Written by Christian Garcia
In honor of May the 4th, I thought I would take a quick look at the Star Wars films, and rather than doing full reviews, for now, I will rank them from my least favorite to my favorite.
I have been a fan of Star Wars since I was a kid and have seen all the films. I am condensing this list to focus mainly on the Skywalker Saga. I will not be mentioning any of the spin-off films like Rogue One or Solo.
So, strap on in as I rank the Star Wars films from worst to best. This is only my opinion and if you agree or disagree with them, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
The Phantom Menace (1999)
This is not the least bit surprising to most Star Wars fans that this is my least favorite of the films. Phantom Menace is the most hated of the Star Wars films and a big reason is because of the hype behind the film at the time it came out. People had been waiting 16 years for a new Star Wars film and sadly, Phantom Menace was not what they were looking for.
I did not watch it until many years later and just like everyone else, I was not a fan. I’ve heard all the complaints and won’t beat a dead horse but my main issue with the film is that I just didn’t find the story to be interesting at all. The characters left little to no impact on me and I found the film to be incredibly boring. The first chapter in a six-part story didn’t tell me anything that I was interested in knowing and I didn’t leave it having a better understanding or appreciation of the Star Wars universe.
The only part of the film that I really enjoyed and that I ever bother revisiting is the final fight scene between Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, and Darth Maul. This fight scene evolved the lightsaber duels from the original trilogy to include more choreography and make it feel more active and frantic. But that cool fight scene is not worth watching the whole film to get to it and is better to just be looked up on YouTube.
Phantom Menace was meant to be the first chapter in an ongoing saga but sadly is a boring and uninteresting chapter that I’d rather skip and suggest you do the same.
Attack of the Clones (2002)
Attack of the Clones was the first Star Wars film that I ever saw in theatres. I remember enjoying it for the most part, but also not remembering much of the story.
Sadly, just like Phantom Menace, the story in this film is not very interesting. It is more interesting than the last film, but that’s not saying much. The only part of the film that left an impression on me as a kid was the final battle in the climax. Watching Samuel L. Jackson’s Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi battle the droid army was a sight I’ll never forget. The battle between Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dooku was fun to watch but the fight between Yoda and Count Dooku was the highlight as it was cool to see Yoda getting in on the action.
The chemistry between Obi-Wan and Anakin was solid, and it was fun to see them interact as Master and Padawan with Anakin being cocky and impatient while Obi-Wan is the stern fatherly figure. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan is my favorite character in the prequel trilogy as he captures the wisdom of Alec Guinness while also bringing some young energy to the role.
Aside from the final battle and McGregor’s performance, the film is bogged down by a boring story, the stilted acting from Phantom Menace, and some bad dialogue. The romance scenes between Anakin and Padme are especially cringe-worthy with the cheesy attempt at Shakespearean writing and their lack of chemistry. Attack of the Clones did not learn much from the mistakes of its predecessor and makes for another dull chapter in the Star Wars saga.
Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Rise of Skywalker, while a better and more enjoyable film experience than Phantom Menace, is the worst of the Star Wars films in terms of storytelling and direction. A big problem with this film’s story (and the entire sequel trilogy) is that it did not honor the story that came before it. The Last Jedi set up many plot points that were mostly abandoned in this film and it did not feel like the epic conclusion to a three-part story. It felt more like a standalone film rather than part of a trilogy. A lot of choices that they made did not make sense to me and did not serve the story. The return of Palpatine while cool from a nostalgic standpoint didn’t make much sense and felt out of place. It felt more like a decision to attract nostalgic fans rather than a choice that served the film’s story. His connection to Rey was laughable to me and retconned an idea from Last Jedi that had potential.
A lot of the choices have to do with the mixed-to-poor reception that The Last Jedi received. The backlash was so big that Disney executives felt the need to correct the mistakes and this film feels like a huge overcorrection. As a creator, your work is always going to draw criticism and while of course, it is good to listen to fan feedback, it is also good to remember that if you try to cater to everyone, you risk catering to no one. In trying to appease the fans who hated The Last Jedi, they made choices that alienated the people who did like The Last Jedi along with the fans who still didn’t like Rise of Skywalker.
I didn’t hate the film when I saw it in theatres, but I also didn’t love it from a writing perspective. I found myself laughing more at the awful things than groaning. The one scene that I really enjoyed was the scene with Kylo Ren and Han Solo. It was awesome getting to see my favorite Star Wars character appear one last time. Although it didn’t entertain me for the reasons intended, it did still entertain me and that is more than I can ever say about Phantom Menace. It still had that epic Star Wars feel and I am happy that I saw it. However, the storytelling problems are too glaring to make me want to return to it.
The Last Jedi (2017)
The Last Jedi is one of the most divisive films in the Star Wars franchise. People either liked it or hated it. I’m somewhere in the middle. I liked the main plot with Rey, Luke, and Kylo Ren but I also hated the B-story involving Finn, Poe, and Rose. When I saw it in theatres, I didn’t know how to feel afterward.
