It’s kind of trendy (and yawningly predictable) for geeks and writers to give Return of the Jedi a backhanded slap when talking about the series as a whole. Conventional thinking is that it’s the third-best of the original trilogy, perhaps fourth-best as a whole (I really don’t get how Revenge of the Sith is better in any way, but okay…), and that it’s completely and utterly tainted by the presence of the Ewoks.

Sure, I get that the Ewok thing chafes — it was very much marketed to kiddies and was ridiculous in portraying how easily a primitive tribe of furry midgets took on an elite army of troops and won. But that isn’t the only aspect of the movie, and overall, Jedi has so many wonderful virtues that it deserves a much better reputation than it’s gotten.

I’m willing to put my words where my mouth is. Here are six reasons why.

1. The iconic Jabba

Prior to the 1997 special editions of the trilogy, the first time we ever saw Jabba the Hutt — a nasty gangster mentioned in the first two movies — was during Jedi. And, boy, did the reveal not disappoint. He wasn’t a suave 1930s mob boss, but a giant slug with an overbearing laugh and a skanky fortress that perched above a death pit. He resisted the Jedi mind manipulation, laughed in the face of death, and set up a trap that Leia fell right into. While he got his just desserts at the hands of his capitives, Jabba instantly became one of the most iconic characters in the whole Star Wars lexicon.

2. The Empire brings its A-game

At the end of Empire Strikes Back, the Empire has come back from its humiliating defeat following the destruction of the Death Star, and is now spanking the Rebels up and down the galaxy. Jedi shows the Empire at the height of power, with an even bigger second Death Star in the making, the brunt of its full fleet at hand, and the Emperor finally showing up to handle things and lay a huge trap that (yet again) the Rebels fall into. It was a good enemy, a strong enemy that could be believed to have a chance at winning, and as a result, was fun to root against. The bad guys never looked so good.

3. Classic quotes

Jedi has more than its fair share of classic quotes (far more than the new trilogy combined), and even Jedi haters are known to spout them off all the time. “So what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.” “Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for… sister.” “That blast came from the Death Star! That thing’s operational!” “It’s against my programming to impersonate a deity.” “In his belly you will find a new definition of pain and suffering as you are slowly digested over a thousand years.” “I don’t know. Fly casual.”

And, of course, “IT’S A TRAP!”

4. The characters mature

If you chart each of the main characters over the course of the original trilogy, you’ll see that by Return of the Jedi, they’ve each come into their own. Leia’s mellowed out, embraced her inner bounty hunter and discovers she’s a force-potential, Luke goes from whiny kid to Jedi Knight, Han goes from selfish smuggler to a general of a rebel army, Chewie finds a big pile of meat, Vader is redeemed, Lando transitions from businessman and traitor to starship pilot hero, the Emperor gets what’s coming to him (a big pit), C3P0 proves semi-worthwhile, Yoda sort of makes up for his failings in the prequel movies, and R2D2 gets fried for like the tenth time in the series. It’s great that these arcs are brought to a close like this, because we realize that we’ve truly been on a journey with all of them.

5.The technology

When I was a kid, I was entranced with all of the tech that’s on display in Return of the Jedi. The second Death Star is way, way cooler than the first, there are AT-STs, lots of different types of fighters, an awesome blue-black decor for the Emperor’s throne room, the cool mass-ship hyperdrive jump, speeder bikes, sand skiffs, lightsabers, Boba’s rocket pack, and so on. Before CGI was abused as it is today, the makers of Jedi did absolutely incredible things with models and animation to create believable scenes of gadgetry and battle. Speaking of which…

6. The final battle

Act three is simply the best battle sequence in any Star Wars film. It splits into three sections, which are then interwoven: the duel in the Emperor’s throne room, the space battle, and the ground battle. Sure, the thought that the Ewoks could trounce the Empire’s troops is silly, but from a kids’ point of view, it was the little guy winning against impossible odds — and that’s something we’ve always liked. The rest of the battle is simply incredible, with dogfights, the Death Star firing its huge laser, Luke fighting both Vader and the pull to the Dark Side, the little A-wing fighter that took out the Super Star Destroyer, and Chewie pretty much ripping a guy in half to get him out of that AT-ST. Every time I watch the final 45 minutes, I’m amazed that people rip on Jedi and don’t see how really cool it is. Pulling off three simultaneous storylines and keeping the audience in the know is more than Revenge of the Sith could do with its one chaotic opening scene.