For an intergalactic space opera, Star Wars can sometimes feel a bit claustrophobic, so the amount of time Rogue One spends on gigantic space battles blowing the horn seems refreshingly like calling ROTJ all over again. This first Star Wars Story anthological film includes the ticking of time and attempts to break a shield on several fronts, and few things are as much fun on screen as two star destroyers that launch at full speed into NASCAR and hit the paint. It is also one of the few times in which the public sees some of the rebels as true fanatics, such as Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker) and his band of violent partisans, the pilot Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), who deserted the imperial army, Chirrut Îmwe (Donnie Yen) as guardian of the sorcerers after The Force with Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), and the rebel Andor (Diego Luna) who doesn't skimp much sympathy for those outside politics. Jyn Erso, from Felicity Jones, does an admirable job focusing the story on hope, which serves as a bridge to the next film in the chronology, although we know that there is none for her or the rest of the team.
However, what really makes Episode IX difficult to watch is its lack of commitment to the events of The Last Jedi, so we see how the plot does its best to rewrite the story of Star Wars, rather than relying on what happened before to offer fans a more appropriate conclusion. In the end, Episode II is remembered more fondly for things set in the great Star Wars canon — looking at you, Clone Wars — than for how good a film is in its own right. Inspired by the AC Crispin novels of the Legends era, Ehrenreich's honest vision of the galaxy's most ruthless was not bad, but between an uninspired plot and how boring the stakes were, the film as a whole definitely had room for improvement. In the end, Solo felt like he was trying to answer a lot of questions that no one had asked, and the ones that had probably been best left unanswered, anyway.
As with all Star Wars movies, there are things to enjoy. If you have to change the role of Lando Calrissian, putting Donald Glover under the cape is an inspiring choice and the robbery of a levitating train is a good time, but in the end it just proves to be a “unique and done” Star Wars story. For more information on Star Wars, check out our guide to Star Wars movies in order and all of the upcoming Star Wars movies and shows. You can also check out our selection of the best Star Wars holiday gifts.
Ignore the movement of Obi-Wan's hand, this is the list of Star Wars movies ranked, from worst to best you were looking for. If you're looking for all the Star Wars movies ranked from worst to best, you've come to the right place. From the original trilogy of the 70s and 80s to the most recent Force movie, The Rise of Skywalker, and everything in between, we've used our expert eye and fan knowledge to rank every Star Wars movie from worst to best, so you don't have to. There are currently 12 Star Wars movies and, although that doesn't seem like much if you compare it to the other great cinematic universe that exists, the MCU, you're still talking about a few good days of marathons if you want to catch up with all of them.
That's where our list of Star Wars rated movies comes in handy. Before we rewatch all of the Star Wars movies in chronological order, read on to discover which are worthwhile and which are best missed. Keep reading to see all of the Star Wars movies ranked, from worst to best, and see if you agree with our verdict. Don't forget that you can watch the best Star Wars movies on Disney+ and, if Midichlorians aren't enough for you yet, check out the best LEGO Star Wars sets.
Let's get the worst out of the Star Wars movies as quickly as possible. Trust us, there's nothing worse than Attack of the Clones. The excessive dependence on CGI sets, the numerous boring scenes in the Senate, the uncomfortable and supposedly “romantic” conversations between Anakin and Padmé. Do I need to continue? There are many reasons why Attack of the Clones is one of the worst Star Wars movies, but most of them can be summed up in the fact that it is cursed by half the film.
We've seen this before with other trilogies, and while none of the Star Wars prequels are particularly good, the first and third at least knew what they wanted to do. The intermediate film, Attack of the Clones, tries to bridge the gap between Anakin, the cute and innocent boy from Episode I, and the eventually bad guy, Darth Vader, in Episode III, and the fact is that the script and Hayden Christensen simply weren't up to the task. The first Star Wars prequel has many of the same problems as Attack of the Clones, especially in the CGI department (should I mention Jar Jar Binks?) and the fact that the main actor cannot act. Okay, Jake Lloyd was only 10 years old when he played young Anakin in The Phantom Menace, but it's really painful to watch any scene in which he appears.
