Miles of Movies

#1 The Empire Strikes Back

Score: 9 ½

But for about fifteen minutes at the beginning, The Empire Strikes Back is pretty much perfect. Fantastic music, cinematography, sets, acting, characters, and mythos, this is the best that Star Wars has ever been, and probably ever will be.

 

#2 Star Wars

Score: 9

The original that started it all is groundbreaking for a reason. Though it doesn't treat its characters as well as the above film, it put the characters in a great story and set up an intriguing world that made me want to learn more.

 

#3 Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Score: 9

This film did a really great job of creating fleshed-out characters that are relatable and likeable. It created a villain with layers that is now really involved with the main heroes on more than one level, which will make for good stories to come. As a standalone film, this isn't the best. But it really sets up the new story and I'm really excited for what is to come.

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#4 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Score: 5 ¾

The first half of this film was boring as half a dozen characters are thrown together in a choppy story that doesn't really add up. The second half is a lot more focused and engaging, showing some real stakes.

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#5 Return of the Jedi

Score: 5 ½

This movie simultaneously contains some of the best and some of the worst moments in all of Star Wars. What it really does well is Luke's story. I feel as though Luke really has the finished arc that I always wanted him to have. He's come a really long way and gone through a lot. But this movie also doesn't do much else. The middle is boring and the beginning is just weird.

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#6 Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Grade: C

This film suffers from a waste of good source material. It has plenty of good parts to it but it's just a narrative jumble of loose plotlines and convoluted plans. There is enjoyment to be had, especially at the beginning and towards the end, but the middle is downright boring and worse, pointless.

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#7 Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

Score: 3 ¼

The best of the prequel trilogy is just too-little-too-late. At this point none of the characters are likeable and there isn't a whole lot that the movie could have done. Its opening makes no sense and it just goes a little too over-the-top towards the end. The terrible romance is suppressed but the movie still has the same boring storytelling and awful acting that the other two prequels have. It's better, but only because things actually happen in this film.

 

#8 Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Score: 3

It has great music, a decent Obi-Wan Kenobi, and one good scene. But it also has the worst romance in cinematic history, terrible writing, awful CGI everywhere, and just a bland style of story-telling. We never get the chemistry between Obi-Wan and Anakin that we needed and we also didn't like Anakin. He's a creepy teenager with anger issues. How are we supposed to feel for him when he becomes Darth Vader if he was never likeable in the first place?

 

#9 Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Score: 0 ½

Apart from John Williams' music, there is actually nothing of value in this movie. Nothing at all. The story is almost incomprehensible in that four or five stories are happening at once, stories that make no sense on their own or together. We learn nothing about any of the "characters" in this movie, because nobody ever displays any emotion. Add Jar Jar Binks to the midst and you have one of the most lifeless movies ever made.