Ranked - Star Wars Movies

Star Wars Day 2018 has been and gone, it has been 41 years since the saga first graced the silver screen and now in 2018 we are 9 movies up with the 10th due shortly with the release of Solo a Star Wars story so today of all days we celebrate one of the greatest Sci-Fi franchises of all time by ranking them from worst to best!

Remember this is our opinion!

Ewan McGregor is without a doubt the best part of this movie and has been the best part of the prequel trilogy, his investigations that lead to the discovery of the clone army and subsequent conflict with Jango Fett is the most interesting and engaging story line of the movie, though it ends too abruptly on Geonosia.

Visually the Geonoshian arena scene where the Jedi order appear and storm the waiting droid army is awesome! shame about the crazy amount of CGI in this battle

Hayden Christensen in this movie for me was the worst part, i am not saying it is all his fault as i think his dialog wasn't great  but as the younger version of one of the greatest villains ever created, he comes across like a wet blanket and a petulant child, he has no fire in him.  There is also an issue in regards to the romance with Natalie Portman's character Padme, there's zero chemistry there from either of them and it takes away from the story.  The scene where Anakin finds his dying mother and subsequent destruction of the Tusken Raiders that took her had little emotional impact for me.

I am sorry, i am just not a fan of CGI Yoda!  I thought his fight with Count Dooku was unnecessary.








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Darth Maul was a fantastic and menacing villain with lightsaber skills that are just brilliant, but he had criminally too little dialog and it was a shame he was cut down in his prime (literally), glad that he was brought back for the the Clone Wars and Rebels!

Liam Neeson's performance as Qui Gon was great for me, he's wise and gives a level of authority to the movie. a proves a worthy master to Obi Wan's apprentice.





Ewan McGregor is fantastic in his 1st performance as Obi Wan and his final scene with his dying master is one of the most memorable and sad scenes in the Prequel Trilogy.



The final fight scene between Obi Wan, Qui Gon and Darth Maul is still one of the most impressive in the entire Saga due in part to the the Impressive martial arts work by Ray Park.



Natalie Portman's Padme Amidala is another fantastic example of the Star Wars saga championing strong female characters in their stories.






I love the pod racing scene, it is a side of Star Wars that is not just about space battles, blasters and space wizards, its fun, engaging and entertaining, though not sure about the scenes shout-caster! 

Urgh...... 😕






Pffft






 *eyes rolling







For the love of......






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The opening space battle was epic and more importantly it was fun!





Anakin's first manipulation at the hands of Palpatine comes early on when he is persuaded to kill Christopher Lee's Count Dooku by means of a gruesome execution.






One of the most interesting parts of the movie for me was the story that Palpatine tells Anakin about Darth Plagueis the wise Sith Lord so powerful that he could beat death itself, manipulating Anakin to turn to the dark side in a misguided effort to protect Padme and his children.



Anakins attack on the Jedi temple is brutal.....






The final battle between Obi Wan and Anakin is again one of the most memorable in the saga, it's dark, brutal and set against the fires of Mustafar makes it a spectacle.










I just found general grievous a little pointless, he is not imposing, threatening or much of a challenge for Obi Wan.  For me they could have closed out the prequel better if Grievous' role was taken by Darth Maul (if they had let him survive Episode 1), it would have made the battle with Obi Wan more meaningful.

Nope......

 Some parts were a little hammy.....






The movie portrayed Palpatine as a mustache twirling, maniacally laughing caricature of a blockbuster villain instead of the imposing, sinister and evil character from the original trilogy

 Slapstick, really?








Again, not a fan of CGI Yoda!







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Cassien's dialog with Tavik on the Ring of Kafrene is an interesting scene as it shows the darker side of the heroic Rebels, forced to do whatever it takes to defeat the empire, even murder, much to the distaste of Cassien who joined the rebels believing he would be a hero for doing so.



The introduction of Chirrut Îmwe is fantastic, as the blind follower of the Jedi religion, he is realized perfectly by the amazing martial arts skills of Ip Man himself, Donnie Yen



The Empires destruction of Jedha using the Deathstar is visually amazing, the shock wave ripping everything away from the surface





The battle over Scarif is one of the most enjoyable parts of the movie, the tropical setting surrounded by the sea is beautifully realized.





Baze Malbus played by Wen Jiang was entertaining throughout but I enjoyed him as the guardian to Îmwe






Krennics death is awesome, enough said......






The fact that Star Wars was brave enough to kill off all of its Protagonists is a great, unexpected moment...

Darth Vader going full Sith and tearing his way through the rebel ship looking for the Deathstar plans may be one of the best modern Star Wars moments ever!













Modern Star Wars movies are relying too much on sassy droids!





Though i am happy they gave a nod to Tarkin i am not sure that using CGI to bring him back was the right thing to do, he was a little distracting




Yikes....

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I love watching Luke traverse the planet like a strange angry hermit, it provided good comedic moments including the green milk from the Sirens






The Caretakers also were great fun their interactions with Luke were some of the stand out comedic moments.







Rey and Kylo Rens battle together against Snokes elite guard is technically fantastic and epic to watch.

The Gorilla walkers stomping over the landscape is another brilliant shot image and a memorable one.







Holdo's destruction of the enemy fleet again was visually stunning and as it was executed with no sound, it added to the spectacle




The final fight between Luke and Ren is impressive, funny, gripping and engaging

I found the battle at the beginning of the movie lacked impact as there was not enough back story for Rose's sister i found it haed to emphasize with her death

Admiral Ackbar died needlessly in a throw away scene for such a great character.








Too many Porgs!









