Rank the Star Wars films

[Joe Carioca]

OK, this is my order:

1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Revenge of the Sith 1/2
5. Attack of the Clones
6. The Phantom Menace 1/2

"The Empire Strikes Back" is the ultimate Star Wars film. Everything is perfect and in the right place. The story is the most meaningful, the characters are really fleshed out and we are introduced to new important aditions to the saga (Lando Calrisian, Yoda, Bobba Fett). The action scenes are breathtaking but aren't used in excess, the same goes for the special effects. It's also the one with the best art direction, best acting (Harrison Ford IS Han Solo and Mark Hammil does his best work in the series, and probably in all of his acting career). The soundtrack is one of John William's best work (well, all of the three films are) with some unforgetable themes such as The Imperial March, Yoda's Theme, Lando and Leia's theme and The Asteroid Field. And, of course, we have the two biggest cliffhangers ever ("There is another one" "No, I am your father!")

I had written long essays on each of the movie, but somehow I manage to delete it.

[ichabod]

Here's a list that's bound to see some hissy fits a startin'!

1. The Phantom Menace
2. A New Hope
3. Return of the Jedi
4. Revenge of the Sith
5. The Empire Strikes Back
6. Attack of the Clones

Until AotC was release I had never seen any of the Star Wars films, the first one I saw was TPM and that is the one I liked the most.

So Come on! Tell me I'm crazy!

[Disney-Fan]

So Come on! Tell me I'm crazy!

You crazy bafoon! How can you actually like a modern Star Wars movie? It's not classic!!!




I'm with ya ichabod. I don't care what others say, the prequel trilogy is very entertaining and infact, is the reason that got me interested in seeing Episodes IV-VI!

[ichabod]

You crazy bafoon! How can you actually like a modern Star Wars movie? It's not classic!!!

Well the DVD came with a slipcover!

[Alan]

You crazy bafoon! How can you actually like a modern Star Wars movie? It's not classic!!!

Well the DVD came with a slipcover!

The slipcover business is getting old...

[Disney-Fan]

Well the DVD came with a slipcover!

Well duh, now that explains everything!
Alan, relax. We're just messin' around. It's not aimed at you...

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

6. Phantom Menace- Ugh! Jar Jar Binks, boring battle scenes, and an annoying kid that play Anikan! The only Star Wars that is bad!

The "Dual of Fates" sequence made up for it, though. How could you call that a boring battle sequence? Obi-Wan vs. Darth Maul is my favorite battle sequence in the whole prequel trilogy. It was so fast paced!

I acutally didn't like "Dual of Fates" scene. The only good part was when Darth Maul had the double light-saber. But overall I didn't care for the characters as I did in the originals. I didn't even for them as much as the other prequels. Well the only thing I liked about Menace was the Pod Racing scene. It was awesome! I think that part was enjoyable. The rest of the movie just bored me. Luckly Attack of the Clones saved the Star Wars prequel francise.

[Pasta67]

Luckly Attack of the Clones saved the Star Wars prequel francise.

I would say it contributed to saving it. Revenge of the Sith brought it all the way home though! Here's what I think the movies did for the Star Wars franchise:
A New Hope: Started a beautiful thing
Empire Strikes Back: Made it better
Return of the Jedi: Made the best space trilogy in history
Phantom Menace: Ruined it
Attack of the Clones: Did more good than bad
Revenge of the Sith: Redeemed both trilogies

[Pasta67]

I didn't want to double post, but it's been three days. I just finished them all, and here's my rankings:

1. Return of the Jedi
2. Revenge of the Sith
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. A New Hope
5. Attack of the Clones
6. The Phantom Menace

It's a shame I had to put AotC and TPM so low on the list, because they really had some good scenes (Dual of Fates in E1 and the Yoda fight in E2), but they really are the worst of the series. A New Hope just didn't rope me in as much as its' sequels and RotS. The Empire Strikes Back was great, but I already knew the big surprise that made it such a success, so it wasn't very effective on me. Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi were excellent and it was hard to rank them. And lord-of-sith, the reason they were so high on my list might just be because of Darth Sidious.

[Alan]

I didn't want to double post, but it's been three days. I just finished them all, and here's my rankings:

1. Return of the Jedi
2. Revenge of the Sith
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. A New Hope
5. Attack of the Clones
6. The Phantom Menace

It's a shame I had to put AotC and TPM so low on the list, because they really had some good scenes (Dual of Fates in E1 and the Yoda fight in E2), but they really are the worst of the series. A New Hope just didn't rope me in as much as its' sequels and RotS. The Empire Strikes Back was great, but I already knew the big surprise that made it such a success, so it wasn't very effective on me. Revenge of the Sith and Return of the Jedi were excellent and it was hard to rank them. And lord-of-sith, the reason they were so high on my list might just be because of Darth Sidious.