However, he is not the only problem with this film. Although most fans didn't realize it at first because they were too excited about the return of Star Wars after a long hiatus, telling the story of a 10-year-old Darth Vader before he turned evil (or actually did something remarkable) isn't very interesting, and that's basically what the whole movie is about. Do you know the tough anti-hero who made the first Star Wars movie so good? Yes, let's take him and put him in a Disney prequel where he's still tough and handsome, but he's not really a scoundrel. This is the only thing that we can assume that Lucasfilm executives were thinking when they came up with the idea for the movie Solo.
Watching this movie is like watching everything you loved about Han Solo from the original Star Wars movies be destroyed, because it's very difficult to make an uplifting film about someone who was essentially a bad guy until he ran into Luke Skywalker. It's true that Donald Glover perfectly plays a young Lando Calrissian and his droid companion L3 is a more than welcome addition to the universe, but that doesn't mean that the main character, Solo, is little more than a watered down version of the Han we know and love. If you're a completist, you can probably watch Solo, but it's far from being one of the best Star Wars movies. The Last Jedi is probably the most controversial of the Star Wars movies, and not without good reason.
Basically, he wiped out the entire sacred history of Star Wars by claiming that Rey's parents were “nobody”, took 'magic' from the Force and, oh yes, killed Luke Skywalker. But it's this fact of breaking the rules that makes it one of the best Star Wars movies, because it was the first in a long time that it seemed like it had something new to say. It's certainly not without its flaws (such as the fact that you can summarize the story of Finn and Rose without consequences), but overall, The Last Jedi broke the rules in exciting new ways, and it did so in style. Love it or hate it, you can't deny that it's an unforgettable entry in the Star Wars saga and you definitely can't miss it.
Yes, there are those who rightly point out that this is more or less a new hope (a lonely young man on a sandy planet is carried away by an adventure that ends with the destruction of an evil spaceship the size of a moon), but the first Star Wars film was a success for a reason. The Force Awakens reminded us why we fell in love with the Star Wars universe in the first place. The last film in the original Star Wars trilogy might technically be the worst of the three, but it's still a very good movie. With one of the best opening sequences of all time in which Luke and company save Han from Jabba the Hutt, and a moment of redemption between Luke and his father, Darth Vader, that will never be forgotten, Return of the Jedi has definitely earned its place as one of the best Star Wars movies.
When it comes to the Star Wars stories that fans wanted to see turned into movies, the one about the rebels who stole the plans of the Death Star, which Luke and his band use to destroy it in A New Hope, didn't top the list. However, fortunately, the decision to move away from the traditional tropes of the Star Wars movies (without opening screen wipes) and taking a much more blatant (but not too blatant) cinematic war approach paid off and gave us one of the best Star Wars movies to date, and all without any Jedi. Rogue One triumphs when Solo failed, by perfectly balancing the nods to the original movies (such as the appearance of Senator Bail Organa, Leia's adoptive father) with behavior very little like the Star Wars of his heroes (should we mention the opening sequence in which Cassian kills an ally?). Felicity Jones and Diego Luna are perfectly played as protagonists and their chemistry makes the film what it is, can we just talk about the final sequence? If you don't get goose bumps when you see the end of Rogue One and the beginning of A New Hope, you might be dead inside.
Ah, the film that started it all: A New Hope. That alone guarantees it one of the top spots on our list of all the ranked Star Wars movies, but Episode 4 is one of the best Star Wars movies for more than that. The appeal of this film lies in its simplicity. The young and heroic Luke, who strives to be part of something bigger, could be any of us.
