Star Wars Ranked

Now that The Rise of Skywalker has had a while to sink in and I've had chance to have a couple of viewings to really decide how I feel, it's time to rank the films!

Before we get into this, I have to stress that as a Star Wars fan there are elements in each and every one that I love and parts that I don't like so much. I don't believe there are any "bad" Star Wars films. Some are just misguided or threw total curveballs to our expectations and that either succeeded or failed, in my opinion. I've really struggled to make this list and had to think really hard. There's been a lot of shuffling and changing around but this is it.

Let's get to it...

11. The Phantom Menace

As a kid, I loved this film. The Phantom Menace was special because as a kid I'd found out that Ewan McGregor was in talks to play Obi-Wan and so I wrote a letter to him when he was filming Little Voice in my hometown of Scarborough and I was lucky enough to meet him!

I saw myself in little Anakin and wished that I could be whisked away by Jedi to train as a padawan as much as I hoped that I'd receive a Hogwarts letter when I turned eleven. I loved Jar-Jar (Those of us of a certain age all fell into that clever marketing trap) and I was obsessed with Darth Maul and his double-bladed lightsaber because we'd never seen anything like it! I loved the Destroyer Droids and the unintentionally hilarious battle droids.

Looking back, I was the right age to fall for the action, the comedy and the cool imagery. Do I hate The Phantom Menace? No. Every time I watch it, I sigh as it starts and we get into the politics which I used to think were extremely complicated until I lived through Brexit. I roll my eyes at the awful, cheap racist stereotypes of Nute Gunray and the Neimoidians and I cringe at the badly aged CGI and I pretty much cut off anytime Anakin is on screen to save my brain cells...but I can't help find myself enjoying it...well, enjoying might be too far. Tolerating. I tolerate it and still love Darth Maul and George Lucas's ability to create beautiful landscapes and planets and interesting cultures. As a beginning to the saga, The Phantom Menace does all it needs to - it sets up the plot, it introduces the main characters. It does a lot and when the credits roll, I always find myself thinking "That wasn't as bad as I remember."

10. Attack of the Clones

Again, I don't hate Attack of the Clones. I actually really like it but some films have to come closer to the bottom of the pile. I love Boba Fett's origins which link it firmly to the original trilogy. I love the creation of the Clone army and our first glimpse of what will eventually become the Stormtroopers and Imperial fleet. The Battle of Geonosis and the beginning of the Clone Wars (mentioned in Episode 4) were really exciting to see. Yoda fighting Dooku was sheer genius! Until now we only knew Yoda as an old, fragile alien so to see him youthful and fighting at his strongest was a real treat.

Sadly, while Attack of the Clones did a lot right, the romance between Anakin and Padme leaves me feeling a little awkward. It's all a bit cringey like the part with the pear or riding the giant ticks across the field. Ironically, the "Love theme" is one of my favourite pieces of Star Wars music. It was mostly Hayden Christensen's acting which wasn't up to par with the rest of the cast that made it all feel a little jarring and the continuation of a long, politically charged storyline.

9. The Empire Strikes Back

I love The Empire Strikes Back. However, I watched it recently and found myself losing attention. It was only the parts with Yoda, Vader's revelation and the carbonite scene that gripped me. It has some iconic moments and visuals (Hoth, Cloud City, Boba Fett and the bounty hunters) and one of the greatest twists in movie history but I feel like if that was taken away it'd just be a very average film.

8. The Force Awakens

Disney had a huge job to win over fans with their first Star Wars outing. From the beginning everyone was sceptical about their ability to create good Star Wars. The jokes and memes from 2012 prove that...but they did us proud. It was clear when The Force Awakens released that they knew exactly what they were doing and while the plot almost perfectly mirrors A New Hope it brought a freshness to it. They made it their own but also made it more Star Wars than Star Wars. I loved the new trio and was invested in everyone's stories - Finn as the First Order deserter, Poe with his secret mission and mysterious Rey scavenging on Jakku. The first installment of this new trilogy set the scene brilliantly balanced new with the old by bringing back Han, Leia and Chewwie and having clear connections to the past. One of my stand out moments was that I'll never forget the shock of that moment with Kylo and Han. From that moment we knew Disney weren't playing around.

7. Solo

Solo had a lot going against it. It was always going to be problematic to tell a story of a much loved character and have a totally different actor play a younger version of them. It was also plagued with problems behind the scenes and lost its original directors. It's partly because of this that I respect it even more. It turned it around and pulled off what it intended to do.

The finished product was really fun which receives way more hate than it deserves. It was an enjoyable adventure which explored Han Solo's life and showed us iconic moments that had been mentioned previously, like completing the Kessel run in 12 par secs, how he met Chewwie, how he stole the Millennium Falcon from Lando and even introduced us to L3, (Phoebe Waller-Bridge was hilarious) Crimson Dawn and reintroduced us to live action Darth Maul, something I hope will be elaborated on in the extended universe in future. Potentially in the Kenobi series.

