I don’t post here often/ever, but I love this topic and seeing everyone’s lists. I’ve seen Rogue One twice now and revisited the OT and TFA over and over again this past winter break with the kiddos.
Star Wars/Empire - I’ve tried, but I just can’t pick one. I love them both for different reasons.
TFA - GREAT characters, great acting, and just an all around fun movie. I was super worried going in, but it exceeded my expectations and then some. I get the rehash comments and I’m not crazy about the Rathtars, but everything else just works.
Rogue One - This jumped Jedi after my second viewing. The lack of character development didn’t bother me as much on my second viewing and I’ve grown to like Giacchino’s score. I LOVE how it leads into IV and I felt real emotion for Jyn and her squad the second time.
ROTJ - I love the Luke/Vader/Emperor scenes. McDiarmid is awesome and menacing. The space battle is fantastic as well. I do enjoy Jabba and most of the stuff that happens at the palace, but it takes almost half the movie to get out of there (at least it feels that way). Endor just doesn’t engage me like the rest of the trilogy. I do love the Biker Scout designs though.
TPM - I re-watched the PT last year and this one is still the most palatable for me. Maybe it’s the Maul fight or Neeson/McGregor’s acting, but I can actually watch this movie without cringing too much.
ROTS - I REALLY dislike Anakin’s turn and the goofiness that happens inside the temple. Unnecessary and ruins the end of Jedi when Luke “was right…” about him. You killed kids buddy…you’re an a-hole.
AOTC - This thing is a mess. Period.
One of the worst parts of the PT for me is that the Jedi seem like a bunch of morons most of the time. We were led to believe that this was an elite group of people, but they bumble around left and right throughout the entire PT.
Agree with pretty much everything in this post, including the rankings. I’m not sure if RO will end up above ROTJ in my final rankings as I’ve only seen RO once, but it’s certainly possible.