All ten Star Wars Movies Ranked From Worst to Best
Before we start, I’d just like to add that this countdown is by no means a definitive list. Everyone has their own opinion, and this is mine. Some of you will agree, some won’t. Please feel free to let everyone know your list by using the comments section below.
The Last Jedi
“Why is this at number ten and not The Phantom Menace”? I hear some of you cry. For starters, this is the only Star Wars movie that I haven’t watched more than twice. All through my life, I have watched the original and prequel trilogies more times than I can count, but with The Last Jedi, I have only watched it twice. The only reason I watched it a second time was because I wanted to like it. I wanted it to grow on me. It hasn’t and I don’t think it ever will. Why? It just didn’t feel like Star Wars to me. From the Mary Poppins Princess Leia, to the squashed grape headed weird Yoda, the whole thing felt like a mess. The only thing that kept me interested the first time I watched it was the thought of Luke giving Kylo Ren a good beating with his lightsaber. It never happened.
I know a lot of people love this movie and that’s fine, everyone is entitled to like what they like. It just wasn’t for me.
The Force Awakens
To be fair, there were some great moments in The Force Awakens (The Millennium Falcon chase on Jakku for example), but again, this movie didn’t have “that Star Wars feeling”.
This film had the potential to be one of the best. J.J. Abrams is a great director, most of the original cast were in it, state of the art visual effects…I could go on. All the ingredients were there to make this a fantastic addition to the Star Wars franchise, but something went wrong in the cooking process.
I was so excited when this movie was announced. I wanted it to be great, but to me, it wasn’t I’m sad to say.
The Phantom Menace
Before anyone gets triggered, I’m not actually a prequel hater, it’s just that TPM isn’t a particularly good movie in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, there are great parts in the film. The Maul/Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan duel at the end of the movie is hats down one of the best lightsaber battles in the whole series and the score is great, but there’s some really dumb parts to it. If you didn’t cringe at the two-headed pod race announcer, Fodesinbeed Annodue, then you have thicker skin than I have.
Like many people I was a little disappointed when I first watched The Phantom Menace, but I didn’t hate it and to be fair, George Lucas had a massive task on his hands to live up to people’s expectations.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Despite the critics pulling this movies to pieces, I really enjoyed it. Admittedly, some scenes are a little lackluster, but all in all, it’s a pretty decent Star Wars movie. Since childhood, I’ve had images in my mind of how Han met Chewbacca, did the kessel run, joined The Empire, met Lando and won the Falcon and the movie’s version of these events didn’t match what I imagined, but I still enjoyed the movie very much. Corellia was nothing like I imagined it would be (I always envisioned the planet being super hi-tech…something like Kamino) and they should have had Jabba and Fett in there somewhere, but it felt like a Star Wars movie. The Maul scene was great, it almost made up for the lack some missing characters.
It’s not a perfect Star Wars movie by any means, but I’ve already watched it more times than I can count, which says a lot.
Rogue One
Out of the movies that have been released since Disney took over, this one is by far the best. Once again I go back to saying “it felt like a Star Wars movie”, but it really did. Star Wars does have an iconic look and feel and Gareth Edwards absolutely got it spot on. After seeing Godzilla, I was really worried about watching this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was.
There are so many scenes to praise in the film. I really loved the Tarkin scenes and Vader going crazy in the last act stands out, but there are many more good things about the film. If I do have some minor quibbles they are that we didn’t get to see Palpatine and Leia looked weird, bit other than that, I think Rogue One is definitely one of the better Star Wars movies.
A New Hope
I can actually imagine a lot of people reading this being completely triggered and thinking…”Why is this not at number one”!? As I said earlier, this is my own opinion, but nonetheless, let me try and explain:
Yes, A New Hope is THE original Star Wars movie, the movie a lot of us associate with our childhood, the movie that is cherished and beloved by millions of people, but I personally don’t think it’s the best. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it, on the contrary, I love the film. I simply think in all honesty that there are better Star Wars movies. The film iis over 40 years old now and filming techniques, special effects etc have moved on.
