42 Years and 11 films in the making, here's where JJ Abrams' end to the Skywalker Saga ranks among the rest of the series in our comprehensive rundown of the entire franchise from Jar Jar to Boba Fett.
#11. Episode II : Attack of the Clones
Overloaded with painfully dry dialogue, a passionless love story and an unbelievably boring political coup - Attack of the Clones is a prequel weighed down with so much action-less exposition that not even a backflipping Yoda saber duel can save it. And with Darth Maul discarded so quickly in the prequel trilogy, Episode II is the only Star Wars film in the series without a true central villain. And no, Count Dooku doesn't count. The 140 minute runtime drags on without any sense of urgency whatsoever as a result, leaving you with the worst Star Wars film ever made and it's not even close.
#10. Episode I : The Phantom Menace
As much shit as this movie gets, you have to hand it to how ambitious Lucas was with his return to the series. Aside from the dreadfully underdeveloped CGI and the abysmal performance from Jake Lloyd (who's clearly resting on his laurels after his legendary role in the holiday classic Jingle All the Way), Lucas' knack for world building is uncanny. He seamlessly introduced us to so many new atmospheres and characters that even if the stories themselves are less than stellar, you have to give him credit for at least taking you to new places in the prequels. There's plenty of potential for Phantom Menace to be a good film but unfortunately there's just way too much holding it back. The most egregious offense being the introduction of the midi-chlorians, which almost completely ruins the integrity of the entire series with it's "chosen one" bloodline implications. But then you also have a completely wasted villain in Darth Maul, whose character design is absolutely incredible. Maul is tasked with the tall order of following in the shadow of arguably the greatest movie villain of all time and he absolutely looks the part. Unfortunately he's discarded before he's ever fully developed as a character and we end up getting more screen time with Jar Jar Binks instead. What a waste.
#9. Solo : A Star Wars Story
Solo isn't a terrible film, it's just not all that entertaining of one either. Donald Glover as young Lando pretty much steals the show, but his screen time is so limited that it makes you want to spend even less of Solo with the title character. But that's also due to how flat Alden Ehrenreich plays things. Harrison Ford's performance in the original trilogy oozed so much personality that even in a film full of creatures and aliens the likes you'd never seen before, Han Solo came out as one of the most memorable characters. Ehrenreich's Solo is absolutely lifeless by comparison. But the script doesn't really give him all that much to do either. It's a bland, predictable trip through space with very little excitement or danger to be found. It's a sterilized origin story lacking any real conflict or purpose.
#8. Episode VIII : The Last Jedi
As a stand alone film, The Last Jedi is actually a pretty solid sci-fi action piece. The visual effects and the back to back light-saber fight with Rey and Kylo is absolutely breath taking. But the film's place in the Skywalker saga seems to only disrupt expectations just for disruption's sake. With the primary complaint against The Force Awakens being that the film was a little too safe and predictable, I appreciate Rian Johnson trying to take the follow up into unexpected new places. But hardly any of those places really seem to serve a purpose other than subverting expectations. Aside from occasional grumpy man humor from hermit Luke, Rey's Jedi training is pretty uneventful and Luke's apparent death is even more anti-climatic. It only really makes an impact because of how surprisingly minor it feels. Separating Finn from the dynamic chemistry he had with both Rey and Poe in Episode VII was a massive misstep and Poe's strategical standoff with Laura Dern also made the longest Star Wars film to date feel like the longest Star Wars film to date. I loved the message The Last Jedi carried but it's delivery was fairly messy and unfocused.
#7. Episode III : Revenge of the Sith
After all that build up, this is the film that the prequels had been promising us. Sure there's some loose ends with the political fallout of Clone Wars to clean up, as well as that god forsaken Count Dooku, but when we finally get to Anakin's turn to the dark side it pays off with a phenomenal showdown with Obi-Wan. Ewan McGregor is at his best as the heart broken Jedi most directly effected by Anakin's betrayal. It's a grim finale but finally, for the first time in the prequel trilogy, the stakes feel real as the inevitable rise of the Empire looms over the film like a storm you know is coming but can't escape. Natalie Portman feels a little under utilized, as she's mostly relegated to being pregnant and staring out windows, but it would have been nice to explore her perspective of Anakin's demise and her internal conflict carrying his child. Overall, this final chapter in the prequel trilogy is the most emotionally charged and action packed film of the bunch - even if it still can't quite compete with the originals.