Leaving behind his mundane life and teaming up with a scoundrel with a heart of gold to rescue a princess, it's easy to understand why the audience responded to the story of A New Hope. The epic opening battle over Hoth, the introduction of Lando Calrissian, Leia telling Han that she loves him (“I know), and the biggest shocking revelation in movie history when Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father are just some of the reasons why Episode 5 isn't just the best Star Wars movie of all time, but one of the best movies of all time. When it comes to ranking all of the Star Wars movies from worst to best, there's really no competition. The Empire Strike Back is masterful.
Lauren is a fan of science fiction and fantasy from start to finish. He is passionate about the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but there are few sci-fi or fantasy worlds he hasn't visited, either through books (Dune), television shows (Game of Thrones) or movies (Star Wars). Since May is the month in which we celebrate all the great stories and memories that this franchise has given us, Den of Geek has surveyed both our writers and our readers to decide once and for all our official ranking of Star Wars movies, specifically the 11 live-action movie releases that form the backbone of this saga. But for the rest of us, the latest chapter of the Skywalker saga seems like a creative bust.
This Redux from Return of the Jedi, full of Easter eggs, is so based on nostalgia and the recreation of 1983 that it never manages to say anything original of its own. Somehow, Palpatine returned (at a Fortnite event); Rey is now the granddaughter of the Emperor; there is no new Death Star, but there are imperial star destroyers that destroy planets (and the ruins of the old Death Star); and basically everyone says or does something at some point in the movie that amounts to little but superficial fan service. This is a film with no identity or purpose, except to recover a past that had already been recovered in four other previous Disney movies. We're not here to bury Dexter Jettster, but to praise him.
For some, the four-armed Besalisk represents a serious miscalculation, since they claim that the restaurant he runs belongs to Los Angeles in the 1950s, not to Coruscant. But that kind of thinking forgets how many beloved Star Wars elements come from Lucas' childhood obsessions, including the dog-fighting inspired X-Wing battles from movies like The Dam Busters and well-known tropes about a small-town boy with big dreams. Dex and his restaurant give flavor to the sometimes esoteric Prequels and give us something familiar but adorably strange. More importantly, Dex advances the espionage plot that creates the most interesting moments of Attack of the Clones.
While Jedi are usually reduced to swordsmen who speak with wise riddles and can do magic tricks, Episode II plunges Obi-Wan Kenobi into a conspiracy plot, forcing him to use his ingenuity instead of force. This story leads to revelations that continue to have repercussions throughout the Star Wars universe. From the research of Kamino's clone plant comes the Clone Wars, the starting point of the beloved animated series of the same name. Jango Fett's participation in the clone saga connects bounty hunter Boba Fett and the Mandalorians to the rest of the Star Wars universe, an integral part of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett.
Add in the innovative use of digital effects, especially with Yoda, and it's clear that Attack of the Clones plays a fundamental role in the past and future of the franchise. The cornerstone of the prequel trilogy is not the best of them. However, its remarkable ambition distinguishes the film, since it is actually based on what happened before, shows an Old Golden Republic and introduces new and alien scenarios, such as underwater cities or the Jedi Temple of Coruscant. The lightsaber-fighting choreography of The Phantom Menace is also much more dramatic and acrobatic than the more technically limited fights of the original trilogy, and the visual design of characters such as Darth Maul was strong enough to take them on current Clone Wars adventures.
In general, The Phantom Menace is still the basis of the prequels. It establishes the initial relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the tragedy and manipulation that marked Anakin's fall to the dark side, and the way in which the man who would become Emperor Palpatine played long-term to take over the galaxy. The connection between Anakin and Obi-Wan drives both the Prequels and the Clone Wars, making The Phantom Menace an inexhaustible resource to revisit as you see more and gain new perspectives on how those characters grow and change. When you accept that you're not the real young Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich brings a lot of charm to his rogue baby-faced training rogue.
And in the wrong hands, Donald Glover's version of Lando Calrissian would be a broad parody, mocking Billy Dee Williams. But Glover's performance reflects the naturalness that made Williams an icon. Add Woody Harrelson in his prime as an unreliable leader, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as a droid like no other we've ever seen, and Paul Bettany as a terrifying crime boss, and Solo offers a good time to anyone willing to give up tradition and enjoy the adventure. It also has one of the best villains in the saga.
