Star Wars: Cam Ranks The Films From Worst To Best

Rogue One

Simple. Rogue One is really simple. It has no Jedi and a plot that a 10 year old could have written if you had asked them to write a story about how the Rebels got the plans for the first Death Star. At the same time, I thought it was pretty amazing. It was mature for one and dealt with loss and the heartache of war. This film has the ability to send tingles up my spine at certain points, my favourite being a simple smile on the face of Mon Mothma as she is told that Admiral Raddus has decided to disobey orders and is taking the Rebel fleet to Skariff to aid Rouge One’s crew.

It really feels like the beginning of the proper Rebellion. The space battle alone is in my opinion the best in the entire saga since the Death Star attack at the end of Return of the Jedi, and overall in my opinion it’s the most visually stunning of all Star Wars movies so far (To be fair The Last Jedi gives it a close run). It’s not perfect, and in fact, some of the nods to the other movies are a little too forced for me. Overall though it’s the first movie outside of the Original Trilogy that actually feels like it perfectly complements those movies and for that reason it sits at number four on my list.

It’s not the movie that the kids are going to like the best perhaps, but the vast majority of Star Wars geeks are in their 30-50’s now. I feel like the film succeeded by not trying to be a kids film. Also it might surprise these studios which films kids do like, my ten year old son has been watching these movies since he was small, and I think Rogue One was definitely one of his favourites so far. Lastly, if anything Rogue One actually enhances A New Hope by giving a plausible reason why the Empire had such a terrible design flaw in their Death Star.

A New Hope

Probably a controversial choice for me to put A New Hope in as number three of the Original Trilogy. In fact, as I type this I am not even sure I agree with myself. The movie that started it all and still in some people’s eyes the best of all Star Wars movies. For me there are a few things when viewed now after an entire lifetime spent watching it which detract from the overall narrative. Vader seemingly being subservient to Tarkin makes little sense to me, as does the fact that The Empire seems unable to catch 4 people running about in the enemy base with thousands of troops.

These are small quibbles as is the fact that the saber duel between Vader and Obi-Wan is a little bit…naff. Maybe I’m just trying too hard to justify my choice here? Maybe I’ve just watched it too many times? Star Wars was shown at Christmas on UK TV when I was around three or four, and we had just got our first VCR. I must have watched that terrible TV copy of Star Wars almost every day for what seems like years. My sister and I would watch it and immediately rewind it and start again as long as we had access to the TV.

I conservatively estimate I have watched this movie well over 400 times in my life. I could tell you what part of the movie is currently playing by being in another room and only being allowed access to the music playing over the background, and I’m also pretty close to that number with The Empire Strikes Back as well. It’s the movie that changed cinema forever and began the most successful movie franchise in cinema history, recently retrieving it’s crown back from Harry Potter. What’s not to love? If anything there is nothing that completely undermines the movie like there is in Return of the Jedi, but it also never really quite hits the highs of that movie ether for me. Ok, we will call it a TIE, pew pew.

Return of the Jedi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5xZh_Bc0jo

Most people find Return of the Jedi to be the worst of the OT movies, and many have even rated it below some of the PT and ST movies. To that I say…bullshit. Return of The Jedi has exactly one component wrong with it, one thing only. The ground based part of the greatest third act in cinema history is fairly weak. Han feels underdeveloped and ‘different’? but let’s be honest, it’s mostly because of the Ewoks, isn’t it?

If Lucas had gone with his original plan of having slave Wookies instead of Ewoks, then Jedi is for me a worthy rival to The Empire Strikes Back (Was there ever any doubt it would be number one?). The Jabba Palace scenes almost feel like a James Bond prologue and it’s just a fun action sequence where we get to see a proper Jedi for the first time in hero Luke Skywalker. The Yoda and Obi Wan scenes on Dagobah put the whole trilogy into perspective and help Luke define what he will become and what he will do. And the finale? For me every single moment that happens to Luke between him leaving Leia to burning his fathers dead body is cinema gold, all those scenes in the throne room, the dialogue is for me amazing.

At the time, it was the proper climax to a three and then six-episode saga, as Luke defies the Emperor and by doing so allows his father to reject the dark side. Anakin fulfils the prophecy to destroy the Sith by giving his own life to save his son’s. This sequence of events for me is better than anything even in Empire. You can see the conflict in Darth Vader, you can read between the lines as to what he is thinking. The audience can tell that Vader has feelings for his son, and that he feels the only way to save his son is to give him to the Emperor. Vader is willing to allow his son to execute him in order to have him take his place, this is how the door to the light is opened.

Then, when Luke makes the impossible choice, Vader is faced with one of his own, watch my son die, or kill the Emperor and himself. Equally the space battle as we follow the Falcon led by Lando Calrissian as they defend themselves and then attack the Death Star at its heart are magnificent and that “ YEEEEE-HAAAA!” as the Falcon bursts through the flames as the music builds and the Death Star explodes behind it….brilliant. As said the ground based battle was weak in comparison and it does really let this movie down. But surely, surely fellow fans, the good outweighs the bad on this one, are the Ewoks alone enough to see this spectacular movie drop down below some of the Prequel Trilogy?