#6. Episode IX : The Rise of Skywalker
The conclusion of three trilogies and 42 years of cinematic history, The Rise of Skywalker understandably has a lot to live up to. And J.J. Abrams blasts through so much exposition it feels as if you're trying to read a novel off of highway billboards while traveling at lightspeed. It's a lot to unpack, especially with Abrams seemingly throwing in his pitch for what his abridged version of Episode VIII would have been. And while this scattershot structure makes it hard to fully feel out the magnitude of the film's most dramatic events, it's absolutely a blast none the less. The quickened pace felt like a welcomed change up and for a film that was 2 and a half hours long, leaving the theaters I already wanted to watch it again. While I didn't love the introduction of Force Healing (which seems way too convenient to toss in for the final entry) or tying all of the Galaxy's evil back to one source (when Last Jedi's biggest success was shattering the "chosen one" narrative that everything is connected), Rise of Skywalker provided a very entertaining conclusion for the Skywalker saga. Oh and Babu Frik may already be my favorite character of the new trilogy.
#5. Episode VII : The Force Awakens
Even though it's essentially a soft reboot of A New Hope, JJ Abrams delivers a phenomenal blend of old faces with dynamic introductions to the new heroes of the Disney trilogy. The trio of Poe, Rey and Finn carry a youthful exuberance that recaptures the fun and enthusiasm of the original trilogy quite well. However Snoke, Kylo Ren and the rise of the First Order felt a little too recycled and could have used a bit more depth. But with all of the plates this film has to keep spinning, it's understandable that Abrams would leave those threads to be sorted out in the following films and keep The Force Awakens a mostly lighthearted reunion that settles any skepticism a Star Wars follow up might earn due to the lingering bad taste left from the prequels.
#4. Episode VI : Return of the Jedi
George Lucas' final entry in the original trilogy is a fine ending, just not nearly as remarkable as the previous two films. A lot of that comes from the finale lacking a knock out punch to really to put it over the top. Despite the advancement in technology, Lando's destruction of the Death Star pales in comparison to A New Hope's similar sequence and Luke's light saber duel with Vader also fails to live up to the confrontation they had at the end of Empire. In fact, the opening sequence in which Luke rescues Han Solo from Jabba the Hut kind of outshines the remainder of the film in terms of action. But Han and Leia's Ewok filled adventures on Endor is definitely the most memorable piece of the film (for better or for worse) and finally getting the closure on their relationship we've been hoping for makes for a fairly solid ending to the series.
#3. Rogue One : A Star Wars Story
All of the behind the scenes turmoil aside, Rogue One stands as the best Disney Star Wars project to date. The aesthetic achieved here is absolutely perfect and exactly what I'd imagined a Star Wars prequel to look like back when The Phantom Menace was first announced. Felicity Jones is phenomenal as Jyn Erso and adds a fascinating new vantage point to the rebellion uprising. The film expands the scope of the Empire's hostile reign of terror as well as casting a light on all of the unsung heroes of the rebellion that don't necessarily need the force (or even to believe in it) to fight against the Empire's imperial galactic reign. The entire ensemble of heroes as well as the perfectly despicable antagonist portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn is incredibly well cast, fleshing out the remarkable (yet tragic) back story to the fall of the Death Star and giving a much more grounded point of view to the Rebellion uprising.
#2. Episode IV : A New Hope
I go back and forth with A New Hope and Empire but ultimately, the somewhat slow start does hinder Episode IV a bit because of how much the film introduces us to while Empire is allowed to hit the ground running with an already established cast and objective. That being said, they're both masterpieces and once the Millennium Falcon gets our heroes off of Tattooine, the film has one of the most triumphant endings you'll find in any movie EVER. From their infiltration of the Death Star, rescue of Princess Leia and the tie fighter finale; A New Hope establishes Luke, Han and Leia as some of the most lovable heroes in cinematic history. With all of the unique and imaginative creatures this film introduces it's the chemistry between Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford that makes this film so accessible and endearing after all these years. With such a bizarre concept that could otherwise be pigeonholed as a genre exclusive / sci-fi only fan base, the personality of these three bring Star Wars mainstream credibility.
#1. Episode V : The Empire Strikes Back
As expansive and impressive as A New Hope was, somehow Empire delivers by not only matching the world building of it's predecessor but somehow outdoing it. From the frozen planet Hoth, to the swamps of Degobah and then the final showdown at Cloud City - The Empire Strikes Back is the largest Star Wars film in the Skywalker saga and offers one of the most memorable finales in film history with Darth Vader's climactic revelation. We also get our first look at the Emperor and the introduction of franchise favorites like Yoda, Bobba Fett, and Lando. Plus the blossoming romance between Han and Leia while Luke is forced to choose between his loyalty to his friends and finishing his Jedi training on Degobah makes the film as emotionally dense as it is action packed. It fills out what could have been written off as a lighthearted sci-fi premise with even more complicated human elements. It's arguably one of the best sequels ever made and rises to the challenge of following in the shadow of a cultural phenomenon and not only meeting expectations but blowing them out of the galaxy.
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