Taken only in terms of his appearance in The Force Awakens, Kylo Ren is erratic and terrifying; his physical presence, his creative abilities with the Force, and his surprising family connections create a powerful mix of ideas. Turning Han and Leia's son into the antagonist was an ingenious reversal of the original trilogy's big twist and helped turn The Force Awakens into one of the most talked about movies of its time. Without worrying about the Jedi, Skywalkers and the Force, this is the unique story of Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a thief who is reluctantly recruited by the fledgling Rebel Alliance for espionage work that increasingly resembles a suicide mission. With a large cast of characters, Rogue One has an adult touch that most Star Wars movies lack and a raw, visceral scale in which the power of the Empire never seemed more imminent.
Although the film bears the marks of post-production retouching, in which director Gareth Edwards took a back seat to Tony Gilroy, who replaced Tony Gilroy, who did extensive rewrites and re-recordings, the film's emotional burden is reflected as a ringing bell, especially during the heartbreaking ending of The Battle of Scarif. It's a true war movie about sacrifice and the acceptance of an ideal and, unlike most other Disney Star Wars movies, fan service (here with one Dark Lord of the Sith in particular) is literally murderous. Inspired by the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers series he adored as a child, as well as the samurai films by Akira Kurosawa, Lucas created, in turn, the most influential blockbuster of all time, a show whose presence is still felt today, either in the MCU or in the nostalgic dinosaur-filled extravagances of Jurassic World. Nerd culture wouldn't be the same without the story of a young Luke Skywalker who learns the ways of the Force and confronts the evil Empire with all his friends.
Adam Chitwood is the editor-in-chief of Collider. He has been working for Collider for more than a decade and, in addition to managing content, he also does crafts, interviews, award coverage and co-hosts The Collider Podcast with Matt Goldberg (which has been broadcasting since 2013). He is the creator and author of the Collider series How the MCU Was Made and has interviewed Bill Hader about every episode of Barry. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and he likes pasta, the thrillers of the 90s and spends about 95% of his time with his dog Luna.
Packed with object-finding missions and intrigues that revolve around theory, The Rise of Skywalker is the busiest Star Wars movie in history. Rey, Finn, Poe and the tortured bad boy Kylo Ren return for the grand finale of the Disney era, and some always welcome familiar faces from the original trilogy, but a dark shadow of nervous corporate anxiety and a penetrating scent of sweaty brand management looms over every crackle of lightsabers and every repetitive joke. Fortunately, droids are still fun. George Lucas didn't know that with the original Star Wars film, he was not only promoting a beloved feature film franchise, but he was also creating an entire universe that people would study closely, debate and expand on in the years to come.
With three generations of fans over 45 years, Star Wars has undoubtedly left its mark on history. To be fair, none of the Star Wars movies have particularly powerful scripts, but that hasn't stopped the movies from earning hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office. The hermit Ben Kenobi remembers farmer Luke Skywalker with nostalgia the days of the Clone Wars, and regrets the lack of courtesy of blasters compared to the more elegant lightsaber. Clone Wars jumps freely between the main character's story (in which Asajj Ventress becomes an instantly memorable villain) and individual battles across the galaxy, many of them amazing without words of pure imagination.
If the Star Wars franchise as a whole is tainted by prequels, I would say Revenge of the Sith is underrated simply because it's a prequel. While Rogue One gave fans hope for the subtitle of “A Star Wars Story”, Lucasfilm quickly shelved the anthological approach after the poor reception of its second installment, simply titled “Solo”. The Rise of Skywalker, a universally defamed ending to the decades-long franchise that once again demonstrated J.J. Abrams' inability to close a deal, is the worst Star Wars movie.
By ruining Lord and Miller's vision and bringing Howard in to smooth things over, you end up with a somewhat anonymous film, devoid of a distinctive character or even energy. . .