The Empire Strikes Back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvJDItC6tE0

Not only do I consider The Empire Strikes Back as the best Star Wars movie, it’s actually my number one favourite movie of all time. I’m a writer, and I can’t help but watch any film and immediately think about what I would have done differently if I were in charge, it’s just the way I think. There are only five or six movies that I’ve seen where I would honestly not have changed a line, a shot, a cut, anything, and Empire is number one for me on that list. It’s hard to be objective about it when you feel that way about a movie (for those interested: Raiders, Shawshank, Godfather 1-2, Jaws and ET are the only others off the top of my head).

Empire is also the perfect sequel to A New Hope. it does what a good sequel should do and it does what a good middle chapter of any story should do, it both widens the story and deepens it. Not enough trilogies for me get the deeper part right. It used to be visually my favourite Star Wars move until I saw Rogue One, but that’s only one small component. It’s the characters that I fell in love with and Empire represents these characters at their very best.

Vader is at his most complex as we see him literally change in front of our eyes from cold blooded dark lord into the conflicted absent father longing for his son. We see Vader test and poke at Luke like he is the most interesting thing he has ever seen, the guy is clearly smitten from the first moment he meets him. Yoda is just quintessential Yoda in this, he has so many good lines and is never written this well again in Star Wars. Luke has the big journey from cocky flyboy to defeated and shamed Jedi apprentice. Han and Leia’s is my favourite romance in any movie, I love the dialogue as they trade wits and insults with one another to clearly disguise how they feel, concluding in heartbreak as Leia declares her love for Han as he is cruelly encased in Carbonite by the villains. Not to mention Han delivering some of my favourite lines ever including the classic “ I Know” response to Leia’s declaration of love. That’s Han Solo as a character right there in that one scene.

It’s also the funniest and darkest Star Wars movie, a line which is very difficult to tread. It’s not over the top humour like The Last Jedi mom jokes, and it’s not violently dark like Revenge of the Sith. Instead Empire is perfectly balanced somewhere in the middle. We have not even mentioned one of the greatest twists in movie history, I mean seriously, who could have seen that twist coming after watching A New Hope?

If we had sites like LRM back in the day, how many writers and fans would have predicted that Darth Vader was Luke’s father? You can imagine the pounding on forums you would have got for suggesting such a thing back then. The best thing is that as soon as Vader delivers that line, we know right then and didn’t have to wait several years for Return of The Jedi, wondering whether it was truth or lies. As soon as he says it and we see Luke’s reaction, we know it’s true and so does he. I haven’t even talked about how great a character Lando was and how he got a great mini arc. I haven’t talked about the droids and how both Artoo and Threepio are at their definitive best in this movie, like an old bickering odd couple. The movie also introduced Boba Fett, who instantly had more charisma and mystery than Captain Phasma got in two movies so far of the Sequel Trilogy.

Lastly, it’s the score. For me, it’s Williams’ best ever movie from start to finish. Sure, the Force theme and the main titles were already there, but this movie also gave us Yoda’s theme, The Imperial March, Han and Leia love theme and the Bespin escape music, epic Williams. I can’t find fault, maybe others can and that’s fine. For me, Empire not only became my favourite movie of all time, it literally changed, shaped and defined much of my life afterwards. I know nothing can ever really live up that and I don’t  demand that any movie does live up to that standard. But it doesn’t mean I can’t hope for better quality from the series as a whole. Empire is the standard, you may not reach that standard, but if you aim close you might well end up making a damn good movie. I could easily write another two pages about this movie, but I think it’s time for you guys to chip in.

Summing it up

In conclusion, Star Wars isn’t that great a franchise in terms of overall quality when you look at it. We are nine movies in, and out of those nine movies I can honestly say I really like only four of them, leaving five movies with some serious flaws. Although I really like those four movies. My worry is that as more and more Star Wars movies are made, it just dilutes the memory of what made me fall in love with this franchise in the first place.

So far, things have for me as a fan not gone well since Disney bought the franchise, one can only hope that quality improves from this point out. The one thing I’d encourage any writers and directors to do is to go and watch those original three movies again. It wasn’t special effects that made them great, it was great characters doing semi-believable things with interesting motivations and development. I would love to come back to this list in a few years time and have far more movies falling on the positive than the negative scale. At the same time I’m not convinced we will get that. Let’s see what Solo: A Star Wars Story brings next.

Anyway, I have said what I think so let us know below what you think? Where have I gone wrong and where would you rank the movies in this franchise? Come at me fans!!

Don’t forget to share this post on your Facebook wall and with your Twitter followers! Just hit the buttons on the top of this page.


Page 1:

#5-#4

Continue Reading

< < PREVIOUS 1 2

Night Terror Banner   GenreVerse FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoGBreaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube! Subscribe on: Apple PodcastsSpotify |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
Share the Post: