Authored by Gordon Ross
A short time ago in a living room not far away, there was great disturbance in the Force. This is nothing unusual in a household with two young children. A couple of hours later, Mission Impossible: Bedtime was complete and my long-suffering wife and I retired to the front room where it was time for a new period of civil war. Disney Plus had finally arrived in the UK, and we couldn’t decide what to watch first.
The promise of new hives of scum and villainy in The Mandalorian? A colourful recap of the Infinity saga? A thousand billion Disney Princess movies? There was something strange and mystical in the way my better half’s hand moved towards the remote and I found myself involuntarily repeating the words ‘We *will* watch The Little Mermaid’, but the next night we watched Star Wars.
We started with the Phantom Menace and over the following weeks continued all the way through to Rise of Skywalker. I had seen the original trilogy many, many times, the prequels more than I care to admit but not for many years, and everything thereafter once or twice. Some of them were more enjoyable than I remembered and others….. weren’t.
So, with them all reasonably fresh in mind, here is my revised, updated ranking of the nine Skywalker saga movies and their two standalone spinoff from worst to best:
#11 – Attack of the Clones
While Phantom Menace is an easy target for criticism, Attack of the Clones rather inexplicably flies under the radar despite being comfortably the least interesting Star Wars movie and surely the least deserving five-star review recipient in the career of Empire Magazine’s Chris Hewitt.
Consider for a moment that this is the movie where we finally find out about the Clone Wars, deliciously teased in passing by Alec Guinness 25 years earlier. It’s also the movie that gives us Anakin’s first steps towards the Dark Side, Boba Fett’s origin story and the introduction to a Sith Lord played by arch-baddie royalty in Christopher Lee. With all that promise, what we actually get is disappointing at best.
On the positive side Ewan McGregor debuts his Obi-beard, Mace Windu brings much-needed gravitas to the Jedi, Yoda force-draws his lightsaber before everyone was doing it, and that’s about it. Underwhelming action scenes, the questionable logic of trying to emphasise Anakin’s skills by making Obi-Wan look rather inept, and future-Vader’s endless chemistry-deprived romantic moping around with the previously-interesting Padme make this the greatest missed opportunity of the Skywalker Saga.
Memorable quote – “Master Kenobi, you disappoint me” – Count Dooku
Iconic moment – Yoda vs Saruman
#10 – Solo: A Star Wars Story
Another movie that sounded good on paper, but that failed to live up to expectations. Alden Ehrenreich certainly looks the part and deserves credit for a convincing Harrison Ford impression, but neither he nor Donald Glover can match the effortless charisma of Ford or Billy Dee Williams. Perhaps it is realistic that the younger versions of the characters should carry some of the uncertainty of youth that makes them less comfortable in their own skins than the middle-aged Han and Lando, but it makes for a less exciting movie.
The supporting cast are great but don’t have much to work with and more than any other Star Wars movie, Solo feels heavily influenced by the pop culture phenomena of its time. Phoebe Waller-Bridge stands out as a sanitised Fleabag in droid form and Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany effectively transplant Bronn of the Blackwater and Tywin Lannister straight from Westeros, whereas Emilia Clarke seems quite unreasonably to be expected to reach Daenerys-level badassery just by being there.
Memorable quote – “That’s a rock” – Lady Proxima
Iconic moment – the Kessel Run
#9 – The Phantom Menace
Let’s face it, this one has been derided so often that there’s little new to be said about Jar-Jar Binks, Jake Lloyd, midichlorians or the questionable choice of a bureaucratic trade dispute as the launching pad for the universe’s greatest space opera. Amidst all that the cartoonish pod race has gotten away lightly; no amount of Force should make an inexperienced child that good, nor should it allow him to self-build a pod that, given how quickly it catches up at the end of the race, is at least three times as fast as its rivals. This was not put together by anyone with the slightest respect for the noble sport of motor racing, and the later scene when Anakin bashes the autopilot and blows up the key enemy spaceship made the professional pilots look frankly idiotic. It’s a shame, especially considering the other big sci-fi franchise of the time had made very similar errors with Wesley Crusher over the preceding years. The lesson was there to be learned.
Anyway *breathe* let’s focus on the good things, because there are a few. Naboo looks great and fits well with the universe. We get to see Jedi fighting in their prime and it is awesome. A monosyllabic fighting machine is exactly what the Sith needed at the time in exactly the same was as the Jedi needed a little moral ambiguity, so Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn fit their roles perfectly, and Padme subtly foreshadows the leadership and force of personality that will later make her daughter the most iconic character in the whole series. Embrace its flaws, and Phantom Menace can be a fun ride.
