Every Star Wars Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

A valiant effort was made to tell more stories involving everyone’s favorite smuggler, Han Solo. Trying to recast Solo was a herculean task, to say the least, which may or may not have snakebit the project from the start. It was well documented that there were production issues throughout. Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (the original directors) were fired from the project due to “creative” differences, and Ron Howard was brought in to finish it. Alden Ehrenreich gave it his all, but filling Harrison Ford’s shoes was an impossible task. There were some enjoyable moments, like Han meeting Chewie for the first time, and a great young Lando Calrissian played by a well-cast Donald Glover, but that wasn’t enough to save this movie, which ultimately killed the Star Wars spinoff series.

Making a feature film after releasing three seasons of a hit TV show is a difficult undertaking. Most of the interesting plot points were already told, and the filmmakers really have to up the ante to make people care about further adventures. Unfortunately, this was not accomplished in The Mandalorian and Grogu. The fun dynamic of Mando and Grogu is definitely intact, and there are plenty of action scenes to satiate fans, but unfortunately, that’s all the movie really has to offer. The stakes are low, very low, the involvement of the Galaxy at large is kept to a minimum, and the film doesn’t go any deeper than the show has before. If you are looking for another Mandalorian episode with a bigger budget, this is the movie for you.

Time has not been kind to Attack of the Clones. Anakin is no longer a child, and Jar Jar Binks’ role was greatly reduced, but this didn’t result in a movie that engaged audiences throughout its runtime. The movie started off with a bang, literally, but after that, the momentum and the plot sort of go downhill. Obi-Wan’s hunt for Jango Fett is long and largely uneventful; meanwhile, the cringe romance scenes between Anakin and Padme were groan-inducing and largely went nowhere until the last 20 minutes of the film. When the cast finally gets to Geonosis the film finally kicks into gear. The Clone Wars finally begin with Jedi facing off against Trade Federation droids, and a series of epic lightsaber battles featuring Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Count Dooku. Plus, we finally see Yoda wield a lightsaber for the first time.

The Rise of Skywalker is the result of a film studio attempting to please every fan in existence. After the initial uproar over the creative choices in Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi, Disney brought in J.J. Abrams to “fix” what fans disliked about Last Jedi. Unfortunately, when you are brought in only to retcon established lore, you hinder good storytelling. Attempts at fan service were glaringly abundant; a romance between Rey and Kylo Ren was shoehorned in despite the groundwork being laid for Rey and Finn, and in a move that still makes no sense, Emperor Palpatine was brought back to try and regain interest. What should have been a moving and impactful finale to the Skywalker Saga instead was a movie that was clearly trying too hard, sacrificing good storytelling for trying to appease the internet.

Another film whose perception has changed over time: there was a period when The Phantom Menace was considered the worst thing to ever happen to Star Wars. Time has definitely been kind to Episode I, and many now consider it to be one of the stronger entries in the Star Wars saga. The movie certainly has its faults, such as a war being started over trade routes, some extremely metallic acting, and the introduction of Midichlorians to Jar Jar Binks, but there is a lot to love about this movie as well. The establishment of the Jedi Order and its doctrine became very important to the lore,.Qui Gon Jinn was awesome, the pod racing scene was killer, and we also got one of the best lightsaber battles in history featuring Obi-Wan, Qui Gon, and a badass newcomer in Darth Maul. Despite its faults, this movie has become a great prequel entry that has attracted new fans over time.

The Last Jedi was an incredibly polarizing movie. When Disney handed the reins to Rian Johnson after J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, Rian had the courage to take the franchise in new directions that you either loved or loathed. The anticipated return of Luke Skywalker was not what people had in mind; some of the lore and “rules” of the Star Wars universe were changed, and many people did not recognize this Galaxy from Far, Far Away. This was by no means a bad film, but many people thought Rian took too many liberties with the world they had come to know and love. Time has been kind to Johnson’s project, and many now consider it one of the better films in the series. Always a topic of debate, you at least have to give Rian credit for taking a swing for the fences with this one.

After Disney purchased Star Wars from George Lucas, the announcement of a new series of films had fans excited. Not only were we getting new movies, but Luke, Han, and Leia were finally returning to the franchise after decades away. What more could a fan want? The sequel trilogy started off strong and showed a lot of promise. Not only did we get the OG heroes, but we also got engaging new characters in Finn, Rey, and Poe Dameron. Since Vader and The Emperor were (seemingly) dead, a great new villain emerged in Kylo Ren, the corrupted son of Leia and Han. The adventure was fun, the dialogue and the chemistry between new and old cast members was fantastic, and the stage was set for a fun new adventure that old and young fans could enjoy. Some people say that a lot of the same beats from A New Hope were used, and that may be true at times, but this movie gave Disney a lot of promise with the newly acquired franchise.

After a hit-or-miss couple of movies that came before it, fans finally got to see the moment that everyone had been waiting for since the introduction of the character: how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. The first Star Wars movie to receive a PG-13 rating, this entry had a far darker tone and included many heartbreaking moments as we witnessed Anakin’s final descent into the dark side. There were lingering issues from the previous films, such as more metallic acting, awkward romantic scenes, and pacing issues, but the fall of the Jedi Order and the final battle between Obi-Wan and Anakin more than made up for them. Audiences had not seen the films go to such dark places before, and this film shook the franchise to its core. The final act of this movie was a gut punch to every Star Wars fan and has left a lasting impact on the Saga for years to come.

After the success of The Force Awakens, Disney announced a series of films that would be “spinoffs” of sorts, featuring stories not directly involving the Skywalker Saga. The first of these films was to be devoid of Jedi, featuring mostly new characters that we would eventually fall in love with. Little did fans know that Rogue One would go down as arguably the best entry in the Disney Era of films, which also launched one of the more important TV series in Disney+ history. The story of how the Rebels stole the plans for the Death Star, along with introducing lasting characters such as Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, and Director Krennic, made this film a surprise classic. Throw in an insanely bad ass finale with Darth Vader, and there’s plenty to love in this film if you are a Star Wars fan.