It’s hard to imagine a more influential series in the cultural zeitgeist than “Star Wars.” We have literally dedicated May 4th as the seminal “May the Fourth Be With You” Star Wars day, something no other film franchise or film has ever been able to achieve. Regardless of how you feel about the universe’s current state or Disney’s plethora of streaming shows or even George Lucas going out of his way to make things worse (yes, I said what I said), Star Wars remains a staple of our cinematic existence.
So, in honor of May the Fourth, I thought it would be fun to rank ALL of the films. As always with these things, this is purely my own personal preference. We are bound to disagree, as the series is extremely personal to a lot of fans, and your order depends on your own experience with each entry. So of course where you place “The Last Jedi” will vary wildly, so please don’t read this as the “definitive” list above all others. It’s just my own personal preference, which is the beauty of the experiment to begin with.
Note: This will ONLY include theatrical released feature films. All series, no matter how good they are will not be ranked. This excludes some of the animated specials, the infamous Holiday Special, and both Ewok films (which I unapologetically love and have watched more than once…on purpose). With that, let’s rank some space operas!
11. The Rise of Skywalker
Sorry, but this one ranks as the worst Star Wars film to date. A literal reskin of “Avengers: Endgame” and an indecipherable plot, “Rise of Skywalker” attempts to undo everything laid out by its predecessor while trying to simultaneously wrap up 9 films in a neat little bow. It’s exhausting, nonsensical, and one of the most forgettable space experiences in the entire franchise. Outside of the Marvel comparison, I couldn’t tell you one single memorable scene from this film. Even some of the lesser prequels (which are terrible) have individual scenes that I can recall every single detail about. “Rise of Skywalker” is void of substance and purpose, an aimless space adventure that requires the director to tweet information not in the movie to understand. No, you are not Rey….Rey Skywalker. Stop it.
10. Attack of the Clones
I know we tend to think fondly of “Attack of the Clones,” and often rush to the defense of the Yoda vs Dooku scene as its pinnacle savior. I was once that defender. I can recall vividly where I was when I saw it at midnight in the theater, and rewatched the fight nearly 100 times on a laptop I was corrupting with my bootleg downloads. But upon a rewatch, “Attack of the Clones” is completely aimless and largely plotless, meandering about its worlds with nothing to add to the story except what we already know. There’s more to make fun of than enjoy, as Hayden Christenssen’s performance and Natalie Portman magical midruff are certified meme canon. But its’ just not good, even by prequel standards. The entirely of “Attack of the Clones” is harder to sit through than you might think, and ranks as one of the worst of the worst of bad prequels.
9. The Phantom Menace
I know we’re all trying to do some revisionist history with “The Phantom Menace.” I know we want to reclaim the epic score (“Duel of Fates” is still one of the hardest hitting composed pieces in cinema ever) and very well staged Darth Maul vs Jedis end fight. But the film as whole is nearly impossible to sit through, showing Lucas’ full hand as an average director with big ideas, most of which shouldn’t be put to film. He works best when people tell him no, and “The Phantom Menace” is Lucas unhinged and it shows in both quality and storytelling. You have to have a pretty horrendous script to make Portman unwatchable as an actress, and even her, Mcgregor, and Liam Fucking Neeson can’t do anything to make the material work. I know we want to pretend like we missed something with “The Phantom Menace,” but no, we don’t need to do the Thanos “perhaps I treated you too harshly” here. It’s bad. Really bad.
8. Revenge of the Sith
I used to think this was the best of the prequels, and by my ranking standards it technically is. But like “Attack of the Clones,” “Revenge of the Sith” only hinges on the final battle between Obi-wan and Anakin and the forever memeable “Hello there.” The actual movie surrounding it is pretty awful and slog to get through, and those small things we hold dear don’t actually do a lot of heavy lifting. Contextually, it should be the darkest and most tragic of the prequels, but Lucas is just incapable of conveying actual emotion and emotional stakes in the way better screenwriters and directors he once entrusted with his ideas do much better. “Revenge of the Sith” may be the best of the prequels, but it still ranks low on the list if overall Star Wars films. That reminds me, have you ever heard the Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise?
7. Solo: A Star Wars Story
In retrospect, “Solo” is actually a really good standalone space movie that works best when it isn’t desperately trying to justify itself to its audience. Every piece of connective tissue to the Star Wars universe is what holds it back, and you can feel the Disney-fication of it all in real time. I’ll admit, I previously ranked “Solo” below most of the prequels, but it does have some great ideas and pretty stellar action set pieces that still hold up. It’s the origin story that ruins a rather solid hero’s journey, and I wish “Solo” existed on its own a lot more than it does. When it is just working for itself and building the smuggler’s underworld, its pretty damn good. It’s when it tries to come up with with the name Solo or show us the Kessel Run or give us the meet cute of Han and Chewie that hold “Solo” back from being a great Star Wars movie.
