Star Wars might’ve been famous for many things in the ’80s, like being a fan-favorite space adventure saga and launching the genre of science fiction into the pop culture orbit. Still, cinematic editing was certainly not one of them.
If you revisit Return of the Jedi, you’ll see it for yourself as Mark Hamill tries to kick one of the adversaries in a fight sequence, but in vain, thanks to poor editing and choreography.
Mark Hamill’s Infamous ‘Force Kick’ – A Joke Without A Punchline
There’s no ounce of doubt that Mark Hamill was a stellar Luke Skywalker, but even one of the most indomitable Jedis is bound to have bad days. And perhaps that’s what happened in Richard Marquand’s Return of the Jedi when Hamill goes on to kick an opponent in a scene but ends up becoming the butt of a bad joke (or in this case, bad editing) instead.
In the 1983 film, when the Battle of the Great Pit of Carkoon takes place as Luke goes to rescue Han Solo, the former attempts to kick one of Jabba the Hutt’s lackeys in the head. But the henchman conspicuously reacts to the impact of the kick so late – when Hamill has already lowered his leg – that it looks more of a blooper than anything else, least of all a fight.
An X user called it a “two-second goof,” claiming that some fans would use the clip as an excuse to lambast Star Wars. And well, the comment section proves how, forty long years later, the scene is still comically painful to watch.
Luke used the force for that kick
— Chernobyl Fruit Salad (@ChernobylFruit) June 23, 2024
One is a creative decision. The other one is a bad edit.
— John Christo (@WhitePepperGDF) June 23, 2024
People often fail to recognize how low-quality the original stop-motion effects in Star Wars were.
— Dr. Meeseeks (@dr_seeks) June 24, 2024
You would think with all the digital remastering done they could have moved Luke closer lol
— Toy Den Nerds (@ToyDenNerds) June 24, 2024
This is just sad 😂
— Christian Reynolds (@cmgolfs17) June 23, 2024
Four decades later, however, Hamill, came up with the perfect explanation (or cover-up).
How Bad Editing in Star Wars Turned Into the Force Kick
While the Star Wars fandom had already construed the error as canon by deeming it a Force kick, Hamill, 72, hopped on social media last year to explicitly address the use of Force telekinesis (an attack that doesn’t require physical force) in the seemingly bungled fight sequence.
Sure, something doesn’t become canonically validated simply because The Empire Strikes Back star acknowledged it as so or because fans claimed the same. But who knows, maybe Luke did use the Force kick after all and if you convince yourself enough, you might just believe it too.
How could anyone possibly be bothered by my widely celebrated, perfectly executed Force-Kick?! https://t.co/8FdEHe6IUO
— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) May 27, 2023
It’s also imperative to note that technical genius wasn’t really a thing back in the ’80s so such flubs don’t herald the end of the world.
Return of the Jedi can be streamed on Disney+.