Memorable quote – “Always two, there are. No more, no less. A master, and an apprentice.” – Yoda
Iconic moment – Obi-Wan’s acrobatic defeat of Darth Maul
#8 – The Last Jedi
With the benefit of being able to consider the saga as a whole, The Last Jedi is the biggest thematic outlier and the one that feels most disjointed as a result of all the directorial changes and the baffling decision to write Episodes VII, VIII and IX individually without much regard to how they hang together as a trilogy.
Most high school physics students will be able to pick holes in the bombing of the Dreadnought and the extended chase scene that follows it, but these feel largely forgivable given how much of the appeal of these movies is down to the speculative and theoretical.
The choice to have Finn and Rose nip off on a bizarre side adventure was odd and undermined the more serious, claustrophobic story they so breezily stepped away from, but overall the movie should be lauded for trying something different and giving so much time to a smaller, tighter space conflict than we had seen previously. The Holdo maneuver was spectacular cinema and just about made up for the disastrous lack of communication towards rebellion leaders that preceded it. Things should be able to go wrong in Star Wars, but in a series trying to balance fresh faces with legendary past heroes it doesn’t help the viewer root for the new guys when they make so many mistakes.
The opening and closing battles of The Last Jedi are high points in the sequel trilogy and the throne room battle involving Rey and Kylo Ren must surely go down as the greatest lightsaber sequence in the whole saga, but then the treatment of Luke Skywalker in the first two thirds of the film is an all-time low. Luke is the ultimate, undeniable hero of Star Wars. Having him inadvertently turn Ben Solo evil during a moment of misunderstanding is up there with the greatest Shakespearean tragedies, but having him then mope around about it and leave his friends to die is just too far out of character. Luke’s ultimate sacrifice is full of all the charm, hope and humour that are synonymous with the character, but it doesn’t make up for what happens before.
Memorable quote – “I’ve seen your daily routine. You are not busy” – Rey
Iconic moment – Luke brushes his shoulder
#7 – The Force Awakens
The first movie of the sequel trilogy is one of those that improves on re-watching. First time round I was disappointed at the lack of new ideas; it was great to have a new, more diverse cast, but disappointing to retread so many familiar storytelling beats. Future Star Wars movies do not need to open on desert planets, nor do they need more Death Stars or mythical mentors entering the scene only to be swiftly slain by previously-beloved figures from their past.
On repeat viewing you know all that is coming and can focus instead on the good bits. There’s a lot more humour than we’re used to, the Millennium Falcon pulls off its most ambitious combat scene in the skies of Jakku and the rise of BB8 allows R2D2 and C3PO to step back into supporting roles rather than being awkwardly forced to the forefront in every single movie. The Poe/Finn dynamic is fun but best of all, Rey is a likeable lead and given the strength of her bonds with Luke and Kylo Ren in later movies it is easy to overlook how easily she builds relationships with Han, Finn and Chewie. It’s only as shame that Rey’s accent feels out of place in this universe.
Memorable quote – “Chewie, we’re home” – Han Solo
Iconic moment – Rey Force-grabs the saber away from Kylo Ren
#6 – Revenge of the Sith
It’s fair to say that Kevin Smith (writer/director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma etc and Star Wars devotee) was not a fan of Jar-Jar Binks, to the point at which he eagerly campaigned for the floppy-eared Gungan’s omission from Episode III. Smith made it clear that if he were in charge Jar-Jar would be written off off-screen. “What happened to Senator Binks?” some character might ask in passing. Another would respond “Binks? Who? Oh, that guy. He died.” That would be it – no further information sought, and no explanation given. Smith didn’t quite get his wish, but Jar-Jar’s relegation to cameo status can be seen as a sign that George Lucas was (finally) listening to his fanbase.
Like every new Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings movie around the same time, this was darker than what had come before and deals with the most complex emotional conflicts of the series. Anakin wrestles with his frustrations at perceived mistreatment by the Jedi Council and his fears for his wife’s safety; giving clear, relatable motivations for his descent into darkness. Meanwhile the Chancellor becomes the hated Emperor, Obi-Wan finally gets an opportunity to shine and Chewie makes his first chronological appearance. The opening space combat scene, much vaunted in the lead-up to the movie’s release, was comfortably eclipsed by a similar, better sequence in Joss Whedon’s Serenity (a Whedon/Star Wars project remains the stuff of dreams) and with the exception of Order 66 and the birth of Luke and Leia the film lacks the emotional weight that might be expected given its subject matter. Nonetheless, this is the most serious and best of the prequels, and often unfairly dismissed because of its association with Episodes I and II.
