Since 1977, the Star Wars films have gone on to become one of the most successful science-fiction franchises ever created. The films redefined blockbuster moviemaking, and its sequels, prequels, and TV spinoffs have continued to excite and inspire audiences everywhere. It features some of the most memorable characters, including an iconic villain whose breathing is instantly recognisable, a powerful score composed by John Williams, exciting action sequences and a compelling narrative that never fails to entertain. In this blogpost, I'll be ranking the Star Wars feature films from my least to most favourite. In all honestly, I don't think that any of the films are bad, they each have good qualities, however, there are some I enjoy watching more than others. Because I'll be talking about the plot details, my reviews will contain spoilers so please only read if you've seen the films or don't mind being spoiled.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Out of all the feature films in the Star Wars franchise, this is the one I've watched the least amount of times. Attack Of The Clones is far from a bad film and benefits from an increased emphasis on thrilling action. although they're once again undercut by ponderous plot points and underdeveloped characters. Despite their relationship being a important aspect of the plot, the chemistry between Natalie Portman's Padmé and Hayden Christensen's Anakin feels awkward. Despite mastering action sequences, director George Lucas fails to bring emotional moments to the screen. The chemistry also relies on the performances of Portman and Christensen, unfortunately, because of the corny declarations of love and stiff camera work, the love the two characters share fails at being believable. Despite this, there are still a lot of things to like about Attack Of The Clones. The most memorable sequence occurs towards the end of the film and takes place on the planet, Genosis, where Anakin, Padmé and Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi battle an army of droids. This is where the action is at its best as a group of Jedi use their lightsabers to attack the droids. McGregor's portrayal of Kenobi has also improved a lot since the previous film, Episode I - The Phantom Menace. After the death of his mentor, Kenobi becomes Anakin's mentor and trains him to become a Jedi. After an attack on Queen Amidala, the two must must discover who tried to kill her and why. This leads to Anakin protecting Amidala (now known as Padmé) and this is where their relationship develops. The reason why this is at the bottom of my list is because of Padmé and Anakin's relationship is cringe-worthy. I also got bored with Attack Of The Clones until the aforementioned battle sequence and the fight between Kenobi, Anakin, Yoda and the main villain of the film, Count Dooko (Christopher Lee). It's a good film but it's not one I enjoy watching.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
I know, controversy alert, I've put The Phantom Menace higher than Attack Of The Clones. This first installment in the prequels has been deemed the worst film out of the entire franchise, however, I honestly didn't think it was that bad. When I first watched it, I was expecting to be disappointed, however, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I liked the relationship between Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Kenobi, who, because of the original trilogy, is known as a powerful Jedi Knight and, in The Phantom Menace, we learn where he got his powerful skills from. As Jinn, Neeson brings an unforced nobility to his performance. Out of all the films in the franchise, I would say that The Phantom Menace is the most family-friendly. Almost every Star Wars films has a dark and tense atmosphere, however, there's little to no dark or intense moments in The Phantom Menace. One of the most entertaining sequences is the pod race that a young Anakin (Jake Lloyd) takes part in. It's fast-paced and thrilling and is one of my favourite scenes in the film. Speaking of Lloyd, many have criticised his performance as Anakin, however, I think he did a good job for his first leading role in a major film. He was only 9 at the time of filming and it was hardly going to be an Oscar-worthy performance. Portman portrays Queen Amidala and, while it's far from her best performance, her make-up, hair-styling and costume are incredibly impressive. I also enjoyed the battle sequence in the film's climax as it is one of the most intense scenes. It invovles Jinn, Kenobi fighting against a Sith Lord called Darth Maul (Ray Park). Throughout the film, Darth Maul has been a mysterious character and we've never heard him speak which makes him a truly menacing character. We see more of him towards the end of the film as he tries to kill the two Jedi Knights using his double-sided lightsaber. This fight sequences leads to the tragic death of Jinn and foreshadows the dark moments that is to follow in the next installments. Overall, I think that people have been too harsh on this film. It's not the best film in the series, however, I think it's worth a watch for those seeking a light-hearted and entertaining film that features an adventure set in space.