Ranking the Star Wars Films

1. Empire Strikes Back

This is a popular opinion, but for good reason; this is how a successful sequel is done. Take everything that the first film establishes and flip the audience’s expectations on their heads. The most exciting large-scale confrontation between the heroic Rebels and villainous Empire comes within the first 30 minutes of the film, and our heroes spend the rest of the story running away from an overwhelming force. By essentially reversing the narrative structure of the first movie, most the film is spent further developing the characters that we have already gotten to know. Vader is revealed to have a higher master that he serves in the Emperor, Han and Leia develop a budding “will they/won’t they” romance, Luke is trained by Yoda and learns more about the Jedi and what his own temptations could be, and in the coup de grace of plot twists, learns that Darth Vader is his father. At the end of the film, the good guys certainly haven’t won, and the radically darker tone of this movie helps it stand apart. Come for the sequel to the historic blockbuster, stay for one of the best sequels ever made.

2. A New Hope/Star Wars

This is on the very short shortlist for most important movies in the history of the art form. Jaws invented the critically acclaimed summer blockbuster two years earlier, and Lucas was able to outperform his best friend Spielberg on both the critical and box office front. What was supposed to be an all-time failure based on early production reports became one of the biggest film events of all time. It wouldn’t be until Titanic premiered 20 years later that a filmmaker was able to replicate what George Lucas had done. This film’s reliance on classic fairy tales, Samurai and Cowboy movies, and a sense of religious mysticism created the perfect “movie story”, which was paired with groundbreaking special effects to create a once-in-a-generation type of movie experience that hasn’t aged a day. The still-active franchise and financial powerhouse would not have ever existed unless the original entry was able to capture the hearts and minds of audiences everywhere; this is movie magic at its best. Come for the history, stay for the ageless wonder.

3. The Last Jedi

After Disney acquired Lucasfilm and began producing Star Wars movies, the Disney corporate thumbprint has become palpable, but there are a few redeeming qualities to the films. Each film works to explore and end the arcs of the three main characters from the original trilogy in a touching way, and they are mostly well-directed. While The Force Awakens is very well done, the general consensus was that it was weighed down by being too close a retread of the original film. Enter The Last Jedi, a sequel that certainly lifts from the blueprints of Empire Strikes Back, but plays with the story beats enough to stand as its own original film while also being as daring, controversial, and expectation-defying as Empire was when it premiered. If you research the initial reaction to Empire, you’ll realize that audiences in 1980 weren’t thrilled; it was only after Lucas (mostly) stuck the landing with Return of the Jedi that film was appreciated. Last Jedi now carries the reputation of the movie that broke the sequel trilogy (and the at times toxic Star Wars fandom) in half. In other words, it did exactly what the best sequels do. Rian Johnson, whose other films this decade were Looper and Knives Out, is in complete control of this terrific entry. Come for the controversy, stay for the smartest and best Star Wars film in decades.

4. Rogue One

Disney’s experiment with spin-off films meant to fill in the gaps in the Star Was timeline was interesting, but in just two films we got an example why it could work, and why it couldn’t. Rogue One’s telling of how the plans to the Death Star was a fascinating concept that served to illustrate something only referenced by dialogue in the original (a good thing) and attempt to explain why the Death Star had a hole in it (a reflection of the MCU’s obsession with plot holes, which is bad). Additionally, this movie goes from Star Wars’ version of a spy/espionage movie to a grim war epic, which can feel like two completely different movies in one, but this shift in tone is not quite as jarring as it could have been. Even so, the battle sequences are excellently staged, the spy/espionage/exploration of the Rebellion’s dirtier side is fascinating, the focus is just small enough, the characters are well-drawn, and the decision to have the entire team perish is quite a bold one for Disney and remained impactful until the recent announcements. But, for a brief moment in 2016, a Disney Star Wars movie was bold. Come for an interesting spin-off experiment, stay for the experiment succeeding.

5. Revenge of the Sith

Ah, the prequel trilogy. While I’m disappointed in some of the decisions that Disney made and what they’re currently doing with the franchise, one bonus of them buying Lucasfilm means that there’s somebody to prevent Lucas from acting on his worst creative instincts. The prequels’ over-reliance on CGI for everything including sets certainly heralded the era of filmmaking we’re still in, but that doesn’t make for a good movie. I’ll spend more time sharing my prequel woes as we go, as Revenge of the Sith was able to overcome its limitations and tell a mature, coherent story boasting great action sequences and a couple of great performances – most notably Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid. The film makes the most of the fact that the prequels were leading to the moment that Anakin Skywalker becomes Darth Vader, and while the first two entries hardly found flight, this film more than sticks the landing. Come for the end of the beginning, stay for the best of the beginning.

6. Return of the Jedi

Re-watching this movie, it’s easy to see some of the Star Wars worst patterns on display. In the very first scene, the Empire is building another Death Star; while the prequels referenced its existence, the first and third sequel movies are unable to escape using it as a plot device which is to all their detriment. Additionally, the Ewoks appeal too directly to the children watching and merchandise potential while derailing the momentum of the story. Around that, the opening 30 minutes containing Jabba’s palace and the closing battles and Throne Room confrontation are fantastic. The ultimate refusal of Luke to turn to the dark side, and Darth Vader’s ultimate redemption, achieve the emotional heights that the previous films were quietly building towards in spectacular fashion. Come for the final victory for the good guys, stay for satisfying conclusion to Lucas’ vision.

