Ranking the Star Wars films — Page 127

MalàStrana said:

TV’s Frink said:
I continue to be amazed that some people HATED this movie so much that they could actually put it last, behind three terribly made movies.

It’s not about “hate”. I don’t even hate R1 as I have explained multiple times; ranking a movie last doesn’t mean you totally hate it… well, maybe some people do really hate the PT but I can understand the feeling that I once shared 😃 TLJ is a complex movie, very familiar and yet new, good and yet bad, impressive and yet lame… it may take a while before people know if they like it or not.

The thing is, Frink hates the Prequels. He thinks they are basically irredeemable, fanedit or not. So placing TLJ below them is baffling to him because he doesn’t see how anyone could objectively appreciate them by any stretch.

Can’t we let his opinions subside during his brief ban? He’ll remind us about them when he comes back.

I’m not picking on him. I’m explaining his rationale for jumping on people who place TLJ below movies he hates.

chyron8472 said:

I’m not picking on him. I’m explaining his rationale for jumping on people who place TLJ below movies he hates.

chyron - please leave this alone.

Frink can speak for himself and explain his rationale when he returns - he doesn’t need others to do it for him.

My ranking of the films based on how much I enjoy them (or in the case of the PT, how much I can tolerate them):

ESB/ANH
ROTJ/RO
TLJ/TFA
(----)
TPM/ROTS
AOTC

On a more critical list the only real differences would be that ESB is above ANH, RO below ROTJ, and TLJ would probably be a bit higher up. I still haven’t gotten around to re-watch TLJ so it might go further up on both lists in the future.

This is going to be a lengthy one. I don’t think I’ve seen this exact list on here before, and I don’t for a minute pretend to be unbiased. My _/10 ratings reflect only Star Wars films, so the top and bottom films reflect the absolute ends of the spectrum. In other words, these ratings would be different if I were rating them in the landscape of cinema in general.
From favorite to least:
These first two are almost equal, though Star Wars is DEFINITELY first:

1. Star Wars: Not only my favorite Star Wars movie, but my absolute favorite movie in general. I could watch it every day and it would never lose its magic. Some of my very earliest memories are of being transfixed by the opening battle on the Tantive IV and the droids’ adventure on Tatooine. This defined what Star Wars means to me - and I mean just the first 15 minutes or so. I like the weirder, goofier, more experimental parts of the saga than most people do, I think. It’s true escapism for me. And that’s not to devalue the rest of the film. It’s all perfect. It’s the movie to which I compare all other movies. But what else can I say that hasn’t already been said. 10/10

2. The Empire Strikes Back: Again, not much to say that hasn’t been said. It’s phenomenal. Star Wars ‘77 is just a little better. 9.5/10

3. Return of the Jedi: Not quite as satisfying as the previous two for me, but I have a hard time separating the OT too much. It’s all one thing in my mind, so it couldn’t go anywhere but third. I actually like the goofiness of it (creatures, stuff with Jabba, even most of the Ewok stuff) and of course the space battle and Emperor stuff is great. The stuff that knocks it slightly below the previous two are the elements George put in to wrap the saga up quickly (Leia being the other Skywalker, the cheesy happy ending) and the whole second Death Star thing. 8/10

4. The Last Jedi: While nothing will ever fully live up to the OT, this came damn closer than I ever would have expected. I’ve seen it FOUR times already. I went in with practically no expectations having avoided all trailers. I understand how it could have been a shock (and an unpleasant one) to a certain type of fan, but I approach Star Wars without much feeling of ownership. I like being shown someone else’s vision of the galaxy far, far away. That’s why I tend to enjoy the prequels more than most, I think. And, for me, the stakes aren’t that high. The OT is never going anywhere (the OOT as well, thanks to the talented members of this forum) and I’m willing to let this franchise take chances even if not all of them pay off. I’d much rather see a distinct creative vision that fails than a movie-by-committee that is passable. That being said, I don’t think Johnson failed. At all. It all clicked for me like I never thought Star Wars would. I could go on about what I loved about TLJ (and the things I didn’t), but I’m sure people are tired of that by now. Real quick, though, shout out to John Williams’ score. I don’t hear people talking about it, but I think it is fantastic. 8/10

5. The Force Awakens: First time I saw it, I wasn’t crazy about it. The excitement building up to the release was something that no movie could have lived up to. I waited in line at the theater for ten hours. I didn’t hate it, but it felt a little cold to me. Like someone was trying too hard to reverse engineer what Star Wars feels like without adding the heart. The problem is, it’s so damn entertaining that I can’t possibly put it any lower on this list haha. 7/10

6. The Phantom Menace: One of the first films I can remember seeing in theaters upon its original release. Of course I loved it then. I went through a phase of trashing it as I grew up, but now I’ve reevaluated. I honestly don’t think it’s that bad. It feels like Star Wars and if the gungans and the nemoidians weren’t so irritating, this one would jump up above TFA for me. I really like the story it tells. Again, I’m all for that strong creative voice, I just don’t think George stuck the landing in a few places. 6.5/10

7. Revenge of the Sith: This one is weird for me. I loved it the first time I saw it. It was the first midnight screening I had ever been to and I got to show up to school the next day to rub it in my friends’ faces. For a lot of years I would have put this one much higher. But every time I watch it, I like it less. I can’t exactly put my finger on it. 5.5/10

8. Attack of the Clones: Eh. I still watch it every now and then. I don’t hate it, but it’s definitely the weakest of the saga films. 5/10

9. Rogue One: I get it. I know why people like it. But I hate it. It’s the only SW film I never have any desire to see again. It felt so sterile, like it was made in a lab. It tells an inconsequential story, throws in jarring callbacks that have no story purpose (I don’t find TFA as guilty of this because nostalgia is a theme in that film) and the digital Tarkin and Leia characters make me sick to my stomach. I hate that technology. It devalues an actor’s work and seems to imply that their superficial appearance is their only worthy contribution. Even the Darth Vader scenes felt this way. I didn’t need to see him take out a hallway of rebels. It was gratuitous and left a bad taste in my mouth. The rest of the film was so bland and disjointed that I hardly remember it. 1/10

Disney Ruined Star Wars said:

OT great, OOT even better.

The Force Awakens and Rogue One pretty meh.

Prequels really bad.

The Last Jedi literally the worst.

So ‘Disney pretty meh’d Star Wars’, then?

13las said:
9) Rogue One: I get it. I know why people like it. But I hate it. It’s the only SW film I never have any desire to see again. It felt so sterile, like it was made in a lab. It tells an inconsequential story, throws in jarring callbacks that have no story purpose (I don’t find TFA as guilty of this because nostalgia is a theme in that film) and the digital Tarkin and Leia characters make me sick to my stomach. I hate that technology. It devalues an actor’s work and seems to imply that their superficial appearance is their only worthy contribution. Even the Darth Vader scenes felt this way. I didn’t need to see him take out a hallway of rebels. It was gratuitous and left a bad taste in my mouth. The rest of the film was so bland and disjointed that I hardly remember it. 1/10

That basically nails my reaction when you say you have no desire to see it again. I passed by a DVD shelf at a grocery store once, and saw the darn thing listed at $30 and thought to myself, “that is so overpriced for such a let down of a film.”

SW/Empire
TLJ
TFA/ROTJ

joefavs said:

Am I the only one with ROTS in dead last?

No, ROTS is last on my list too.

joefavs said:

Am I the only one with ROTS in dead last?

Me too.