The stuff involving Rey and Kylo Ren was the most interesting part of the film. I liked the connection the two had to be able to communicate with each other through the Force. I also liked watching Rey’s training where she was evolving the way the Force worked. After feeling that Force Awakens didn’t do much to evolve the franchise, this was the first time that I felt Star Wars was evolving. The final battle between Luke and Kylo Ren was awesome to see. I also loved Mark Hamill’s performance as Luke Skywalker as he portrayed him as a man who failed and stewed in his failure. I also liked some of the ideas introduced in this film particularly the idea that anyone could have a strong connection to the Force and didn’t have to be related to the Skywalker family. It had potential and could have opened new doors for future characters and stories. Sadly, this idea is tossed aside in Rise of Skywalker.
The B-story was too much of a pace killer for me and slowed the movie down tremendously. All the Star Wars films are long films, but this film felt long at times. I remember when I saw it in theatres thinking after the two-hour mark that it was already too long. Most critics of this film hate the character of Rose. I didn’t mind her as much and thought she was just okay. The plot involving Poe and Admiral Holdo was messy, confusing at times, and in the end, made Poe look very stupid. It didn’t help make the new cast of characters look good and just made me want to get back to the scenes with Luke.
Another issue that I felt hurt the film for me was that it was beginning to feel like too much of a retread of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It felt like Empire because of the plot of the young student learning from the old master while the scene involving Rey, Kylo, and Snoke felt like Return of the Jedi. While I did appreciate the twist and their choice to not do the same thing again, I felt as though they teased doing the same thing for too long that it hurt the film. More time could have been spent doing something new than teasing a retread of the past.
The Last Jedi is divisive for many reasons and is a hard one to recommend. The stuff that works in it, works well and is worth watching. But the stuff that doesn’t work really doesn’t work and makes this film feel longer than it is. If you do watch it, I would recommend having the remote nearby to fast forward through the boring parts.
Return of the Jedi (1983)
While Attack of the Clones was the first Star Wars film I saw in theatres, Return of the Jedi was my first exposure to Star Wars. My family and I watched it on laserdisc (remember those?) and I actually still have that laserdisc copy today. I watched it again years later and while I enjoyed it, for the most part, I do see it as the weakest in the original trilogy. Despite being the weakest, it is still a great film, it just had the difficult task of following Empire Strikes Back.
The final battle between Luke and Darth Vader is an epic battle with more weight and stakes to it with the reveal of Vader as Luke’s father, giving Luke hope to turn his father good rather than beat his rival. Vader’s turn, in the end, was an iconic moment of seeing the most feared man in the galaxy turn good. The final battle against the Death Star was another highlight, feeling more frantic than in the original Star Wars.
My only real gripe with this film is that the opening scene of rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt felt like it went on too long. It felt like a detour to tie up the cliffhanger from the last film rather than an important piece of the final story. Maybe it could have fit better if Jabba was more connected to the main story. What if Jabba and the bounty hunters had been involved in the final act and helped the heroes take down the Empire? It could have been a cool moment seeing enemies join forces. How awesome would it have been to see Han Solo and Boba Fett fighting side-by-side after previously being enemies? As is the opening scene while cool, does outstay its welcome.
Despite a long opening, Return of the Jedi is still a satisfying end to the original trilogy. It gave Darth Vader redemption in the end and saw the heroes win the day. It was the right place for the story to end and was a great film to top off the forever iconic trilogy.
The Force Awakens (2015)
The Force Awakens was one of my favorite experiences in cinema and the best Star Wars experience I have ever had in a theatre. The hype behind Force Awakens was massive. It was the first Star Wars film in ten years, and it was going to bring back the cast and characters from the original trilogy. After seeing the trailer with the reveal of Han Solo and Chewbacca returning, my hype settings went into overdrive.
When I saw it in theatres, it lived up to expectations and was everything I wanted. However, many years later with the hype dying down, this film does hold up but also is not perfect. It does feel very similar to A New Hope in terms of storytelling and comes off as a retread and as a result, it doesn’t feel like a brand-new Star Wars film. While Rey and Kylo Ren stuck out as strong characters, the rest of the new cast didn’t do that much for me, and sadly later films didn’t do much to fix that.
Despite all that, Force Awakens is a film that I go back to and enjoy very much. It was a great nostalgic trip down memory lane getting to see my favorite characters again. It was that Star Wars reunion that fans had waited years for and with the untimely passing of Carrie Fischer, I am happy we got it when we did. Harrison Ford killed it in his final performance (full film performance) as Han Solo and I was happy about that. The ending shot with Luke Skywalker left me very hyped and excited for what was to come.
As a film that pays homage to the older saga, Force Awakens is a great trip down memory lane. As a brand-new film to take Star Wars to the next evolution, it does fall flat. While it may not have been the next evolution of Star Wars that people wanted, Force Awakens is still a great film and one of my favorite movie-going experiences. It felt like Star Wars and brought me back to the feelings I had when I watched the original trilogy. It has that Star Wars feel that made me fall in love with the franchise all those years ago and is my favorite of the Sequel Trilogy.
