Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a science-fiction film in the Star Wars universe and the third in the classic Star Wars trilogy.

The original cover.

Opening Crawl

Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy…

Plot

In the movie's opening scene, droids R2-D2 and C3-PO come to the palace of Jabba the Hutt, the galaxy's biggest crimelord (who is holding the frozen Han Solo prisoner), with a message from Luke Skywalker telling Jabba to release Han. Leia comes to the palace disguised as a bounty hunter and frees Han from the carbonite, but is captured by Jabba and made a slave. When Luke comes to the palace, Jabba drops him into a pit where he keeps a monster called a rancor. When Luke kills the monster, the enraged Jabba tells Luke, Han, and Chewbacca that they will be killed by being thrown into the Sarlacc pit.

Meanwhile, the Emperor has arrived on the partially constructed Death Star to survey the final phase of its building.

When Jabba's sail barge and the desert skiffs reach the pit, R2-D2, on the barge, throws Luke his lightsaber. In the ensuing battle and excitement, Leia strangles Jabba with her slave chain and helps Luke blow up the barge with a deck cannon.

Luke heads for Dagobah in his X-wing fighter and Han, Leia, R2, C3-PO, and Lando Calrissian join the Rebel fleet in the Millenium Falcon. Yoda, on Dagobah, tells Luke that it is true: Vader is his father and that to truly become a Jedi he must face him. Yoda, 900 years old, dies shortly afterward and Luke joins the Rebels, who have discovered that the Empire is constructing the Death Star above the forest moon of Endor. On Endor is a shield generator which protects the Death Star until its weapons systems are operational. Han is assigned to lead the assault team on Endor, and Lando Calrissian leads the Rebel fighters<dash> Han lends him the Millenium Falcon for this purpose.

Using a captured Imperial shuttle, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Leia, and Luke, with a strike team of Rebels go to Endor with the intent to destroy the shield generator. Unbeknownst to them, the Emperor has set a huge number of Stormtroopers in ambush around the generator. The strike team meets up with some native tribes called "Ewoks" which are friendly and promise to aid them in attack. That night, Luke reveals to Leia that she is his sister and that he must confront Vader to turn him back to good. He turns himself in to Vader, but the Sith Lord tells him that "it is too late for me" and brings him up to the Death Star to the Emperor. The Emperor attempts to enrage Luke and turn him to evil, but Luke resists.

Meanwhile, the entire Rebel fleet drops out of hyperspace to attack the Death Star. As they approach it, their sensors tell them that the shield is still up and break off the attack, instead targeting the fleet of Star Destroyers which is standing by on the Emperor's commands.

The Rebels attack the shield generator building, only to discover the stormtroopers located in ambush. A fierce battle erupts in the forest, but, thanks to the Ewoks, the Rebels gain the upper hand and destroy the generator building.

On the Death Star, the Emperor succeeds in making Luke angry and a lightsaber battle between Darth Vader and Luke begins. Luke fights mainly on the defensive, until Vader tells Luke that he cannnot be turned to the dark side, but perhaps Leia can. An enraged Luke attacks Vader, disarming him and cutting off his hand. The Emperor tells Luke to kill Vader and that if he does so, he will replace him. Luke, horrified, deactivates his lightsaber and throws it away, with the announcement "I am a Jedi, like my father before me."

The Emperor retaliates with Force lightning against Luke, badly wounding him. Luke calls to his father to save him, and Vader rebels, hurling Palpatine down a reactor shaft to his death, although he is badly injured by lightning in the process. As the Falcon and several other Rebel fighters speed to the Death Star's reactor room, Darth Vader tells Luke to unmask him so that he can look at him with his own eyes; as Vader cannot survive without the helmet, he dies shortly afterward. Luke brings out his body on a shuttle just as the station explodes, and later burns it in a funeral pile on Endor. At the end, the Force spirits of Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the freed Anakin appear to Luke.