Star Wars, it’s a controversial topic, especially when it comes to some of the new movies. Some people have hated all of them, some people have loved all of them, and some people, it’s a mixed bag, but everyone, almost, is willing to give you their opinion on them. So I’m going to jump into that fray with something dangerous, rating, from worst to best (this is my opinion), the movies of the Skywalker Saga.

9 – Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
This part of the list is hard, I know that for some people, this is the best of the prequel trilogy, but for me, it just feels like such a waste. We get a story that is told where characters who have to die off die off, where characters who have to become bad, they become bad. It doesn’t tell me anything interesting, it’s just what I expect it to be, and then there’s the whole Padme dying off because she just can’t possibly go on knowing that Anakin is becoming evil, this movie is just a waste of time and space in my opinion. It doesn’t have amazing action, it doesn’t have compelling duels, it just kind of falls flat at the end of telling a story that wasn’t needed.

8 – Star Wars: The Last Jedi
This is hard to put this low, because there are some parts that I really do think are interesting. About 65-75% of the stuff that we get with Luke, Rey and Kylo is pretty interesting and works well. I think that the moment where Luke projects himself and taunts Kylo into fighting him is just brilliantly done, and the development of the relationship between Rey and Kylo works well. However, then there is the rest of the story focused around Finn, Poe, and Rose, and that’s just hot garbage. It takes characters who were developing in an interesting direction, makes them stupid, changes up the characters completely, and then sends them on a stupid mission that makes no sense. Such a waste of time and space and such a waste of Snoke as well.

7 – Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
This is probably considered by most people to be the worst, but I think it tells more of an interesting story, when we’re not getting Hayden Christenson trying to act romantically. We get Clones, we get Geonsians and the starting constructions of the Death Star. Count Dooku is out there. It just tells a more of an interesting story in a space where there is still room to tell a story. We’re not in the endgame of Anakin becoming Darth Vader and while we still have to have some characters end surviving of dying, it doesn’t feel like it’s as forced. Now, the romance in this is just awful and creepy and should be stricken from the records, but we get to see a group of Jedi in action and see what they can do that we really don’t get to see in any other film. These bottom three were hard to put in order, as I consider all of them pretty bad, this just best the best or at least the least disappointing.

6 – Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker
What, this movie is garbage, how could I like it? No, you’re wrong, this movie is great, it had everything Star Wars in it, it must be the best. That’s what I feel like I hear about this movie, but I wrote a longer review of it, so I’ll only recap it here. I feel like it brings back, Finn and Poe to characters that we got in The Force Awakens, which I prefer to what they were in The Last Jedi. Plus, we got more awesome force stuff with Rey and Kylo and a good conclusion to that story with a redemption arc that feels more fully developed. Plus, it wrapped up the whole saga nicely, and I think, that’s what the movie set out to do, finish up the stories of Luke, Leia, and Han, as well as the new characters, but to bring this part of the world of Star Wars to a close. I think that it succeeds at that, and for that reason, I like it quite well, yes, it is rushed, especially early, but it tells a story that works and brings things to a fitting end.

5 – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
What, you might say, this movie this high, but Anakin is a whiny little boy and Jar Jar Binks. Yes, Jar Jar is in there for no good reason except to be dumb comedy. But I do enjoy this movie. I think that it blends the balance of the senate with a plot that makes some sense and has enough action that the movie doesn’t bog down. It also isn’t a movie about Anakin becoming Darth Vader, like the previous two, so it tells a more interesting story because of that, when it’s just progressing us to where we know it’s going to go, it’s a bit more dull. Plus, it tells a complete story. If they hadn’t made Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this movie still stands alone telling a complete story.

4 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
JJ Abrams might not be everyone’s favorite Star Wars director, but I really enjoyed this film. I thought that the characters were created in such a way that they had good depth, and interesting plot lines that could be run with. In particular I liked Finn, this person with no real identity because he was supposed to be a mindless soldier like a Clone Trooper before, but then finding out that he was more and thinking more about that. Also, Kylo was an enjoyable villain, I liked that they didn’t just make another Darth Vader, but made someone who wanted to be Darth Vader but didn’t understand what that truly meant and couldn’t ever live up to what he thought it was for himself.

3 – Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Ewoks are the best, aren’t they? I think this movie has one of the better space battles and one of the better lightsaber battles, and the whole bit with Luke and the Emperor trying to tempt look to turn to the dark side is just well done. But then there are Ewoks and the battle on the moon of Endor. It just drops the level down to more of a kids level than either of the other two original trilogy films. With that said, I do think it does a solid job of taking the original trilogy to a satisfying conclusion and more satisfying than any of the other trilogies in the Skywalker Saga.

2 – Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
More original trilogy love, but Empire Strikes Back just works as a film. We get Yoda in the film, and there’s just a nice level of action, betrayal, double crossing and more that goes on. I know for a lot of people, this is their favorite, but for me, there’s one that beats it out. Empire Strikes Back doesn’t have an ending, which drops it a little bit, yes, that’s because there’s a film after it, and yes, it has a bit of an ending to it, but I want an ending to my films, which is why this is a bit lower. I think that this is also one of the most serious ones in terms of the story that it tells, but that is a good thing, because it tells it well.

1 – Star Wars: A New Hope
Yes, this is my favorite, I think that there’s just something about the almost stand alone nature and the way that we’re introduced to characters that works really well. We get a good arc for Han as a character where he kind of becomes a better guy, but overall isn’t a great guy. It just works for me, I also like that it’s a bit more of a lighter space story in how everything is done, and that’s probably because it’s more stand alone in the nature of the story. So, for me, there’s just something about the original that makes it the best, maybe because it is the first, and you don’t know what you’re getting into if you watch it first. It just kicks off such a big world that is interesting to explore.

What is your order? I’m not going to ask why I’m wrong, it’s like my opinion, man. But what is your order and what draws you to some of the movies more than others?

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