The scene on Canto Bite though at times impressive lagged on a bit with a needless alien riding scene tacked on the end.





Poe Dameron went from being a hero in the first movie to being a petulant disobedient pain in the backside.




Snokes death was frustrating as the Force Awakens set him up to be such a fearsome villain.

Captain Phasma again marketed as a big villain had nothing to do and died in an instant,






Luke's death was needless!






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I love this opening interaction between Kylo Ren and Poe as we get to see abilities not shown in Star Wars before, with Ren stopping a shot from a blaster mid air.

We see more of Ren's abilities as he uses the force to take any information from Poe's mind.

Rey's introduction is mysterious and provides one of the most visually stunning shots as she scavenges parts from a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer.

BB8 is a welcome addition to the droids, and is completely adorable!







The first scene of the Falcon escaping the First Order Tie Fighters is another awesome shot as it snakes its way through the Star Destroyer.




Kylo Ren's temper tantrum was a great way to humanize his character, it shows him more as a frustrated angry child unable to control his emotions and by extension, his actions.

Some of the most interesting scenes were the ones briefly touched on like in Rey's force vision where we see the destruction on Luke's Jedi temple.

The idea that the First Order have trained there Stormtroopers for combat with 'Jedi is a great touch, as is the fans naming of this one TR-8R after he yells traitor at Finn.



Hans use of Chewie's Bowcaster, because who wouldn't find this awesome.





Poe's attack on the First Order on Takodana is another example of a great shot, I love how the water kicks up under the X-Wings as they approach.





Grumpy Han is awesome, enough said!

The final battle between Ren, Rey and Finn, is brutal and less elegant than other Lightsaber fights, showing a lack of skill and training.

Why?  Just why? Necessary?  I think not!









The Knights of Ren, looked the most impressive and a group I hoped we would learn more about, but we seem to have forgotten this plot thread!




I felt that Snoke was unnecessary in the first movie and they could have had him at a distance like the Emperor was, it would have allowed more development for Kylo Ren









Just a bigger Death Star.....





Captain Phasma served no purpose except to sell Chrome Stormtrooper Toys.

I really wish they hadn't killed Han off though it was emotionally powerful and written to serve Kylo Ren's arc but why Han?




You have fans wait 30 years for Luke to stand there and take off a hood, REALLY?!





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Jabba's palace is the hive of scum and villainy we come to expect from an establishment on Tatooine, great creature effects.




I loved the Rancor pit as a child, it was scary, impressive and the creature still holds up now, and Luke's take down on the monster is still awesome today!

Luke taking out Jabba's guard is still a kick ass fight sequence, even if Sarlaac was replaced by a CGI beak

The speeder chase across Endor is great fun

The final duel between Luke and Darth Vader whilst the Emperor watches over is engaging, the stakes are high as you can feel the Emperor's influence over the situation as he tries to force Luke to the dark side.

The Emperor is genuinely creepy as he stands over Luke firing force lightning at the man he wants to be his apprentice, he is malevolent, powerful and unforgiving.

Boba Fett could have been one of the most impressive recurring villains in the saga instead they had him die in the most slapstick of ways!  here's hoping that he fixed that jet pack while in the Sarlaac pit!



The Empire is taken down in part by escapee's from a local Build a Bear Workshop.....





Just another Deathstar......








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One of the most recognizable openings in cinematic history and one that in a nutshell sums up the conflict, the large imposing Empire against the small insignificant Rebellion.

Vader's force choke on one of his own men proves the fear and power he has over everyone, making him one of the greatest villains

The Cantina scene is one of my favorite parts of Star Wars, not only is it Han and Chewie's intro but the assortment of Various unsavory aliens all collected together is so fun to watch



We get to see the sheer size of the Death Star as the Falcon is pulled towards it.





This guy.......

The trash compactor scene is fun, tense and gives a sense of everyone's personalities.





Though the duel was not about back flips and roundhouse kicks this fight was about confronting your path and choosing your destiny, i always loved this.




The trench run, great fun and exciting with consequences (rest in peace Porkins)

This is really cool.....










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The AT-AT march over the snow planet Hoth is still one of the greatest shots in all of cinema history,






The addition on the Wampa gives the planets diversity, something that was lacking in Star Trek (mainly due to budget) 




We need more Bossk on our screens, much more!








Again the new and unusual aliens, which are more than just people in elaborate costumes or make up, makes this galaxy feel more imaginative.









Bespin is a beautiful Star Wars location, colourful and stunning.

The moment in the cave on Dagobah where Luke faces his fears that he will become like Vader are disturbing and shot in a very creepy way





Yoda for me is one of the greatest parts of the entire saga, but he shouldn't have been ruined by CGI, having him as a puppet, makes him more tangible and real as opposed to the back flipping shrieking version we got in the prequel trilogy



Vader's appearance on Cloud city was unexpected and disturbing, and we got to see exactly how powerful he is with Han firing a few blaster shots at him and Vader stopping them like they aren't even there!






Han's torture at the hands of the Empire cements this movie as the dark entry it was, it was brutal and made fans realise that just because he is a popular character didn't mean that they would go easy on him.

I always found this scary as a kid, and too right!









Luke and Vaders battle over the Carbonite machine that spills out into the underbelly of cloud city is emotional and exhausting, with Luke physically and mentally beaten by Vader



Luke's loss and subsequent reveal that Vader is his father was unexpected and Hamill does an amazing job of letting this news hit him like a bus and to add insult to injury Luke loses his hand in the most brutal way






The movie ends on an uncertain note as they have suffered a real defeat at the hands on the Empire they have lost ground to the enemy, lost their friend, but still remain determined.