In honor of May the 4th, I will be ranking every Star Wars movie with a detailed explanation of my ranking. I absolutely love the entire series, but I definitely enjoy some more than other. This is not which movies I think are the best, simply which I enjoy watching the most
Bram’s List
12. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
In my opinion, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is easily the weakest film in the Star Wars franchise in terms of characters, plot, quality, and pacing. The movie takes place between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith at the beginning stages of the Clone Wars. It introduces the character of Ashoka Tano, Anakain’s Jedi apprentice that becomes a key part of the Clone Wars tv show. It is also the only animated movie on this list, which in itself is not an issue as animation is an art form that allows for story telling that cannot be captured in live action. However, the animation of this movie is low quality and seems cheap compared to the other blockbuster films on this list. Overall, although Star Wars the Clone Wars is a very messy movie with many flaws, it serves as the extended pilot to my favorite show of all time.
11. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the most recent edition to the Star Wars franchise, and it is the last movie in the nine part “Skywalker Saga”. For me, this movie was a disappointing end of the saga due to its messy and unexplained plot in addition to flawed character developments. My biggest complaint with the movie is the unexpected and unexplained introduction of the main villain of the film, Emperor Palpatine. Without looking to sources outside of the movie, the audience would have no clue how such a pivotal character came back from his “death” in Return of the Jedi. Another issue I have is how quickly the characters of Poe Dameron and Finn were thrown to the background. They were some of the best parts of The Force Awakens, and The Rise of Skywalker didn’t give them much screen time. However, this movie was absolutely beautiful, which is something I love with the entire sequel trilogy. While I have many complaints with The Rise of Skywalker, it had some of the most visually stunning sequences of the franchise.
10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
For me, The Last Jedi was the first sign of issues with the sequel trilogy. It takes place after The Force Awakens, and it continues the story of Rey, Finn, Poe, and other new characters. At the end of The Force Awakens, we see Rey meet Luke Skywalker, the main character of the original trilogy that had been in hiding for years. Though it was cool to see Mark Hamill on screen again, I felt that the character of Luke was tarnished by this movie. In the original trilogy, he saw the goodness in an evil tyrant, bur in this movie, he was not able to see the goodness in a confused teenager. This plot line, combined with the story of Finn and newly introduced Rose, makes this movie another movie that I didn’t particularly love. Similarly with The Rise of Skywalker, this movie did have some beautiful cinematography and fight scenes, with some of the best effects of the saga.
9. Solo: A Star Wars Story
From this point on, every movie on this list I thoroughly enjoy watching. Admittedly, I have only seen Solo once while it was in theaters, and I have not revisited it since. The film delves into the backstory of one of my favorite characters, Han Solo, exploring his origins. It depicts how he met Chewbacca and Lando, obtained the Millenium Falcon, and made the Kessle run in 12 parsecs. I especially loved Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, and there were some really fun moments throughout the film. Though I enjoyed the film, I did not love the cinematography of the film. Many scenes took place in the dark, which contrasts the usually vibrant scenery of Star Wars. For me, this film feels so differently than every other in the series, which is why I placed it at 9th.
8. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Attack of the clones is one of the most fun Star Wars movies with some amazing moments. It follows the development of Anakin Skywalker after he joins the Jedi order in The Phantom Menace. The movie features several well-executed action sequences including the speeder chase on Coruscant, the battle arena on Geonosis, and especially the lightsaber duels. It also builds upon the world of Star Wars in a really enjoyable way. However, this film was held back by its terrible dialogue. One of the worst aspects of the prequels was its dialogue, and in my opinion, this film exhibits this glaring flaw. Scenes between Anakin and Padme are especially hard to sit through, and they are some of the most awkward scenes in the entire series.
7. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
The Phantom Menace is the first installment in the Star Wars saga chronologically, and although it is not a perfect film by any means, it is an extremely fun watch. It follows the origins of Anakin Skywalker in his enslavement on Tatooine. Just like Attack of the Clones, there are some amazing action sequences and world building. One of the highlights of this movie is the duel involving Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Qui-Gon Jinn, which stands out as one of my favorites in the entire saga. Again similarly to Attack of the Clones, the dialogue of The Phantom Menace is not great, but it is much more bearable than Attack of the Clones. I also love the character of Qui-Gon Jinn, and I really wish that he could be a part of the later films.