6. A New Hope

A New Hope is sheer genius. It began the saga we all fell in love with. It reinvented the sci-fi genre and made it cool. Back in 1977 everyone was talking about Star Wars and they still are today. The iconic designs and costumes, the settings and the story captured imaginations and never let us go. Without A New Hope cinema wouldn't be what it is today. It was groundbreaking in terms of special effects and just about everything it did.

And who can forget the Stormtrooper running into the door?

5. The Rise of Skywalker

I am not afraid to admit that The Rise of Skywalker had problems. I am still raging, and always will be, about that kiss. I am angry that Disney cut that other kiss in certain countries to appease homophobic societies. I am frustrated about some exposition moments being so glaringly obvious that it became predictable and I wish a certain character had stayed dead after Rey accidentally blew up the carrier craft. I am hurt that Rose Tico was cut to a bit-part. She deserved better and I will never forgive JJ for pushing her aside in this film.

On the other hand, I'm not afraid to admit that despite these problems, I love the film too. I thoroughly enjoyed the action and the drama. The pacing is great and I am obsessed with the idea of a classic hunting down an object to find a secret place plot. It served its purpose to be an end to the Skywalker saga and it did it well. It gave us D-O and Babu Frick who are my new favourites, it brought back the Emperor and we learned the true impact of his long game. It gave us an emotional but beautiful send-off for Leia (and Carrie) Again, I'm not going to lie and pretend it wasn't a little far-fetched in parts. It really was. But it was also fun. And I watch Star Wars to escape and enjoy myself. This film, while not doing doing what I would have personally done, still felt like a satisfying ending to the saga.

4. Revenge of the Sith

What's not to love about Revenge of the Sith? From the slow-burning tension of the opera scene to the all out horror of Palpatine's ascension to being the Emperor we all know and fear. The entire film charts Anakin being manipulated by Palpatine and his fall from grace which leads to him becoming Darth Vader. Revenge of the Sith had a lot of answers to give and we got them. We even met fan favourite General Grievous along the way, witnessed Order 66 and the destruction of the Jedi Order. Revenge of the Sith perfectly balances its pace with fast paced action and some slower, quieter moments that all build up to one of the best Star Wars climaxes of all time. One that fans waited years for and arguably Star Wars greatest battle theme of all time, even better than Duel of the Fates: Anakin vs. Obi Wan.

3. Return of the Jedi

Return of the Jedi was the first Star Wars film I ever saw as a kid and it kicked off a love that would continue to grow and inspire me throughout my life. Naturally my mum thought it was a great film for a kid because the Ewoks are just cute little teddy bears, right? Right. But there's aliens and monsters and puppets and special effects that absolutely amazed me as a kid. It was scary but it was funny and it was clever and it was exciting. Of course, I didn't realise it was the last film of a trilogy. I just loved it for what it was and even to this day, Return of the Jedi firmly remains one of my favourites in the entire saga. Perhaps it's because it's my first memory of Star Wars or maybe its because it really is that good. It's probably both.

2. The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi deserves more love. If I have to pick a hill that I want to die on, it's this one. I love how several stories run along side each other and all take place in a short, well-contained time-frame which all contributes to raising the stakes as the Resistance flee from their attackers while running out of fuel.

I love the character development with Luke having cut himself off from the Force and the mystery surrounding why he did it. I still cry at Leia's big moment where she uses the Force to save herself - a moment that hit harder, coming just a year after Carrie Fisher's tragic passing. I adored Rose Tico - a courageous new character who recklessly followed her heart to do the right thing. I loved her side-adventure with Finn as they tried to find the master codebreaker.

The shock twist with Snoke really annoyed me on my first viewing but the second time round, I adored it. Killing off the big bad so easily was a stroke of genius and I thought it worked really well - he was all powerful but couldn't see past his own arrogance. That battle in the red room with the walls burning down. Stunning...Holdo's sacrifice and that moment of silence...Beautiful and poignant...I just can't sing its praises highly enough.

The Last Jedi worked because in too many films everything goes right and in this one, everything went wrong. The characters neared their goals only to be set back again and again. I will defend this film forever. I will never hear a bad word said about it.

1. Rogue One

Ironically my favourite Star Wars film of all time isn't even part of the main saga...well, it kind of is...indirectly.

Set just before the events of A New Hope, Rogue One tells the story of a group of rebels who discover a flaw in the Death Star's plans and race to share the details with those who can use them to destroy the planet killer.

In this film, we're introduced to a darker Star Wars world and some brilliant, loveable characters - unsung heroes whose story was never told until now. What makes it more heartbreaking is that we know how this will end. We know that they won't make it...which leads us to a pretty traumatic ending. It's emotional. It's epic. It's guaranteed tears every time, Michael Giacchino's score will make sure of that. It's extraordinarily familiar but also fresh and new.

Rogue One is a rollercoaster from beginning to end and that ending is one nobody will ever forget. It's brutal and terrifying and everything a Star Wars fan could ever wish for.

And there we have it. My favourite Star Wars films ranked. In case you were wondering, here are Markus’ rankings:

What are your favourites? What order would you rank your favourites?

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May the Force by with you!