RETURN OF THE JEDI (7) vs. PACIFIC RIM (10)

VS.

PLOT - Luke and his posse rescue Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt to bring closure to that arc. The rest of the movie involves the Rebel Alliance attempting to destroy the new and improved Death Star which coincidentally has the Emperor on board. The attack is two-pronged with a commando raid on the shield generator on the planet (allowing for the introduction of the Ewoks to appeal to four year olds) and an aerial assault similar to the first film. Meanwhile, Luke deals with his daddy issues. In fact, there is a lot similar to the first film as this movie shows an embarrassing lack of originality. It is predictable and cloying. GRADE = C

In "Pacific Rim", there is an interdimensional portal at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that allows monsters called kaijus to wreak havoc. Mankind has developed giant robots called Jaegers to combat the monsters. The Jaegers are piloted by two people who establish a mind link. When the enemy take the offensive, the last remaining Jaegers are called on to explode a nuke to seal the portal. The plot concentrates on a two PTSD individuals who pair up to save mankind. The kaijus (who come in an interesting variety) and the Jaegers are the real reason to watch the movie. The rest of the plot beyond the combat is standard redemption fare. GRADE = B-

STRATEGY AND TACTICS - The Rebel plan in ROTJ is the same as in the first film: destroy the Death Star by targeting a weak spot. How original! The plot adds the commando raid to take out the shield generator. That attack does use the diversion provided by the Ewoks who use ambush tactics. The dog-fights still involve melee fighting with not a lot of wingman support, but that’s pretty par for the course in sci-fi war movies. GRADE = C

The strategy of building a wall to stop the monsters in PR makes sense. Pulling back to build up forces for one last push is logical. The idea of sealing the portal with a nuke is standard sci-fi, but it leaves you wondering why tactical nukes have not been used against the monsters themselves. Even in the future and with absolutely desperate situations, mankind still apparently refuses to use them. As far as tactics, the attempt to nuke the portal involves other Jaegers clearing a path for the hero Jaeger. More a football tactic than war, but not unrealistic. GRADE = B

WEAPONRY - In "Return", the weapons are basically the same as in the previous two movies. There are no significant advances in technology. In fact, the new weapons are the Ewoks’ medieval arrows, rocks, and catapults. The Death Star is essentially the same, just more powerful. It still does not have its own force-field. Just like the plot, the movie shows a lack of imagination in its weaponry. GRADE = C

Since PR is set in 2013 (WTF), the only futuristic weapon is the Jaegers. These are basically giant exoskeletons manned by two for plot purposes. Although armed with Plasmacasters (particle beam cannons), they mainly fight the kaiju hand-to-hand with edged weapons. The kaiju have no artificial weapons in the classic style of Japanese Toho monsters like Godzilla. There are nine different kaiju in the movie, each with its own personality and powers. For example, Leatherneck can kick ass in a one-on-one bout, but also can give off an electromagnetic pulse to disable electronics. The movie, in a sense, combines American sci-fi weaponry with Japanese monsters. GRADE = B

SPECIAL EFFECTS - The special effects in ROTJ are improved from “A New Hope” and are still amazing today. Although the effects are used for a similar space battle, the movie does add the battle over the Sarlaac mouth and the chase in the forest of Endor. GRADE = A

Director Del Toro of PR brought on several Oscar winners to create the effects. The kaiju steal the show and if you watch this and have seen the early Godzilla movies, you can see how far we have come in depicting these type of monsters. They look great and they are clearly seen, most of the time. These types of films tend to be dark. The variety is commendable. GRADE = A-

ANALYSIS: Most agree the original Star Wars trilogy peaked with "The Empire Strikes Back", but it did not have to be that way. ROTJ starts strong with the rescue of Han Solo, but it's downhill from there. It is basically a retread of the original with a few baubles thrown in. While PR gives us an update of the classic Toho monsters, ROTJ gives us the Ewoks. ROTJ is more of a war movie. It has battles both on land and in space. PR has battles, but they are more like duels. However, there is a war going on between humans and the monsters so I feel it fits the tournament. Since it qualifies as a war movie, it is clearly superior to ROTJ.

Pacific Rim = 33
Return of the Jedi = 30