‘Star Wars’ from 1 to 9
We rank how the saga’s chapters align.
With the arrival of Star Wars: The Last Jedi (in theaters Thursday night), nerds and civilians alike will again be busting out their Star Wars tapes and DVDs, special editions or original recipe, and rewatching the eight previous films to get jacked up for the ninth chapter in this galactic saga.
We’re no different. We’re bingeing them again, too, and these are the rankings you’re looking for.
9 Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999)
George Lucas’ prequels get a bad rap and, well, they kind of deserve it at times. Especially this one. And as for Jar Jar Binks … yeah. One thing it does do well is set up the political atmosphere that leads to the Empire and introduces Anakin Skywalker as the chosen one who will bring balance to the Force. Just not in the way anybody expects.
8 Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones (2002)
There are so many sleek special effects in this thing you miss the trash heaps and spit-and-gum filmmaking of Lucas’ original movies. Also, Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman have ZERO chemistry as doomed lovers Anakin and Padmé. That said, Clones is pretty good whenever Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi is around.
7 Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The prequel closest to the original trilogy in tone, story and theme is the best one. Anakin has his full turn to the dark side, Yoda takes on Senator Palpatine/Darth Sidious/Emperor in a neato lightsaber battle, when Order 66 comes down it’s a little heartbreaking, and ObiWan and Anakin’s brawl on Mustafar arguably is the most hellacious in any Star Wars film.
6 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
For its maiden standalone voyage, Star Wars brass blended the old — the Rebel Alliance freaking out about the construction of the Empire’s mighty Death Star — with something new: In this case, a war movie digging into the battlefields on land and in space with insurgents rising up against “the Man.” The results are a mixed bag.
5 Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)
Fans have plenty to unpack in a lengthy run time and Last Jedi, like other franchise vehicles, demands repeat viewings, but Luke Skywalker is the coolest he has been since The Empire Strikes Back. Last Jedi is unsurprisingly dedicated to Carrie Fisher, and her final role speaks volumes to the legacy of the core characters played by Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford, yet also points out the need for fresh icons to take the franchise to new heights.
4 Return of the Jedi (1983)
What makes this so special are all the satisfying conclusions. Luke and Darth Vader’s climactic father-son throwdown is a thing of redemptive wonder.
3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Director J.J. Abrams introduces the best characters since fans first laid eyes on Han, Luke and Leia: Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Abrams gets dangerously close to recycling old material, but instead he uses those familiar motifs to set the stage for an exciting third trilogy and crafts arguably the best final shot ever in a Star Wars film.
2 Star Wars (1977)
Whether Han shot first or not, the original remains the real deal mostly because of all the great character moments. We don’t need to know much about their history or where they come from to quickly fall in love with all these players as they begin a long journey that is still going.
1 The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Once could argue it’s one of the best sequels of all time but for this series at least, it’s the chapter that took a cool sci-fi fairy tale with Arthurian overtones and sent it on its way to being a masterwork of storytelling.