6. The Force Awakens
Now that the prequels are out of the way, we’re off to the races of good Star Wars. From this point on, there really isn’t a bad film so much as they’re just ranked preferentially, “The Force Awakens” being an incredible love letter to the franchise and basically “A New Hope” but with better visuals. That’s not a slight, either. Making “The Force Awakens” as an updated version in framework of its source material is a good thing. We waited decades for a good Star Wars movie, and JJ Abrams demonstrates his genuine love of the world here. You can tell his is a true fan, and while he doesn’t take too many risks with the story (killing Han Solo notwithstanding) there is a clear reverence for what came before him. “The Force Awakens” is really rewatchable, too, and while there are better films in the ranking, it is a really, really good reminder as to why we love the franchise.
5. Star Wars: A New Hope
Ya, I know, how can you rank the original so low?! Truth be told, “A New Hope” is my least favorite of the original trilogy. I get that you can’t have any of the others without it and everything ranked ahead of it wouldn’t exist if this one wasn’t such a phenomenon, but I find it to be the least rewatchable of the three. It’s very good, and I completely understand how “A New Hope” gripped the world and transported them to a world they never could’ve imagined. It has some incredible visuals and characters, and really sets the standard for everything that comes after. But “A New Hope” is just ok for a large part of it, particularly given what we now know what the franchise can be and ends up becoming. It is constantly approved upon even in its follow up right after, and I just can’t handle whiny Luke for that long.
4. The Last Jedi
Yes, you read that right. “The Last Jedi” is number 4 on my rankings list. Nevermind how it functions in the overall trilogy (it doesn’t) and yes we can remove the entire Canto Bight Casino scene from the film to make it better. But “The Last Jedi” instilled the sort of childlike wonder I’d been searching for in my space operas for a while, and the subversive nature of Rian Johnson’s story resonated with me big time. There is just nothing like that resistance ship crashing into the star destroyer and exploding in the silence of space. It is one of the most visceral scenes in all of Star Wars history, and I will champion the bold choices in “The Last Jedi” to the death. This movie is great; not flawless, but it is incredible and I stand by ranking it this high. Come at me, trolls. I’m ready.
3. Return of the Jedi
Though it may be the messiest and silliest of the original trilogy, and begins to tread into the corporate branding waters of its own star power for most of it, “Return of the Jedi” has one of the best first acts of any Star Wars film. It is an epic crime caper/horror film that continues to thrust you into the darkest parts of the universe, and then rewards you with an epic turn as Luke becomes the Jedi we all wanted him to be. “Return of the Jedi” has plenty of flaws and gets a little rough in the middle, but every time I fire it up to watch the first act I find myself unable to turn it off and see it through to the end. It is perhaps the most entertaining of the original trilogy, packed with a little something for everyone; furry teddy bears for merchandising, epic new worlds and incredible visuals, dazzling adventure and an extremely fleshed out drama for its leads. “Return of the Jedi” is really good even if it’s not the best, and I feel right about placing it so high.
2. Rouge One
Fitting I would love the most dire and tragic films in the franchise for last. “Rogue One” has aged like fine wine for me, and gets better and better with every rewatch. I remember being very down on it when I first saw it, but the more I ponder its themes and execution and brilliant rendition of “Seven Samurai” the more I genuinely love this film. It is so engaging and heartbreaking, yet heroic and hopeful at the same time. Unlike “Solo,” “Rogue One” relies on the world at hand and not so much the world it wants to be a part of. It is not until the final epilogue where the connective tissue and fan service becomes most egregious. For most of the film, “Rogue One” tells its own story that is loosely connected to the films that come after it. The telling of events feel like they matter and it has real stakes, makeing “Rogue One” one of the best entries in the entire franchise.
1. The Empire Strikes Back
I don’t think I’m surprising anyone with my pick here. “Empire Strikes Back” has long been herald as the best of the best within the Star Wars Universe, and I stand with the general consensus. It’s just peak cinema through and through. Lucas takes a back seat to his own story and lets better men write and direct, and boy oh boy does it show. Everything from the writing to the pacing the character development to the visuals are as good as the franchise gets. It is Star Wars at its best, and takes the crown as number 1 with ease. No notes. This is perfect Star Wars for me.
So there you have it! My Star Wars Films Rankings! May the Fourth (or Force) be with you!
