Star Wars Film Rankings

In anticipation for Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, I'm giving my current rankings of the eight Star Wars films thus far. I'm not a Star Wars expert - many of these films I have seen only two or three times. It would be impossible to provide an accurate numerical rating, so these are just ordinal (and subject to change after The Last Jedi, of course!)

EDIT: 12/17/2017 - I have now seen The Last Jedi and updated the list
EDIT: 5/26/2018 - Yet another Star Wars film has come out, Solo: A Star Wars Story! I have seen this and added it to the list as well
EDIT: 12/22/2019 - The final Skywalker Saga film came out, The Rise of Skywalker! It has now been added to the list. I have started The Mandalorian, but as a TV series, consider it its own entity.

#11: The Phantom Menace, 1999, PG
I'm sorry if anybody actually likes this movie and I just sound rude... but this is just a bad movie. A very bad movie. I only watch it when I'm marathoning all of the Star Wars films, and would not watch it for any other reason. I do, however, value the backstory it gives Anakin.


#10: Rogue One, 2016, PG-13
Whhaaattt?? This is #10?? How is it so low on the list?? It's a high quality movie, that's for sure. Beautiful music. Stunning cinematography. Grade A special effects. I'll tell you why - I have no attachment to it whatsoever. It's entirely forgettable to me. Who are the characters? Jyn? Some guy with a C starting his name? K2SO the droid? I remember faces, but that's about it. My favorite things about Star Wars are the narrative thread for the character-driven storylines, and this film is somewhat detached.

#9: Solo, 2018, PG-13
Like Rogue One, this is an anthology film separated from the narrative threads of the other films. For this reason alone, it cannot be any better than the core films (apart from Phantom Menace), so the question is, which anthology is better? Rogue One is objectively a far superior film. However, this is a subjective list. I rank it higher because of my attachment to characters like Han, Chewie, and Lando. I live for Han and Chewie's bromance.

#8: Attack of the Clones, 2002, PG
Honestly, what bothers me is not the film itself, but the stigma surrounding it. Hayden Christensen's performance has become a joke, and there are endless memes. I can't watch the sand monologue anymore. And it's not like the scene alone is that bad, it's just been ruined by fans. If I were watching this film in a vacuum, I would love it a lot more. I actually adore Padme.

#7: Revenge of the Sith, 2005, PG-13
This is just about tied with Attack of the Clones, and I go back and forth between the two. The humor in Attack of the Clones is stronger, but Revenge of the Sith obviously plays a much more important narrative role. My criticisms about jokes and memes ruining it for me more than the film itself still applies.

#6: The Last Jedi, 2017, PG-13
I think this film actually offers a lot less narrative power than Revenge of the Sith, but visually, musically, it was just so absolutely stunning that I will put it at #5. Also, it has my boy Finn in it which automatically makes it better, even if his part was smaller than I would have liked. Doesn't beat the original trilogy though, and it's the weakest of the new trilogy. It also doesn't fit too well with the other two films of the trilogy, probably considering it was directed by a different person with creative disagreements to J. J. Abrams.

#5: Return of the Jedi, 1983, PG
The least memorable of the original trilogy, but still a stunning film. This is another one that was ruined more by outside forces (this time by my dad, a dedicated Star Wars fan who dislikes this movie for some reason), than by my own criticisms. I like it. I think it's funny and it has a lot of greenery. C3PO is also a highlight of this film.

#4: The Empire Strikes Back, 1980, PG
The fan-favorite film, almost universally seen as the best Star Wars film, ranks in fourth for me. It has less to do with any problems with The Empire Strikes Back, and more to do with an attachment to what ranks in the first three. Of course this film is a classic, and I was young enough when I watched it that the parentage reveal was completely unexpected. Because it is such a fan-favorite, I'm wondering if a re-watch will cause me to move it up higher on the list.

#3: The Rise of Skywalker, 2019, PG-13
I'm putting this at #3 just so I can honor this film's roots in previous films. However, this could easily rank as either my favorite or second-favorite Star Wars film of all time. For me, this is the trilogy I hold the most attachment for, and these new characters are all my favorites. All of the originals movies I watched throughout childhood, and this new trilogy was the only one where I had the honor of waiting in anticipation for it to release. Seeing this trilogy come to an end, as well as the entire saga, was so emotionally powerful. It was everything I wanted the ending of the entire saga to be (minus the lack of Finn/Rey romance) and ties all three trilogies together.


#2: The Force Awakens, 2015, PG-13
FINN!! REY!! EVERYONE!! I absolutely adore this film, and in many ways I think it's the best Star Wars film. The special effects, the music, the characters, the humor... it's all of the highest quality. The only problem is it is a direct homage to the original film, and it would be inappropriate to not honor that film first.


#1: A New Hope, 1977, PG
As hard as George Lucas and company have tried to outdo themselves over the decades, nothing to me beats the first Star Wars film. As it is the original, it was created without any universe framework to build into. Somehow, however, this means it has by far the strongest narrative storyline. It works as a stand alone film just as strongly as it works as a part of a series. My other favorite Star Wars films are really just re-tellings of this same tale.