Star Wars: Ranking the Films of the Star Wars Series

Aren’s Ranking:

1. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) dir. Richard Marquand

The peak of blockbuster filmmaking and the redemptive lynchpin that holds the entire series together.

2. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) dir. George Lucas

With his final film in the series, George Lucas transformed the Skywalker saga into a stunning tragedy in addition to a thrilling adventure.

3. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir. Irvin Kershner 

The first Star Wars sequel blows up the storyworld in inventive and thrilling ways, paving the way for the universe we’ve come to know and love.

4. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) dir. George Lucas

The only Star Wars film that can stand alone. There had never been anything like it before and there’s been nothing like it since. It changed Hollywood forever.

5. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) dir. George Lucas

An elegant introduction to a new chapter in the Star Wars saga and a masterful work of narrative misdirection.

6. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) dir. George Lucas

As fun as Star Wars has ever gotten. The final hour is an action showcase unlike many others.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) dir. Gareth Edwards

A moving statement on the need for sacrifice in the cause of justice, and the Original Trilogy prequel many people always wanted.

8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) dir. J.J. Abrams

As a Star Wars film, The Force Awakens is forever trapped by its nostalgic approach, but as a Hollywood blockbuster, it’s hard to beat.

9. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) dir. J.J. Abrams

A wild, furiously-paced conclusion to the saga, one that cannot reconcile all the narrative threads left dangling by its predecessors, but that does conclude the stories of Rey and Kylo Ren in an emotionally-satisfying manner.

10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) dir. Rian Johnson

The boldest of the Disney Star Wars films and a work of several beautiful moments, images, and ideas, but also too beholden to the idea that narrative subversion and confounding expectation is the hallmark of good pop art.

11. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) dir. Ron Howard

Inessential, but about as fun as you could hope a film that’s essentially a filmed version of an Expanded Universe novel to be.

Anders’s Ranking:

1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir. Irvin Kershner

The moment when Star Wars truly became the Star Wars saga as we know it; a classic Hollywood adventure, moody character piece, and world-expanding work of science fiction fantasy. My stock answer to the question, “What is your favourite film of all time?”

2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) dir. George Lucas

A classic in its own right, compelling and exciting; a landmark of American popular culture on par with something like The Wizard of Oz, even beyond the series it spawned.

3. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) dir. George Lucas

The most ambitious Star Wars film, thematically and technically; Revenge of the Sith is truly operatic and tragic in equal measure, bringing the saga to a cyclical close.

4. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) dir. Richard Marquand

The most fun and swashbuckling of the Star Wars films, it represents perhaps the peak of pre-digital blockbuster filmmaking. Also, emotionally affecting in its portrayal of redemption and the bonds of family.

5. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) dir. George Lucas

A landmark in its own right, transforming fan culture and heralding the dawn of the age of IP; at the same time it looks back to the series’ origins in film serials, establishing its own unique aesthetic and planting the seeds of the prequels’ deeper concerns.

6. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) dir. George Lucas

Uneven, but ambitious, both in terms of its digital production and thematic heft; Lucas’s weakest episode still boasts memorable imagery and propulsive adventure, operating in pulp modes as varied as noir mystery, chivalric romance, and creature feature.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) dir. Gareth Edwards

The best thing Disney has done with the Star Wars property, Rogue One explores the background political struggle of the Galactic Civil War and does so with style and rousing adventure.

8. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) dir. J.J. Abrams

The first return to the Star Wars universe in a decade, The Force Awakens successfully mines our nostalgia to recover some of the magic of the series, but at what cost?

9. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) dir. Rian Johnson

Idiosyncratic and bold, The Last Jedi is a singular vision of the Star Wars universe, even as it is at times narratively meandering and never truly coheres into a continuation of the previous films.

10. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) dir. J.J. Abrams

A fever dream, pulling out all the stops in order to cap off an imagined trilogy; despite every memorable moment and emotional payoff, The Rise of Skywalker rarely pauses in its effort to push Star Wars over the finish line, ultimately leaving one breathless with as many questions as closure.

11. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) dir. Ron Howard

A science fiction lark and enjoyable heist tale set in the Star Wars universe; where it goes wrong is less in the execution than in the idea that we wanted or needed to see a young, non-Harrison Ford Han Solo to begin with.

Anton’s Ranking:

1. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) dir. George Lucas

I would be satisfied if this was the only Star Wars movie we had. Over 40 years later, the film remains the crowning achievement of American pop cinema, the perfect weekend afternoon matinee, and an endlessly enjoyable adventure tale.

2. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) dir. George Lucas

Revenge of the Sith is Lucas’s mature, final statement on the Star Wars saga. It is an older man’s vision of a youthful adventure, which infuses the work with wrenching tragedy and perceptive political allegory.

3. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) dir. Irvin Kershner

The Empire Strikes Back is more emotionally and thematically sophisticated than A New Hope, expands the storyworld, and also adds more shading to the characterizations and narrative.

4. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) dir. Richard Marquand

Return of the Jedi is severely under-appreciated as the most effective and, importantly, succinct final episode of any movie franchise. After a romping opening adventure, it brings everyone and everything together in an incredible, layered climax that has never been surpassed, delivering satisfying conclusions to the various narrative threads, character relationships, and themes.

5. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) dir. George Lucas

Lucas’s most elegant, if most wooden, film. While The Phantom Menace lacks the emotional energy that courses through Revenge of the Sith, I greatly admire the film’s artistic design, special effects, and sprawling narrative as a successor to classical Hollywood epics such as Ben-Hur.

6. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) dir. George Lucas

As my review indicates, this is a personal favourite, even if it’s clearly Lucas’s most unbalanced work. Some scenes drag, the design can be flat, and the plot a bit clunky, but the final 40-minute sequence, from the colosseum battle to the credit roll, is rollicking and spectacular, even on repeat viewing.

7. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) dir. J.J. Abrams

The promise, mystery, and sheer excitement that infused Episode VII upon its release remains something special for me. The Force Awakens will stand as a charming love letter to Star Wars, as well as a strange forecast of what would come next—the good and the bad. It also has a fascinating meta-textual dimension that engages with myth and fairy tale, fandom and nostalgia within the storyworld.

8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) dir. Gareth Edwards

I was a modest admirer at first, but the film’s thematic depths have opened up to me on repeat viewings—its complex exploration of what rebellion and being a “rogue” mean, as well as its religious view of the Force as a faith that can inspire sacrifice and sustain the fight for the greater good. The video game-like Tarkin and Leia will always bother me though.

9. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) dir. J.J. Abrams

My feelings about this movie resemble those for the comic book miniseries, Dark Empire, or other good Expanded Universe fare. There are some very cool story ideas and visualizations, but the film lacks the narrative clarity and formal rigour of a Lucas film. What’s worse, it exhibits too many of Abrams’ weakest cinematic tendencies, such as his falling back on style over sense, and allowing action spectacle to devolve into fantasy-land antics.

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) dir. Ron Howard

I agree with the almost-universal evaluation that Solo is cursed with being inessential. While the movie can be a lot of fun at times and Alden Ehrenreich’s Han works for me, other times the high jinks rankle, particularly the scenes with the sassy robot. 

11. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) dir. Rian Johnson

The Last Jedi contains characters and scenes that I do not like, and makes choices with established characters and in its narrative that I disagree with. Furthermore, Johnson’s sense of humour and his obsession with subverting audience expectations grate upon repeat viewings. The film is visually elegant, particularly chromatically, and much of the action impresses, but the plotting is both stretched and limp at times, and motivations can be unclear. The Last Jedi is arguably the most unique non-Lucas Star Wars movie, but I doubt I will ever be satisfied with it.

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