Ranking every mainline Star Wars Movie

Philip Berkwit  and Jack Mahoney

Star Wars is one of the most popular entertainment series in the world. It all began in 1977 when Lucasfilm’s released the first Star Wars film. However, over time the film series has become more and more popular and divided. The prequels are very controversial between Star Wars fans, and when Disney bought Lucasfilm and started making the sequels, fans became even more divided. We think all these films should be ranked in an extremely specific way.

In last place, we have “Rise of Skywalker.”  It’s easy to see that this film is a mess from the scroll text. It claims that the main villain in all other Star Wars films is somehow alive. They rarely give any explanation about how he is alive. This also takes away from the sacrifice of Darth Vader in episode 6. Furthermore, the death of Emperor Palpatine in this film is extremely idiotic. Palpatine was about to kill Rey, however she just reflected his lighting back at him. For some reason, Palpatine who in the other films is shown to be this evil mastermind somehow doesn’t know how to stop shooting lighting.

 

In 8th place, “The Last Jedi.” This is a very weird film.  To compliment, this film has some of the best visual effects in any movie. This film has 3 main arcs, Rey meeting Luke, Poe and the Resistance stuck in space, and Finn doing something in a casino that didn’t matter at all. Each of these arcs are very poorly done. They turn Luke into an old, depressed jerk who just seems unlikeable. If this character was not played by Mark Hamill, nobody would be able to tell it was Luke. However, this arc is a masterpiece compared to Poe and Fins arc. Nothing is gained or learned from these arcs, it just feels like the characters are just standing there doing nothing.

In 7th place, “The Phantom Menace.”  George Lucas started something quite different with the prequels. In some ways this movie is incredibly good. Qui-Gon Jinn is a very likable character, and We bought his relationship with Obi-Wan who is casted perfectly as Ewan McGregor. The action in this movie is also amazing, the fight with Darth Maul, Obi Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn is both emotional and perfectly shot. However, this film suffers from having way too much filler and exposition. For most of this film, it just has Jedi and Friends talking about politics. Jar Jar is also annoying.

In 6th place, “The Force Awakens.” Let’s start with the good. The visuals are incredible, and I think they made the new characters in this film the most likable. It set up a lot of potential and interesting plot points for the rest of the Disney trilogy. However, the problems arise when you investigate the plot. The plot is a complete copy of episode 4, “A New Hope.” It’s the same story of a death star blowing up planets, it’s extremely boring to watch this again. They also make Rey way too powerful in this movie. She is just learning that the force is real, yet she can overpower a Sith who has been training his whole life. This makes the film very mixed. When this movie shines, it really shines, however the plot gets in the way of a good film.

In 5th place, “Attack of The Clones.” This is a very flawed movie; the dialogue is the worst in any Star Wars movie, and the romance with Anakin and Padme is awful. However, this film is the reason for some of the best moments in Star Wars. We think this movie extended the Star Wars universe greatly. We get to see so much life in Coruscant, Kamino, Geonosis, Tatooine, etc. These planets are not just for show either, we get to see how the aliens of these planets live and work, it is remarkably interesting and fun to watch. Everything with the clones is also interesting and somewhat mysterious.

In 4th Place, “Return of The Jedi.” This film is very well shot and gives all the characters closure. However, there is a lot of filler. The entire first act is set at Jabbas palace and way too much time is given to the Ewoks who don’t really matter. This film is still great because of all the emotion and fun this film gives, most notably Luke and Vader’s final fight.

In 3rd place, “The Empire Strikes Back.” This film exceeded expectations in every way. The film has a darker mood and really makes you feel for the characters and makes you see them grow. The twist of Vader being Luke’s Father must have been one of the greatest twists in any movie when it came out and the film introduced fan favorite characters like Boba Fett.

In 2nd place, “A New Hope.” This is where Star Wars all began. The cast and environment of this movie are all amazing. It’s hard not to love characters like Obi Wan, Luke, Leia, Han, and others. This film changed cinema forever and is the reason we have this amazing series.

In 1st place “Revenge of The Sith.” The fight scenes and lightsaber duels are the best they’ve ever been. This film has the best soundtrack of any Star Wars movie, and this film really makes you love the relationship between Obi Wan and Anakin Skywalker. The environment is also insanely creative and impressive in this movie, seeing Order 66 being executed on all these differing planets is jaw-dropping. All these aspects make this our favorite Star Wars Movie.