Star Wars (A New Hope) (1977)
The film that started it all. The original Star Wars, now known as A New Hope, is a major piece of film history. It became a phenomenon because of its memorable characters, use of practical and visual effects, iconic music, and just being a fun time.
Star Wars is a work that has drawn influence from other films like Flash Gordon and contains elements of classic storytelling archetypes with the hero (Luke), the mentor (Obi-Wan), and the villain (Darth Vader). The story is a familiar tale yet the characters and the world that Lucas created were so unique and creative that we can’t help but get sucked in. The highlight of the film for me is the final battle on the Death Star as it has the right amount of suspense and excitement and the help from Han Solo at the end was a great way to cap it off.
While it is a classic, the original Star Wars is not without its flaws as some of the dialogue can be cheesy and hokey and the acting at times can be a little stilted at times. Despite those flaws, the original Star Wars did so much more right than wrong, and it still holds up to this day.
Star Wars is one of the most influential films of all time and created a franchise that has lasted 45 years and will continue to influence newer generations for years to come.
Revenge of the Sith (2005)
While the original Star Wars is the film that got most of its fans obsessed with the franchise, the film that turned me into the Star Wars fan that I am was Revenge of the Sith. I never saw it in theatres but after it came out, it played on TV constantly and I always tuned in to watch it every chance that I got.
Revenge of the Sith was the only film of the prequel trilogy to feel like Star Wars. The number of space battles and the Jedi battles gave it an epic feel that was extremely lacking in episodes 1 and 2. The performances of Hayden Christiansen and Ewan McGregor as Anakin and Obi-Wan were so strong and made them into two of my favorite Star Wars characters. Seeing Anakin’s fall to the dark side and transformation into Darth Vader is one of my favorite moments in Star Wars. The final battle in the film’s climax was one of the best Jedi fights I have seen and is one of my favorites.
And of course, Ian McDiarmid steals the show as Palpatine being so creepy and so manipulative in bringing one of the most iconic villains back. Another highlight is the battle between him and Yoda as it was great to see Palpatine in action and it was a treat to watch these iconic characters do battle. A personal highlight for me was also the battle between Mace Windu and Palpatine and that’s probably because this was where the film turned around for me and really started to pick up. Palpatine’s transformation into the evil Darth Sidious carries the film, especially through the first half, and is the highlight of the film.
While I enjoy the film greatly, it is far from a perfect film. I mentioned that the battle between Windu and Palpatine was the turning point. That is because the first half of the film has the same problems as episodes 1 and 2 with the boring political talk, hokey dialogue, and stilted acting. The romance scene between Anakin and Padme is even more cringeworthy than the ones in episode 2 with its cheesy Shakespearean-esque writing. However, the scenes with Palpatine and Anakin are strong enough that I kept watching and the best scene is the opera house scene where Palpatine tells Anakin a Sith story. It was a moment where I got more lore in Star Wars and felt like I learned something new and interesting. The first half is a bit of a slug to get through but once Anakin turns, the film picks up and gets better.
Revenge of the Sith is a film that I have gone back to many times and will continue to go back to for years to come. It is the film that turned me into the Star Wars fan that I am, and it inspired me to check out the original trilogy, where I would find one of my favorite films of all time…
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
This is probably about as shocking as putting Phantom Menace at the bottom of the list. To probably no one’s surprise, my favorite Star Wars film of all time is The Empire Strikes Back. Empire is a film that I have watched many MANY times and is the Star Wars film I have watched the most. I used to make a habit of watching it every Christmas because I loved it that much.
Empire does everything that a great sequel should do. It furthers the story, grows the characters more, and makes for an experience that tops the original. It introduced the world to Yoda and had one of the greatest twists in cinema history with the reveal of Darth Vader’s true identity. The romance between Han and Princess Leia was a joy to watch as it developed while they were on the run from the Empire. Luke’s training with Yoda was a fun spiritual journey to go on as we learned more about the Force and even got to see Yoda’s strong connection to it.
The fight between Luke and Darth Vader was epic and felt like a great next step from the battle between Vader and Obi-Wan in the previous film. The opening battle on Hoth was a visual marvel to witness with its great use of practical effects and was a great way to start off the film. One thing I have noticed about myself as a film fan is that I love a good cliffhanger. While of course, I love my happy endings too, nothing gets me more excited than ending on a great cliffhanger. The ending to Infinity War and Back to the Future II immediately come to mind but the cliffhanger ending to Empire Strikes Back is probably my favorite of them all or close to it. It was a great way to get heat behind the Empire and remind the viewers why they are a threat.
I could honestly go on about this film and probably will one day whenever I give it a full review. But in summation, Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars film and easily my favorite in the franchise, and even one of my favorite films of all time in general. Empire Strike Back is where I believe Star Wars was at its best and it will be a very hard film to the top for me. I have been showing my girlfriend a lot of films and shows and while I am not sure that I will show her Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back will at least be the one I would show her if any.
Thank you for reading and I wish all the fans a Happy May the 4th and a Happy Star Wars Day!! Please let me know your personal ranking of the Star Wars films! and of course..
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