When it comes to Star Wars movies, most people have somewhat similar opinions. Such as, the original films were the best, the prequels were bad and the sequels were the worst. But I have drastically different views regarding all of the Star Wars films. In this post, I will do my own Star Wars movies ranking that, I am sure, will be very unconventional. But I have to do it otherwise I wouldn’t do justice to some of the titles that are generally perceived as bad albeit they are really not.
Before I began ranking Star Wars movies, a little background of mine; I am a newcomer to the Star Wars franchise and have recently watched all of the films and the series (except for Clone Wars, Rebels, and Resistance) in the timeline order. I feel my feedback can resonate with the people who are fresh to the Star Wars universe and have had a very different overall watching experience as compared to the veteran Star Wars fans.
Since I know enough about the franchise and have been able to enjoy Star Wars films free of any bias and expectations, I believe the following Star Wars ranking of mine would shed a rather different light.
I will try my best to keep the spoilers little to none. Enough said, let’s start with the Star Wars films ranking.
11. Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Starting the list with the Star Wars film that I consider to be the weakest. It is Episode I – The Phantom Menace. To be honest, I liked the movie and that’s why I mentioned it in the title, “okay-ish to great“. I personally don’t dislike any of the star wars movies. However, I consider the Phantom Menace to be the weakest.
I think the overall contribution this movie added to the complete saga was little when compared to other films.
10. Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
I am not of the majority that says the sequel trilogy sucked. In fact, I liked it but not all sequel films were equal. After watching The Last Jedi, I had high hopes for the series finale however, The Rise of Skywalker failed to deliver on multiple accounts. The redundant and lazy writing is the top one. The waste of good characters is the other one.
Although, I can’t deny that some moments were good enough to not put this film at the very bottom.
9. Episode VII – The Force Awakens
This is the point where I have far more positive things to say about the rest of the films than the negative ones. I liked Episode VII as it introduced a fresh new cast along with the legendary old one. Both the main protagonist and the antagonist caught my attention. The action, direction, and overall pacing of the movie were also good.
My only complaint is that The Force Awakens felt like a rip-off of A New Hope as its story led to almost the same events as Episode IV.
8. Episode IV – A New Hope
Speaking of Episode IV, A New Hope was very enjoyable. I loved watching the original cast and of course Darth Vader in his prime. I have been waiting to see this film as I was curious that how the very first Star Wars film would make me feel after having watched the new ones prior to this one. And I liked what I saw.
If only the lightsaber duels were as good as the recent series and films, this film would have been perfect but of course, who could blame them? The movie was released in 1973.
7. Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
One of the reasons for the original trilogy being low on the list is because when it came time to watch the original movies (in timeline order), I was heavily impacted by the Obi-Wan and Anakin era and perhaps wanted more from that time. So, this sudden time leap of multiple years with Episode IV felt a bit strange but of course, that is how it was supposed to be.
Overall, I liked Return of the Jedi, especially its ending sequences however, I think it had a rough start and some unnecessary fan service.
6. Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Since, Episodes I – III were my first Star Wars films, I got attached to them the most. From the soundtracks to the cast, I loved everything. Yes, there were some writing issues here and there but I think the prequel trilogy as a whole was the most enjoyable.
Revenge of the Sith is one of the most important films in the franchise and easily had the potential to be in the top five of this list but the rushed writing, sidelining of Padme’s character, and the sudden change in Anakin’s character made me put it lower than the remaining films.
5. Solo
I have to say it: Solo is the most underrated Star Wars film. It is unknown to me why this movie was not received well. This film had almost everything; Good action, modern CGI, a nice and competent cast, an interesting plot, and exciting moments like the first meeting of Han and Chewie and more but still it is considered one of the worst films in the Star Wars franchise.
I think otherwise and believe it to be a really strong and fun entry. From start to end, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and when it ended I was left satisfied.
4. Episode II – Attack of the Clones
Attack of the Clones in 4th place? Are you serious? I am afraid, yes. I loved the prequel trilogy and I found Episode II to be the most Star Wars movie a Star Wars movie can be. From clones to Jedi council, to Sith Lords to Battle droids, it delivered everything one can expect from a Star Wars film.
Not to mention, I loved the Across the Stars soundtrack and all of the Anakin-Padme relationship moments. In order to understand Vader’s character, these scenes, in particular, were very important and it was in Attack of the Clones that we got to see that. Padme herself had pretty nice character development in this film which I liked a lot.
3. Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
Of course, The Empire Strikes Back will be in the top three of my Star Wars movies ranking. This is considered the peak of Star Wars and rightfully so. This is where Darth Vader, one of the most iconic characters in cinema history, was most vicious and we got to see that complex villain in all his glory.
Not just that, but Episode V started off with very a strong beginning and kept getting even better. This is the movie that involved one of the biggest plot twists ever – although now it’s very well known and has arguably lost its charm.
Another thing I love about The Empire Strikes Back is the ambiance. From Cloud City to the place where Luke meets Yoda, all of it was just very mystical in nature and is something that I will always remember about this movie.
2. Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
It would be a great shock to most people but Star Wars Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is one of my favorite Star Wars films ever. I was totally impressed by its cinematography, pacing, character development, and action sequences – basically almost everything.
Of all three movies in the sequel trilogy, I think this one had the best writing and direction. Many would argue about the irrelevant plotlines and Luke’s character development, but I enjoyed it all. Those irrelevant plotlines were significant enough for me and told a lot about the Star Wars universe and the hypocrisy of some of its systems.
The constant mind-connection scenes of Rey and Kylo were brilliantly executed and were always fun to watch. The battle sequences were one of the best in the franchise. Finally, the ending was both emotional and inspirational to me. I was super impressed with the film and was left more than satisfied.
1. Rogue One
Surprisingly, the best Star Wars film is not from any trilogy but is a side story. I am talking about Rogue One which for me is the peak of the Star Wars franchise. The way the characters are written and the seamless way the overall story is connected to Episode IV is parallel to no other Star Wars film in my opinion.
You get to resonate with almost all of the main cast and feel emotional when they win or lose. The action scenes in this film were well-planned and contributed majorly to the plot events.
It is only at the end that we get to realize how important the events of this movie were for the Rebels and the leading events of the original trilogy.
And as the icing on the cake, it gloriously featured Darth Vader and other key characters of Episode 4. Without a doubt, Rogue One is my favorite Star Wars movie to date.
That’s all on my Star Wars movies ranking. I know it would be very unorthodox and many would disagree but this is how I feel about all of the Star Wars films. Let me know your thoughts about this ranking in a respectful manner and I will be happy to discuss further my reasoning.
For more rankings, keep visiting Retrology. See you in the next post.
