This will include Solo: A Star Wars Story
Please remember these are just my opinions. If don’t agree that’s ok. It’s not written stone so chill.
This list doesn’t include that Clone Wars movie or any EU stuff because I could care less about that. The list is from least favorite to favorite.
#10: Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
WHAT?!?! Not Phantom of the Menace?!?!? Yup that’s right I hate this film more than I do Phantom Menace. I think this film is just flat out boring. Its run time is 2 hours and 22 minutes and I swear 75% of that run time nothing is happening and we are stuck with the worst love story ever. A love story that bores the ever living crap out. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman are horrible. They have no chemistry and their dialogue is just atrocious. The acting between the two are just very dead pan. Everything with Jango just feels like fan service since we know how that character becomes Boba Fett. The conversation between Obi-Wan and Doku is just what happens in Episode V between Luke and Vader. It just felt so lazy. Everyone remembers the last 20 minutes of this movie. Which is cool but it looks so dated today and even back then it was just a mess of CGI.
Grade: D-
#9: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Ok, what hasn’t been said already about this movie? It sucks plain and simple. People were hyped about Star Wars coming only to be met with huge disappointment.
That video up there perfectly describes everything disappointing about Episode I. People we’re in denial that something like Star Wars can be bad. This movie was just boring. Bringing trade federations and political meetings into Star Wars? Who the hell thought that was a good idea? The film is rumored to have been just done in one draft because the studio wasn’t going to look at what George Lucas wrote down. He made Star Wars! Surly this will be good and make tons of money. Well…it did make money but it sure as hell wasn’t good.
Grade: D-
#8: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
While this is the best of the prequel trilogy, that’s like saying this is the best player on the Browns. He stands out sure, but the overall product he’s a part of is terrible. Plus he’s still on the Browns. Yeah I threw an NFL joke on a Star Wars list, the one thing I’m sure plenty of Star Wars fans will get.
Revenge of the Sith is actually an average movie. I don’t hate like I do the other films but I don’t like it. It has some great moments. Like for starters this actually felt like it’s connected to the original trilogy. There is some actual good drama between Anakin and Padme due to her being pregnant. The final scene between Obi-Wan and Anakin is actually emotional. Plus the opening sequence was actually very fun. This felt like a competently made movie by George Lucas. But yet, it still has moments that people hated the prequels for. Characters feeling like they’re there to sell toys. Over use of CGI. Switching between tones way to often. The list is endless with the prequels.
Grade: C
#7: Solo: A Star Wars Story
The most recent entry of the Star Wars films has been the weakest of the films released under Disney. It sucks since I was hoping for this to be good after how much I enjoyed Rogue One. I thought these spin off films would help expand the universe. To be fair Solo does do that but it’s just so dull. They tried to combine 3 different genres or tones in this film but all 3 just were executed very mediocre. It tried to be a heist film, a western, and a sci-fi adventure. All three fell flat. What carries it, is the performances from everyone, especially Alden Ehrenereich and Donald Glover as the iconic characters Han Solo and Lando. There is some exciting action too especially the 2nd act with the whole Kessel Run heist.
Grade-C+
#6: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
The one that pissed off some fans and made them the biggest cry babies I’ve ever seen. Seriously the amount of hate this film gets is astonishing. I don’t think it’s a good Star Wars movie, but it isn’t the worst one it is far from that.
The Last Jedi is directed by Rian Johnson, who should’ve been given his own trilogy to work with from the start. While I didn’t mind most of the changes he made in this film to throw off fans some just didn’t feel earned. I get what Johnson was trying to do. Make a Star Wars film that just throws everyone off because it’s not doing what Star Wars films typically do. To an extent I enjoyed that. I thought everything with Luke, Rey, and Kylo are some of the best moments not only in this film but Star Wars in general. Especially the throne room fight. I love the discussion of the force and the dark side with these three characters. I think it’s handle wonderfully. I loved who Rey’s parents were, what happened to Snoke, and seeing Luke become this broken man only to rise back up. I thought all of that was good.