Memorable quote – “So this is how liberty dies. With thunderous applause” – Padme Amidala
Iconic moment – Vader rises
#5 – Rise of Skywalker
This one is bound to mix opinion. Let me say up front that I was not pleased when I heard that Ian McDiarmid had been seen on-set and that Palpatine was rumoured to be making a return for Episode IX. Not pleased at all; the Emperor was supposed to be dead and the galaxy had moved on. As it turns out the rumours were true and (as the Solo movie had already taught us) getting chucked down a convenient shaft of doom isn’t as fatal as one might believe, even if you have been chopped in two or are immediately subject to a large explosion.
I have come to accept, however, that under the circumstances it was a good move. Sith can do Sithy stuff we don’t understand, and the idea of Palpatine manipulating everyone and everything from afar makes the rise of the First Order and Ben’s story in particular a lot more believable. So the whole Palpatine thing is hokey, but it works. What works better still are all the really cool moments that just haven’t existed very often outside of the original trilogy. Magical moments like Leia’s sacrifice, Han appearing to Ben, Luke’s force ghost catching Rey’s discarded lightsaber and raising his X-Wing, and Rey passing the iconic Skywalker lightsaber to Ben. These are the big moments that make Star Wars great, and having so many of them makes Rise of Skywalker worthy of a top-five spot.
Oh, and there’s proof that Dune and Star Wars exist in the same universe, which makes me far happier than it has any right to.
Memorable quote – “Babu Frik, he’s one of my oldest friends” – C3PO
Iconic moment – Rey Skywalker
#4 – Return of the Jedi
The opening thirty minutes or so of Jedi are among my very favourite Star Wars moments. After the epic galaxy-altering events of Empire we’re suddenly thrust back into swashbuckling adventure with gangsters and bounty hunters back on the backwater of Tattooine. The setup is preposterous (in a good way), the monsters are ridiculous, all the funnest hero and villains are involved, and everyone gets something to do, not least Leia who turns an unfortunate situation on its head and definitively proves that she’s more than capable of rescuing herself without any help from anyone else.
After a brief, poignant trip back to the Dagobah system we spend just a little too long with the cute and unfairly maligned Ewoks before the showpiece confrontation where Vader’s six-episode arc concludes with his final choice between the light and the dark. It’s a small pity that the throne room scene is interspersed with the rest of the cast either dancing with Ewoks or rehashing Episode IV’s climactic battle, but at the end of the day the rest of the gang have already had their moments to shine and Luke, Vader and Palpatine are the characters that matter at this point in the story.
Memorable quote – “It’s a trap” – Admiral Ackbar
Iconic moment – Leia kills Jabba
#3 – Rogue One
Based on the first hour this movie doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near the top five, so the #3 slot is entirely testament to how strong Rogue One becomes as it accelerates towards its finish.
Forest Whitaker’s Saw Gerrera adds precious little to the story and feels entirely skippable. As he makes his exit the band of rebel spies starts to take shape, driving towards the moment when they will strike from a hidden base to steal the secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR.
Anyone who made it half way into the opening crawl of Episode IV knows the mission was successful, and the vast majority of fans will have been all to aware that none of these prequelish characters are ever seen again. It is, therefore, to Rogue One’s enormous credit that the audience is kept engaged despite the predictability of the outcome and grows in a short time to deeply care about these characters. The average Star Wars fan may not recall the names of each of Jyn Erso’s crew, but our emotions plummet watching the dominoes fall as each in turn makes the ultimate sacrifice, especially considering how many of them die believing their mission to have little chance of success. To shift in the closing sequence from noble defiant sacrifice to the terrifying image of Vader and then use one perfect cameo to send the audience home bouncing with hope and excitement is bold and brilliant filmmaking. If only it hadn’t taken so long to get going this could have ranked even higher.
Memorable quote – “Hope” – Leia
Iconic moment – Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor on the beach, facing their fate head on
#2 – The Empire Strikes Back
Memorable quote – “I know” – Han Solo
Iconic moment – Luke gets disturbing news about his parentage
#1 – A New Hope
Memorable quote – “These are not the droids you’re looking for” – Obi-Wan Kenobi
Iconic moment – The Falcon takes out Vader, signalling Han and Chewie’s decision to join the rebellion in dramatic style. “Let’s blow this thing and go home.”
