford.

 

TFA was meant to be a different film from the start. the biggest difference is the swipes between scenes. the cinematography is much better in ROTJ with more compressed cams and higher density lenses causing more tension and TFA having more wide shots and all with, iguess, a better evolution(?) of camera work. defining moments in ROTJS are there about 25% of the time if you pay close enough attention. ROTJ is better known for its visuals than its storytelling but works overall.

 

While I didn't notice them the first time, there are wipes in The Force Awakens.

 

Is this an argument? Return of the Jedi. LOL looks like I'm behind on this thread!

 

TFA to me feels more like a fan film, RTOJ feels like a true ending to Star Wars.

 

I've struggled with this question plenty.....but I think TFA is better and I like it more. Sure, ROTJ has more impactful moments as its the conclusion of Anakin's story. And sure, TFAs editing gets breakneck toward the conclusion. But overall, I find myself gravitating towards watching TFA more often because it has a great energy to it that ROTJ takes too long to build. There's some slow parts in the middle of ROTJ that are only broken up by the speeder bike chase, but our heroes mill around a lot on Endor....and get saved by teddy bears in the end. Leia doesn't factor into the final victory, and neither does Han really. Their arcs are finished when they leave Tatooine.

TFA does have incredible performances from everybody and some of the best filmmaking of the entire saga during the first hour.

And the real thing that puts ROTJ into a spot behind TFA is the Special Edition. There's that extra 2 minutes of rock song that is a bit out of place and just delays us seeing our heroes return to the screen. Then, there's the Little Sarlaac of Horrors. These just bog down ROTJ a bit too much, so I do like TFA more - and it will likely cement itself even stronger as we get on with Ep. 8 and 9.