7. The Force Awakens

The hype was real when this trailer dropped in 2014, and while we’re officially in the bottom half of my rankings, this film mostly lived up to the hype. What holds it back for me is the near beat-by-beat retread of the original film while overstuffing this film with characters both new and old with their own arcs to explore. There’s a real lack of what this film is about and is a little too obsessed with trying to set up its own sequel with ideas that Rian Johnson clearly didn’t care to explore. However, J.J. Abrams certainly gives us a spectacle, and Ford’s final* turn as Han Solo manages to be charming and moving. Come for the start of the Disney production, stay for J.J.’s dynamic filmmaking at its most energetic.

8. Solo

Here’s where a spinoff film can falter. I appreciate the small stakes of this film, and some of Han’s misadventures with the bandits in the early part of this film are quite fun. I’m a fan of Donald Glover as Lando, and Woody Harrelson doesn’t get too weird here. Alden Ehrenreich is subtly fantastic as a young Han Solo, capturing the swagger and charm without trying to do a Harrison Ford imitation. Emilia Clarke is fine but not quite in her element, and the rest of the supporting performances don’t seem to do much for me. This film’s very conception holds it back from being as good as Rogue One; a small story about Han Solo is interesting but may not be enough to fill a movie. What we get is a whole lot of fan service to explain everything about Han’s originally mysterious character, which is a mistake. Watching the movie, you can also feel the fact that the film’s original directors were fired after filming half the movie, leaving Ron Howard to take over. This is very palpable in the film, and too much time is spent on things that have nothing to do with Han Solo. Come for Han, stay for Han.

9. The Phantom Menace

What a disappointment this must have been to fans in 1999. Jar Jar Binks is emblematic, as the Ewoks were, of George Lucas’ missteps personified; a character straight for the kids that adds nothing to the story. Additionally, the grounding of the previously mysterious force by introducing the concepts of “midichlorians” was a step towards sapping the magic out of Star Wars, which is a mistake. Ewan McGregor doesn’t really get to cook in this one, but Liam Neeson is terrific as Qui Gon Jinn. Natalie Portman also delights in her introduction to the franchise, but it’s no coincidence that the best scene in this movie – the final duel with Darth Maul – is reliant on practical stunt choreography and not CGI. Another thing giving this film a boost over its immediate sequel (and there isn’t much) is that this movie feels more tightly plotted despite bouncing across multiple planets against the backdrop of an invasion and introducing us to the characters and forces that will make up the rest of the prequel trilogy. Come for Star Wars’ fresh restart, stay for the brilliant highs of the final scenes.

10. Rise of Skywalker

This film marketed itself as not just the close of Disney’s sequel trilogy, but of the entire 9-film Skywalker Saga, and it simply isn’t good. I enjoyed Adam Driver’s performance as Kylo Ren, and J.J. Abrams sure can put on a visual show. There really isn’t much else to recommend, as you can feel the scramble throughout the entire film to try and cobble something together; it should surprise no one that this film was being written and re-written by the Disney team every day before filming began. The problems encountered by the production only exacerbated the lack of strong conception that went into this movie. Introducing Palpatine as the ultimate mastermind with no hint of this in the previous films is a mistake; mismanaging John Boyega’s Finn and excluding Kelly Marie Tran’s Rose due to comments from fans that skewed racist is inexcusably bad and weak. This movie also seems to mix up “escapist fun” with “no stakes”, and not to its benefit. Come for the much-hyped end to the Skywalker Saga and Disney’s Sequel Trilogy, stay to understand why it’s going to be awhile before the Mouse machine churns out another movie.

11. Attack of the Clones

What a weird movie as soon as it’s being watched by someone over 12. What starts out as a semi-intriguing attempted-assassination-turned-mystery story expands into a parallel plotline featuring one of the most forced, unbelievable romances on one hand and a very poorly paced sleuth story on the other. Both elements eventually converge in a scene that I like featuring a gladiator death pit, before suddenly and unexpectedly turning into a massive war epic. There’s a version of this movie that could have been good, and Ewan McGregor is finally cooking in a great way as an over-it-all Obi Wan. However, we don’t get to judge films on what they could have been, and this one is not good and far less coherent than Phantom Menace. All the trappings of the prequels’ problems are there, most notably a seeming trade away of heart in exchange for better and more frequent CGI. Come for Obi-Wan, stay for him, Jango, and a whole lot of memes.

12. The Clone Wars (film)

Ouch. Besides being a little too quippy, the story in this film is noticeably thin for a feature movie; it now carries the reputation of being a launchpad for the very well-received TV show, but it was initially released as a movie, so I have to judge it as a movie. It’s a bad movie. Come for an interesting animation style, impressive early action scenes and “camera” movements, but you don’t have to stay very long.