I’m also one of those people who likes the special edition version, so what do I know ?
Return of the Jedi
In my opinion, this is the movie that set the pace for all other Star Wars material to come. Not just movies, but books, games, comics and so on. It’s just a shame that we had to wait sixteen years for another movie after it’s release.
OK, so the Ewoks were slightly annoying (I won’t get into why, that’s been spoken about a million times), but the rest of the film is still watchable over thirty five years later. It introduced us to Jabba and a load of new aliens in his palace), Admiral Ackbar, Mon Mothma, Scout Walkers, TIE Interceptors and a ton of new stuff that we now take for granted in the Star Wars universe. We also got to know Emperor Palpatine’s character in all his evil glory. Top it all with one of the best opening sequences in a Star Wars movie and a seriously emotionally charged ending and you have one of the best movies ever made.
Attack of the Clones
I love this movie. I’ve never understood the hate for it. I get that everyone has their own taste, but to me, this is one of the best Star Wars movies made to date.
We learnt so much about the Star Wars universe from this movie; the origins of Boba Fett, Stormtroopers, the Death Star and how the Clone Wars started. We get to see Yoda in action, meet Count Dooku and learn how devious Palpatine really is. It’s also the movie that we first see Anakin displaying his evil side when he wiped out a whole village of Sand People (the scene where he explains his evil deed to Padmé was one of the most moving in the series).
Admittedly, the love scenes between Padmé and Anakin are slightly cringeworthy, but they are necessary for the story and the Battle of Geonosis at the end more than makes up for them.
The Empire Strikes Back
I know this is most people’s favourite Star Wars movie and it was almost mine. I found it really hard not to make this the number one movie in this list. It’s such a great film!
The strange thing is that one of the many reasons I love this film is because things go wrong for everyone in it. Luke loses his hand and finds out his Dad is the very person he’s been up against since he blew the Death Star to pieces. Han Solo gets bagged and tagged ready to meet Jabba, Threepio gets blown to bits and all of the good guys get it served to them and have to run to the hills. On paper that sounds like a depressing story, but it wasn’t. Aren’t the good guys always meant to win? Not in this movie, but that’s what makes it a classic.
I also loved the different environments in The Empire Strikes Back. Having Hoth as the first planet we see was absolute genius after seeing the desert landscape of Tatooine in A New Hope. Cloud City is another personal favourite of mine. I was hoping we’d get to see it in Solo, but alas.
The Empire Strikes Back is definitely one of the darker editions to the series, but that’s what makes it stand out.
Revenge of the Sith
I’m not just making Revenge of the Sith number one of this list to be controversial, it really is my favourite Star Wars movie out of them all. After my first viewing, I distinctly remember thinking “this is the Star Wars movie I have been waiting for”. It’s is a dark movie for sure and a sad one. Seeing Anakin being manipulated by Palpatine and finally becoming a Sith made me see Darth Vader as a tragic and complex character who’d been used by someone he cared for instead of a two dimensional cartoon bad guy. The movie made me see Darth Vader as a victim and a far more interesting character than I was used to him being before.
There are so many great and moving scenes in the film; Order Sixty Six, the transformation of Palpatine into The Emperor, the story of Darth Plagueis the wise, the Death of Padmé Amidala and Mace Windu, Yoda going into exile, the creation of The Empire…I could go on. There’s just too many great scenes to choose from.
For me, this is the best of all the Star Wars movies. It’s moving, action packed and answers many questions.
So, what do you think guys? Do you agree with me, or am I completely wrong? What do you think should be the number one Star Wars movie in any list? I’ve set up a poll for you to vote for your favourite Star Wars movie. When the results are all in, I’ll compile a top ten list based on the info from your votes. Let’s find out what you guys think…
Whatever your opinion, have a great day my Jedi and Sith friends and remember: may the Force be with you, always!
[democracy id=”3″]