What sucked about this movie are the other plot lines. Finn and Rose go on a planet that feels like it’s ripped straight out of the prequels. The tone of this story line does not match the rest of the movie and just everything on that planet is just dull. It’s a casino planet filled with all these creatures and it just feels like the obligatory cantina scene we need in every Star Wars film cause god forbid we don’t get one. Rose is also just a weak addition to the characters and her love for Finn just feels so forced. Meanwhile Poe and Haldo have a very intense situation going on with the First Order chasing them and destroying the rest of their ships. But the conclusion to this whole story line just feels like a cop out.
I will say this is a very beautiful looking film. The cinematography and use of color may be the best in all of Star Wars and that throne room fight is a good example of that.
Grade: C+/B-
#5: Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
The conclusion to the original trilogy was a bit disappointing for me at least. I remember watching the Return of the Jedi and thinking, “that was the finale?”. The film opens up to a great confrontation between our heroes and the lead gangster Jabba the Hut. The whole sequence was a great first act and opening of the movie. Then you realize it has nothing else to do with the rest of the movie other than rescuing Han Solo. We find out that the empire has built another Death Star and are planning to destroy the galaxy again. Because that worked so well the first time. Oh and then there’s the Ewoks. I can’t believe this is what we had fight and kill the empire. These little teddy bears end up being the final piece that kills the empire.
By no means is this a bad movie. I just think it’s the weakest of the original trilogy. There are great moments like Luke and Vader having their final confrontation. Which I think is an excellent scene. Just to me the overall product was a little weak.
Grade: B-
#4: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
God I wish J.J. Abrams just stuck around. The man clearly had a vision of how to set up this whole trilogy and now with him returning back to helm Episode 9 it just all seems like he should’ve just stuck around.
Anyway the reboot to Star Wars was a great start for returning fans and some new ones. The film did a great job introducing Rey and Finn who the torch is being passed onto for these newer films. We also got a great performance from Harrison Ford returning to the Han Solo role. The films pacing is very quick and almost I think too quick. It would be nice to take a moment and digest the new meeting the old. But the film is constantly going from action scene to action scene. To be fair all the action in the film is pretty damn good. It’s shot well and choreographed very well too. With the best action scene being the Millennium Falcon scene
Grade: B
#3: Star Wars: Rogue One
Not going to lie. When I first saw this movie I remember sitting through the first 20 minutes thinking, “oh no this is just a jumbled mess.” I remember that this film also had a director replacement as well as re-shoots. Josh Trank who made Chronicle and Fantastic Four reboot, was replaced by Gareth Edwards. The first 20 minutes following the opening flashback was moving way too fast. We kept jumping from character to character, planet to planet, and exposition to exposition. Finally once we got to when all the characters get to Jedha the film became way more focused and coherent. To me this Star Wars film had the best balance of a darker tone and comedy from the newer films. I also just liked the fact we got a new aspect of the whole war against the Empire which dealt with being on the front lines in a huge war. The film really emphasized the whole “war” in Star Wars. Choosing to cover a big turning point during the war between the Empire and the Rebels. A lot of the imagery in this film reminds me of some of the war footage we see in textbooks and documentaries as well.
Not to mention that this film by far has the best battle scene in all of Star Wars
Grade- B+
#2: Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
Won’t go to long with these next two ones. Just like Phantom Menace, there ain’t really to much to say that hasn’t been said already. The one that started it all. Such a classic film. Being introduced to these iconic characters never gets old. I love seeing how they meet and interact for the first time. It’s just so enjoyable to watch. The film just does a fantastic job with the heroes journey with Luke. Just so much impressive things to see for a film that was released in 1977. Just that opening scene with the Star Destroyer was just an aw to see.
Grade: A
#1 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Look this film is to me, not only the best Star Wars film but one of my favorite films of all time. This is one of the few, very few Star Wars films with actual great dialogue due to a great screenplay. This is a more darker Star Wars film yet it felt like a Star Wars film. Star Wars has to appeal to both adults and kids and this to me is the perfect combination appealing to both those audiences. I love a lot about this film and I can’t wait to watch it again and again whenever I see it on TV or I decide to pop it in. This has my favorite duel in all of the films. The Luke and Vader fight in Bespin is amazing. It’s not the best choreography in the films, but the emotion that’s attached to that duel makes up for it and has just a strong impact every time.
Variety Viso 