May the Fourth Be With You

It’s one of the greatest days of the year. No, not Oaks, Derby or any of that. It’s May 4th!

This story is dedicated to ranking the first six Star Wars movies. With all the hate of all the new movies, I decided to just rank the first six. I’ve been a Star Wars fan my whole life and seen all the movies dozens of times. I do have some criticisms of some of them but overall they’re great.

Spoilers ahead!

6. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones

“Attack of the Clones” is, in my opinion, the worst of the first six movies. The long love story of Anakin Skywalker and Padme just ruined it for me. I think it took too much time out of the movie and made me, and others, uninterested. The end scene of all the Jedi coming into Geonosis to save the trio of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Padme inside the Colosseum was a top Star Wars scene for me. Mace Windu chopping off Jengi Fett’s head at the beginning of the battle was memorable. Not to mention a top-five Jedi duel in Star Wars between Yoda and Count Dooku, which ended with Dooku escaping. Attack of the Clones was still a solid movie but was my least favorite.

5. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope

“A New Hope” is the fourth movie in the series and the first one ever created in 1977. It starts with R2-D2 going on a mission to recruit old Ben Kenobi to save the Rebellion. He brings along Luke Skywalker to help on the mission. Luke and Obi-Wan find a ride from Chewbacca and Han Solo to go to the Death Star to rescue captured Princess Leia. She is saved, and the Rebellion finds a secret vulnerability in the Death Star. The movie ends with a fierce battle, with the Rebellion attacking the new Empire and destroying the Death Star. The movie was a setup for the story of Luke. It wasn’t bad at all, but just too slow for me.

4. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace

“The Phantom Menace” was the first movie of the prequels made in the early 2000s. It tells the story of Anakin Skywalker’s childhood as a slave, his eventual freedom, and his journey to become a Jedi. The pod-racing scene is very memorable and is a highlight of the movie. It ends with one of the top three Jedi duels of all time between the new Sith apprentice Darth Maul and Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. The duel concludes with the death of beloved Qui-Gon, which broke the hearts of many Star Wars fans. Obi-Wan then promises to train Anakin to become a Jedi master. Despite being most hated by many Star Wars fans, except for the controversial character Jar Jar Binks, it is still a solid movie.

3. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

“The Empire Strikes Back” takes place after the destruction of the Death Star in A New Hope. The Rebel Alliance has relocated to the snowy planet of Hoth, but the Empire discovers their location and attacks. The rebels are forced to flee, and Luke travels to the planet Dagobah to learn the ways of the Jedi from Master Yoda. However, Luke struggles with his training, and Han Solo and his group travel to Cloud City to seek refuge with Lando Calrissian, only to be captured by the Empire and Darth Vader. Han Solo is frozen in carbonite, and Luke leaves Dagobah to rescue his friends. The movie ends with an iconic duel between Vader and Luke, in which Vader reveals that he is Luke’s father, and Luke loses his hand. The battle on Hoth and the climactic duel between Vader and Luke make this movie third on my list.

2. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

“Return of the Jedi” is the sixth and final movie of the series. It starts at Jabba’s palace, where Han Solo is frozen in carbonite. Luke and Leia are captured trying to save him. Luke devises a plan to escape and saves everyone. Luke has to go back to Dagobah to finish his training with Yoda. Yoda dies, telling Luke he must face his father, Darth Vader. The Rebellion sets up an attack to destroy a new Death Star. Luke tries to turn Darth Vader to the light but fails. The Emperor knows about the Rebellion’s sneak attack and traps them. During the trap, Luke denies joining the dark side and fights Vader. He chops off Vader’s hand but still stops himself from joining the Emperor. The Emperor throws force lightning onto Luke, but Vader comes out of nowhere and throws the Emperor to his death. This is one of the most iconic endings in the whole series as Anakin, now Vader, fulfills his destiny as the chosen one and brings balance to the force by killing the Emperor. The reason why this movie was ranked so high is because of the last scene. Luke resists the temptation to join the dark side but also turns his father back to the light.

1. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith

“Revenge of the Sith” starts off with a bang in the Battle of Coruscant. It’s one of the great views in Star Wars that blows my mind every time I see it. The duel between Obi-Wan and General Grievous is all over the battlefield, which ends with Obi-Wan shooting Grievous in the heart. The death of Grievous looks like it will be the end of the war until Order 66. Order 66 was the plot brought out by Chancellor Palpatine, who was a Sith Lord. A chip planted in the clones’ heads made them kill off the majority of the Jedi in the galaxy. It starts with Anakin killing Mace Windu to save his new master, the former Supreme Chancellor Emperor Palpatine. Yoda decides he must face Palpatine to end it as soon as possible. That ends with Yoda losing and him going off into exile on Dagobah. The final scene between Anakin and Obi-Wan is one of the best scenes in movie history on the volcanic planet Mustafar. Anakin loses his legs while Obi-Wan leaves him burning. Anakin is rescued by his master, and Darth Vader is created. The greatest villain in the history of movies is created. I rated this movie number one because of the great plot, music, and cinematography. The ending is a 10/10 and my favorite scene in any movie ever.