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Out of the three films in the prequels series, Revenge Of The Sith is the best. Lucas brings his second trilogy to a suitably thrilling and often poignant conclusion. Christensen's has improved on his performance as Anakin a lot since the previous film. Because this film leads to him becoming the evil Darth Vader, we see him developing a darker personality. We see him feel conflicted as he struggles to choose whether to remain a Jedi Master or become a Sith Lord. These struggles come from a premonition he has of his pregnant wife, Padmé, dying during childbirth and thinks that becoming a Sith Lord will save her. For those who have seen the original trilogy, they will already know the fate of both Anakin and Padmé. However, for those who haven't, the ending may shock you. In this final installment in the prequels trilogy, we learn how Anakin became Darth Vader. His anger has increased ever since the death of his mother in Attack Of The Clones. After the Jedi Council decline to grant Anakin the rank of Jedi Master, his faith in the Jedi begins to diminish and, as the film progresses, he becomes closer to the dark side. Unaware of Anakin's turn to the dark side, Kenobi battles General Grievous, who is the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars against the Galatic Republic and is trained in all lightsaber combat forms to ensure the Jedi's destruction. Upon returning, Kenobi is shocked when he discovers what has happened to Anakin. However, he tries to convince the Council that Anakin was supposed to restore balance to the Force as his former mentor, Jinn, predicted rather than destroy it. This leads to an incredibly dark and intense fight between Kenobi and Anakin that takes place on the planet Mustafar. Because of the harm he has brought on Padmé, his initial premonition of her dying during childbirth becomes true. However, she does give birth to twins, Luke and Leia. Return Of The Sith has a fitting conclusion with the two twins being separated, with Leia being adopted by Senator Organa and Luke being delivered to his step-family,Owen and Beru Lars on Tatooine. This is where Kenobi plans to watch over Luke until the time is right to challenge the Empire. Every actor handles the dramatic aspect of the story really well. Revenge Of The Sith improves on both of its predecessors and sets up the original trilogy.
Like Revenge Of The Sith, Return Of The Jedi is a fitting conclusion to the original trilogy. Like its predecessors, it's an entertaining science-fiction adventure that also features a lot of action. It also has an exciting climax filled with space battles and fight sequences on the planet Endor. Return Of The Jedi has a great opening, it picks up straight where The Empire Strikes Back ended with Han Solo (Harrison Ford) being encased in carbonite and sent to Jabba the Hutt. With Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) now being a trained Jedi Knight, he plans to rescue Han and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) with the help of his droids, C-3PO and R2-D2 and Solo's wookie friend, Chewbacca. In this lengthy sequence, we see Luke develop into a hero as he uses his newly found skills to fight off the enemies and rescue both Han and Leia. After this, Luke returns to the planet Dagobah where he was trained by Yoda and learns the shocking truth that Darth Vader is his father and that his sister is Leia. When this was released, this was one of the biggest plot twists in movie history. However, because I'd watch the films in chronological order, I already knew about this, fortunately, that didn't make the film predictable. Despite his father being an evil Sith Lord, that doesn't stop Luke from trying to bring him out of the dark side as he knows there's some good in him. The relationship between Luke and Darth Vader is one of the most important aspects of this film. Throughout the original trilogy, we've seen Darth Vader as nothing but a villain, however, towards the end of the film, we see a completely new side to him as he saves Luke from the evil Emperor. His true identity is revealed as Luke removes his mask and we see the face that's been hiding under the mask. It's an emotional moment watching Luke properly meet his father and get closure before he dies. The film has a happy ending with Luke, Leia, Han and the rest of the Rebels celebrating their victory of defeating the Empire.
When 'The Force Awakens' was released two years ago, I couldn't have been more excited. I had just recently started watching the original films, including the prequels, and I had really enjoyed watching them. I had heard a lot of things about a new 'Star Wars' film coming to cinemas all throughout 2015 and it went on to become one of my most aniticpated films of that year. I remember being sat in my seat in the cinema, feeling the excitement build up. Unfortuntely, as the credits rolled, I was left feeling underwhelmed. Was this really the big sequel to 'Return Of The Jedi'? However, after rewatching it earlier this year, I appreciated it a lot more and I do think that it's good, just not as good as the original. I think what was disappointing was its treatment of the original characters including Harrison Ford's Han Solo who returns and has a few good scenes, only for him to be killed by his son, Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) didn't appear in the film until the very end and we only saw a glimpse of him. However, I was happy with Leia's (Carrie Fisher) character who is now a General but, then again, she isn't seen towards the end of the film and only has a handful of scenes. I think those are the main reasons I felt disappointed by 'The Force Awakens'.
I returned from my screening of 'The Last Jedi' a few hours ago and my feelings are mixed. I do think it's a great follow-up to 'The Force Awakens' but I have to disagree with people saying that this is the 'best Star Wars movie'. They could make ten more Star Wars films but I don't think they'll be able to top the original trilogy. Yes, the visual effects have improved a lot, but that means nothing if the film itself isn't as good.
