Honestly Phantom Menace is better than Return of the Jedi, but only by degrees. At better acted, better choreographed, better scored, and has a ton of great scenes. It also has some incredible stinkers, and I think the stinkers in Phantom Menace are worse than in RotJ.
But RotJ looks like a TV movie.”, for whatever reason. There’s something about the cameras or film used.
My ranking is simplified
That said, I do love Star Wars so I like even the Sequel Trilogy.
I think I agree with your list.
RotJ was a ton of silly fun and I liked it a lot as a kid and that fondness lingers; the Ewoks never bugged me. ANH is of course an amazing and near-perfect introduction to the franchise. 7 was a great and fun reboot of the series that leaned on nostalgia in ways that make me happy, and seemed to be introducing some really cool threads. Solo was glorious stupid fun that felt extremely SW to me, even if it did fall over itself to answer questions no one ever asked. RotS is the most absurd of the prequels and sort of fun in a bad way. Rise of Skywalker pays off a couple of the TFA threads while coping with the sudden loss of Carrie Fisher as best as possible, but it’s starting to get pretty bad here. Empire is cool, but has a sad ending, so fuck that. TLJ is a better movie than most of this list, but kind of a crappy SW movie (to me). It does neat stuff with scifi that feels out of place here. TPM is almost cool, but I hate little kids, so, it still sucks. Rogue One would be amazing but all of the amazing characters they introduced died, so, fuck that shit. AotC has the “sand” answer and is therefore a crime against humanity.
My list is similar but simpler.
Nothing else exists.
Just to cross the streams deliberately: “There are four lights.”
Pretty much. I mean, Empire is pretty much the consensus pick for the best SW movie, and here it ranks below one of the prequels?
Of course, I’m an “old” and watched the first movie in 1977 when I was 16. Stood in an interminable line just to buy the tickets and went to get MacDonalds for the group I was with and we ate while still in line.
What do you expect from someone who won’t eat chicken thighs?
The List OBVIOUSLY is
Best to Worst
I think that is about right.
You sure that list isn’t upside down.
No,
I would never have made a mistake like that!!!
:)
IV
V
VI
VIII
VII
RO
S
I
III
II
IX
Actually I’m not sure about Solo, it might drop a slot or two if I ever rewatch it. Or conceivably rise, I guess, but that seems less likely.
Having RotJ as first choice definitely is right. My list is slightly different (and I haven’t seen Solo, so I can’t rate it):
I mostly like the first 6, I mostly dislike the last 4.
This right here is why no one will ever be able to put a list together that anyone can agree with. To someone out there, Phantom Menace was something they watched with their Dad and had a bonding experience over, and as such it’s their favorite movie.
My favorite script goes to Rogue One. My favorite film goes to Empire Strikes Back, but I saw that with my Dad in theaters, just the two of us before my Brother came along. I would have been like 4 years old, but I still remember it.
Rogue One also has some of my favorite characters: Chirrut Îmwe and K-2SO are standouts for me, while Cassian, Saw and many others were very good.
Oh yeah, I loved Rogue One, I’ve seen it twice and I think I liked it even more the second time. I’m constantly thinking about watching it again, so I expect that will happen at some point. It’s easy to access these days.
I can go with that list. Though I could switch Rogue One and RoTJ (I’d have to see Rogue One again to see if it holds up).
I don’t know why RoTJ is shat upon so much. I mean, I get it: Ewoks. Still, Han’s rescue was fun and the whole movie is worth it for Vader’s death/redemption which is a highlight of the series and was handled well. It was a good wrap up to that trilogy, something I cannot say for the latest trilogy.
I will say that as much as I disliked Trilogy 2 and 3 overall, Return of the Sith had a number of memorable scenes and was the most watchable of that trilogy (though I also liked the Jango Fett/Obi Wan fight in Ep 2). And Episode 7 was fun and seemed like a step in the right direction. Too bad for the other two.
Rogue One was a perfect standalone film that still neatly tied into the rest of the saga. I really didn’t care for Diego Luna or the character; all I can remember about him is that for the lead, he lacked charisma big time. But it was the only film of either of the newest trilogies where I didn’t cringe once and where one scene (that one at the end) dropped my jaw and left me wide-eyed and giddy like the originals did in my youth.
I will NEVER watch the latest trilogy again. Once was more than enough.
Rogue One might have been the last movie I saw in theaters twice before Everything Everywhere All at Once. By comparison, I saw Force Awakens in theaters five times. (I wanted to relish the enjoyment, and the deliberate lack of payoff that eventually followed was quite disappointing.) I can’t even remember Solo. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen the original trilogy, but it’s in the hundreds. Phantom Menace is the best of the prequels, but it’s much clearer when you view it at its best in The Phantom Edit.
Anyway, I’m excited for Andor.
Because some people take joy in sniffing their own farts.
RotJ isn’t held in as high regard as the other two OG movies because by that point Lucas was wholly doing his thing and no one could really reign him in. The silliness of the Ewoks, another cantina-ish scene, another Death Star, essentially another trench run, etc.
It’s not a bad movie by any means, but you can see the start of the Lucas excesses that would lead to the prequel trilogy, Radioland Murders, Red Tails, etc.
The recycled death star and trench run annoys me more than the ewoks, honestly. Doesn’t ruin the movie for me, but it was lazy 40 years ago and remains lazy today. I’d probably rank 7 over 3.