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Watching The Force Awakens for the first time was one of the most electric experiences I’ve had in theaters. This was one of the few times I’ve seen a movie on opening night and it did not disappoint at all. The Force Awakens takes place following the events of the original trilogy with all new characters and locations. Finn and Poe are easily my favorite characters that were newly introduced, and they played a key role in this movie. This film features amazing scenery and fight sequences and it was really a breath of fresh air for the series. Additionally, it harps on nostalgia heavily through the appearance of recurring characters like Han Solo. However, the main plot of The Force Awakens is almost the exactly the same plot as A New Hope. Although many people see this as a flagrant issue, I do not mind the similarities. In general, this film had enough new aspects to be very enjoyable, especially with the nostalgia it tied into.
5. Star Wars: A New Hope
This movie marks the threshold of my favorite Star Wars movies of all time. I absolutely adore every film from here on out, and placing each of them was extremely difficult. A New Hope was the first Star Wars movie released in 1977, and it marks the beginning of my favorite movie franchise ever. It follows the story of Luke Skywalker as he joins the rebel alliance to defeat the tyrannical empire that rules the galaxy. For being released in 1977, the quality on this film is insane. Since CGI was not around in the 70s all of the effects are practical effects, which adds to its ability to still look good today. This film was really the start of something special, and the characters and plots set up here were fully revealed through the ladder two films of the trilogy. Though I don’t believe there is anything innately wrong with this movie, the dialogue was unnatural at some points. I feel like some of the discussion between characters did not seem natural and human. Also, the action scenes seem lackluster compared to others in the series. Overall, this film was the start to it all, and I absolutely adore watching it.
4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One is easily the most underrated Star Wars film and many people would probably disagree with my placement of it over A New Hope. This film takes place between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, and it shows how the rebels obtained the plans to the Death Star. Unlike other Star Wars movies, the main cast of Rogue One is not seen in any other addition to the Star Wars franchise. These characters are what makes this movie special to me and I loved seeing them interact with each other. Rogue One features a perfect balance between character development and action, which is one of the main reasons I adore this film. In particular, the scene featuring Darth Vader at the end of the movie is arguably my favorite scene in the entire series.
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Return of the Jedi, the final edition to the original trilogy, has many amazing aspects that makes for an all around great movie. It has great story building, and is the final culmination of all of the plot lines seen throughout the original trilogy. It also features amazing action scenes, especially in the final confrontation between Luke and Vader. In my opinion, Return of the Jedi is the perfect conclusion to the trilogy and it has easily the best ending of the entire franchise. I simply have nothing to say against this film whatsoever, I just believe that the other two movies above it are in a league of their own when it comes to story and action sequences.
2. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Although the prequel trilogy is overall subpar, Revenge of the Sith is the outlier of the group. This film has easily the best action and fight scenes in any movie I’ve seen. I absolutely adore every second of this film and my favorite aspect is the turn of Anakin to the dark side. This switch was portrayed excellently, and I believe that Anakin is an amazingly written character in this film. The final fight scene between Anakin and Obi Wan is the most visually appealing fight scene in the series, even if some parts were a little extra. Although I personally love this film, I can understand complaints people have with this film. Many people believe that the dialogue isn’t great, it is not nearly as bad as in Attack of the Clones. Critics of Revenge of the Sith’s dialogue often overlook that the original trilogy lacks great dialogue. While I can admit the flaws of this film, I personally love it and couldn’t imagine putting it any lower than two.
1. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Empire Strikes Back is without a doubt, both my favorite Star Wars movie and the best Star Wars movie. Unlike Revenge of the Sith, which receives a fair amount of criticism, The Empire Strikes Back is widely viewed as the best Star Wars movie and it shouldn’t be a surprise to most that I placed it here. In my opinion, The Empire Strikes Back is what all sequel movies should strive to be, as it builds on the characters and world established in a new and interesting way. It perfectly develops the characters of both Luke and Vader, making their relationship more complex through the best twist in all of cinema. This movie is absolutely iconic, and it provides a more nuanced storyline that is later developed in Return of the Jedi. I have absolutely no complaints with this movie at all, and it is, in my opinion, the best the Star Wars films will ever get.