'A New Hope' is, in my opinion, the best 'Star Wars' film. It's where it all started and introduced us to the iconic characters we love today. It was original and full of action and a compelling story. It also had the most iconic villain in Darth Vader who was recognisable just by the sound of his breathing. It told the story of Luke Skywalker who went on a space adventure that changed his life after meeting Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and Han Solo. 'A New Hope' was only meant to be a stand-alone sci-fi feature but, because it made an impressive amount of money at the box office, a sequel was released, titled 'The Empire Strikes Back' which proved to be just as good as its predecessor and ended on one of the most jaw-dropping twists in history with Darth Vader declaring: 'Luke, I am your father'. Of course, it couldn't just end there so 'Return Of The Jedi' was released, which lead to a thrilling and intense battle before concluding the story, with Darth Vader dead and Luke, Leia and Han Solo celebrating the end of the war on the planet Endor. The 'Star Wars' film would've been fine as a trilogy, however, three prequels were released detailing Darth Vader's childhood as Anakin Skywalker and the series of events that lead to him turning to the dark side. The prequels trilogy were weaker than the original films, however, I enjoyed watching them, especially 'Revenge Of The Sith'.
40 years later and the sci-fi franchise is still going. There are a total of nine films with another two more to come, including Episode IX and a prequel based on Han Solo, which is due next year. With Fisher's tragic passing last year and, the fact that the writers have now killed off both Han and Luke, I'm starting to wonder, should the 'Star Wars' films come to an end now? They no longer feel like the classic films that were released over four decades ago. I am also wondering now what they'll do with Leia now that Carrie Fisher is sadly no longer with us. 'The Last Jedi' ended with Leia, still alive. I understand that Fisher's death was unexpected but I just hope that she gets the send off she truly deserves in Episode IX. As the princess, she captured our hearts and as the General, she proved that princesses can be heroes rather than just love interests.
I wish I didn't feel like this and I really do wish I had enjoyed it more. I do recommend that you go and watch it and decide for yourself whether it's a good film or not. It's not the worst 'Star Wars' film ever, however, it's not the best either.
When I first watched The Force Awakens when it was released in cinemas in 2015, I was disappointed. I noticed that elements from the plots of the previous films, mainly from the original trilogy, had been re-used, leading it to feel a bit predictable. I also couldn't understand how Rey (Daisy Ridley) could use the Force so easily when she hadn't been trained at all. However, after rewatching it recently, I enjoyed it a lot more than the first time I watched it. I think it's great that director J. J. Abrams has been able to carry on the franchise and add a new installment. Because it's packed with action and populated by familiar faces and new characters, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the original trilogy's former glory whilst injecting it with renewed energy. Because of how much the special effects have improved since the original trilogy, The Force Awakens impresses on a visual level. In the previous films, the main villain was Darth Vader, however, we now have Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) who looks up to him. In this film, it is revealed that he is the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia which I didn't see coming. In the original trilogy, Han came across as a cocky pilot, however, we now see him as a father as he tries to bring his son home. Unfortunately, Han fails to persuade him and is killed by Kylo. This truly makes Kylo a dark and twisted villain. The supporting characters include Finn (John Boyega), a former Stormtrooper, and Poe (Oscar Isaac), a pilot. The relationship between Rey and Finn is nothing more than a friendly one which is refreshing as most films try to force in a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. Because it's action packed and features some stunning visuals and introduces us to new characters, The Force Awakens is a great addition to the Star Wars franchise.
This is probably the only one in the Star Wars franchise that works as a stand-alone film. I think that people, who haven't seen any of the Star Wars films, will still enjoy this. This is because hardly any of the characters from previous installments return, apart from Darth Vader who we see in a few scenes. The main characters are all new to the series and it follows them as they work together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, which is Darth Vader's main weapon that featured in the original trilogy. Rogue One was mainly created to fill in that gap between Revenge Of The Sith and A New Hope and to explain where the original plans for the Death Star came from. The main character is Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), whose father's friend was a member of the top secret Death Star project. In the beginning of the film, we meet Jyn as a child and learn that she was separated from her family. Now, a grown adult, she finds a transmission from her father and learns that a major weapon test is about to occur. This leads to Jyn finding a team of Rebels who help her find the plans for the Death Star and battle against the Empire. Despite being a fan of the Star Wars films, Rogue One exceeded my expectations. I thought that it was going to be an average, action-packed science-fiction that didn't live up to the qualities of the previous films. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. I loved Jyn as a leading protagonist, it was refreshing to have a female lead a Star Wars film rather than be a love interest (the same can be said for The Force Awakens). Her bravery, determination and impressive fighting skills make her a likable character. She develops a friendly relationship with Cassion Andor (Diego Luna) who helps her along the way. The special effects have improved a lot since A New Hope in 1977. What impressed me most was the filmmaker's ability to recreate Peter Cushing's character, Grand Moff Tarkin, in this film despite his death in the early 1990s. By using CGI and digitally altered footage of the actor which was inserted over the actor, Guy Henry, who portrayed the character physically, General Tarkin was brought back. Like with most Star Wars films, Rogue One ends with a battle between the Rebels and the Empire. Unfortunately, this leads to an emotional climax. I really loved Jyn as a strong, leading female protagonist so her ending really made me sad. I would've loved to have seen more of her and her character, however, I can understand why the writers made the decision to have her and the other main characters killed off as they don't feature and aren't even mentioned in the following episodes. Rogue One ends where A New Hope begins with Darth Vadar trying, but failing, to receive the Death Star plans and Princess Leia being given the schematics where she states that it's brought hope.