I love return of the jedi also. I just hate how people don't like it because of the ewoks, but really it has a ton of action, and is really a lot of fun to watch. Empire strikes back and a new hope were ok, but not really that great. I also liked revenge of the sith. Finally Lucas does it right!

[Pasta67]

I didn't really like the Ewoks either, to be honest. The scenes with them bored me a little. I did feel bad for them in the scene where one of them was trying to wake up and crying over the dead body of someone he knew. I probably would have been bored to death if it weren't for Han, Leia, C-390, and R2D2 being there.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

I love return of the jedi also. I just hate how people don't like it because of the ewoks, but really it has a ton of action, and is really a lot of fun to watch. Empire strikes back and a new hope were ok, but not really that great. I also liked revenge of the sith. Finally Lucas does it right!

Well, the ewoks were fun, but I didn't love them, still prefered them over Jar-Jar.

However Return of the Jedi is still my least favorite of the original series mainly because of the cheesy dialouge. The best example of this is when Luke says to Leia, "I know it's going to be hard for you to hear this but, you are my sister" or something like that and then she replies, "Some how, I've always known". HOW COULD SHE HAVE "ALWAYS" KNOWN! That just made the movie confusing. But aside from a few examples of cheesy dialouge, I really like this movie.

[Zoltack]

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. Return of the Jedi
3. Revenge of the Sith
4. A New Hope
5. Phantom Menace
6. Attack of the Clones - I think this one sucked more than Phantom Menace

[Son of the Morning]

1) Return of the Jedi
2) The Empire Strikes Back
3) A New Hope 1/2
4) The Revenge of the Sith 1/2
5) Attack of the Clones
6) The Phantom Menace

Yes, RotJ really is my favorite...

[Disney-Fan]

1. Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
2. Episode II - Attack of the Clones
3. Episode I - The Phantom Menace
4. Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
5. Episode IV - A New Hope
6. Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

New ranking! I actually forgot how much I enjoy Episode I. I'm surprised some die hard fan hasn't jumped at me for this already... I think Lucas has done a terrific job on the new trilogy. Especially in the story department. Character developement is much better and so is the main story.

[Pasta67]

I think Lucas has done a terrific job on the new trilogy. Especially in the story department. Character developement is much better and so is the main story.

That may be true, but I think the prequel trilogy could have been much better if Lucas had just hired writers when he was in a tight spot. I remember him saying that when he reaches a spot where he is stuck, he forces himself to right a script, just because he wanted to get two pages done a day. That, to me, doesn't really seem like someone who wants their movies to be the best they can be. Don't get me wrong, I respect George Lucas, but he kinda got an ego with the prequel trilogy when he decided to do everything by himself.

[Disney-Fan]

I agree. He could've asked for help when needed (especially in Episode III's love scenes) but it doesn't drag the movie much for me as it does for most critics so I just take a deep breathe and continue watching the movie...

[Maerj]

I think Lucas has done a terrific job on the new trilogy. Especially in the story department. Character developement is much better and so is the main story.

That may be true, but I think the prequel trilogy could have been much better if Lucas had just hired writers when he was in a tight spot. I remember him saying that when he reaches a spot where he is stuck, he forces himself to right a script, just because he wanted to get two pages done a day. That, to me, doesn't really seem like someone who wants their movies to be the best they can be. Don't get me wrong, I respect George Lucas, but he kinda got an ego with the prequel trilogy when he decided to do everything by himself.

Jonathan Hales was brought in as a co-writer for Episode II. Tom Stoppard helped George Lucas write the dialogue for Episode III.

[Luke]

Having re-watched the first five <i>Star Wars</i> movies and seen <i>Episode III</i> for a first time over the weekend, here's how I now rank them:

1) Empire Strikes Back
2) Star Wars
3) Return of the Jedi
4) The Phantom Menace
5) Revenge of the Sith
6) Attack of the Clones

In terms of my rankings, I would say the only things I feel extremely confident about not changing my mind on is that <i>Attack of the Clones</i> is the weakest of the lot and that the original trilogy surpasses the new trilogy in most ways. In any event, six <i>Star Wars</i> movies in 72 hours was a fun experience and probably the ideal way to compare the individual films with one another.

Oh, and at CGI Yoda and the bratty Anakin's appearance in <i>Return of the Jedi</i>, which I actually hadn't gotten a chance to watch on DVD until now. But to Star Wars in general.

[Just Myself]

Yay! MORE RANKING!!!

1. Empire Strikes Back - 10/10
2. A New Hope, or as I remember it being called before I was seven, STAR WARS - 10/10
3. Return of the Jedi - 9/10
4. Attack of the Clones - 7/10
5. The Phantom Crapfest, I mean Menace... again - 4/10
6. Revenge of the Sloth, I mean Sith... - 1/10

-JM