While A New Hope works as a stand-alone film, The Empire Strikes Back is a great follow up. It continues the story of Luke, Leia and Han. In this sequel, we see Luke travel to the planet Dagobah to be trained as a Jedi Knight by Yoda. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Leia escape in the Millenium Falcon and travel to Cloud City which is a floating colony in the skies of the gas giant planet, Bespin. Unfortunately, shortly after they arrive, Han's old friend, Lando, leads the group into a trap and they are handed over to Darth Vader who plans to use them as bait to lure out Luke, intending to capture him alive and take him to the Emperor. This leads to Luke having a premonition of Leia and Han in pain and, against Yoda's wishes, leaves Dagobah to go to Cloud City. This film features one of the biggest plot twists in movie history. Darth Vader revealing himself as Luke's father has gone down as one of the most famous scenes. When this was released, it was a plot twist no one saw coming and I think that's why it's one of the most iconic science-fiction films. The Empire Strikes Back is dark and sinister and defied our expectations and takes the series to heightened emotional levels. Most sequels are only released to make more money and hardly any effort goes in to make it as good as its predecessor, however, that can't be said for the second installment in the original trilogy. It keeps the story moving at a brisk pace and, because of its unpredictability, viewers are never bored and are gripped by the film's thrilling action and interesting plot developments. Another famous scene shows Han being frozen in carbonite but, before he receives his fate, Leia says that she loves him and he replies with 'I know'. This line wasn't in the original script as Harrison was meant to say 'Just remember that, Leia, because I'll be back', however, he was unsure if he wanted to return for a third film and ad-libbed the memorable line. I think that most people were expecting Han to say that he loves Leia and that adds to its unpredictability. I think that because this sequel was a brilliant follow-up, audiences wanted more and were excited when Return Of The Jedi was released three years later. Overall, The Empire Strikes Back is a worthy sequel to A New Hope, equal in both technical mastery and characterization.
I think that the main reason why A New Hope is my favourite out of the entire series is because this is where it all started for the franchise. Despite it being the first film in the franchise, it was better than what audiences predicted. I doubt that, at the time of its release in 1977, anyone would've predicted anything other than an average space movie. However, A New Hope proved to be so much more than that. The film opens by introducing us to series' main villain, Darth Vader, who is planning to use his weapon, known as the Death Star, to destroy planets. Most female characters in films were written off as nothing more than a love interest for the main character, however, Princess Leia proved to be more than that. She isn't afraid to stand up for herself and proves that she is brave and fierce. It's because of this why the late Carrie Fisher will always be remembered for portraying one of the strongest leading female protagonists. On the planet Tatooine, we are introduced to Luke Skywalker. After taking in two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2, he discovers that one of them contains a secret message for Obi-Wan Kenobi from Leia asking for help. This leads to Luke and Kenobi meeting for the first time and befriending a cocky pilot, Han Solo, and his Wookie friend, Chewbacca, and travelling via the Millenium Falcon to rescue Leia. Unfortunately, Leia's home planet, Alderaan, has been destroyed by the Death Star, however, she manages to escape with Luke and Han. Despite it being the late 1970s, the special effects are impressive and are at their best when the characters are travelling in space. The setting is creatively designed too, and despite its limited budget of $11 million, the production team have come up with a wide range of sets, from the Mos Eisley Cantina to the Death Star space station, everything looks like legitimate and makes the film that more believable and enjoyable to watch. It's because of the success of A New Hope why the Star Wars films are now regarded as the best science-fiction films ever released.
I highly recommend that, if you haven't already, you watch the Star Wars films, even if you're not a science-fiction fan, these films may change your mind.
Thank you for reading my blogpost, I hope you enjoyed it.
Happy Star Wars Day and May the 4th Be With You!
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