As the highly anticipated
Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to work its way to its December release, I have decided to re-visit all six films of the
Star Wars saga from the 1977-2005 era of the franchise, or the "George Lucas era" as I like to call it. These films include the entirety of the original trilogy, as well as the prequel films. As you may have come to expect, these films will be ranked gradually from worst to best. So without further adieu...
THE LIST
6. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Released three years after
Star Wars Episode I, this is the second film in the controversial prequel trilogy and, much like its predecessor, it’s not exactly what we want out of a
Star Wars prequel and falls into many of the same traps as a lot of typical modern day prequels (which I will get into later in the article).
But even with all of its faults, you can’t deny that the prequels have done a lot of good for the
Star Wars franchise, expanding the universe, introducing many interesting characters and showing us a side to the mythology we hadn’t previously seen before. Because of the prequels, we finally get to see the Jedi Council, the Old Republic, the Clone Wars, new worlds and alien, the rise and fall of Darth Vader (though executed very poorly at times), and many other aspects to the Universe that either didn’t exist or were only previously alluded to in the original trilogy. And
Episode II does hold some interesting surprises.
While we were introduced to the Jedi Council in
Episode I, we regrettably never got to see the Jedi in action. I do like how the film made it clear that the Jedi are not soldiers but rather peacekeepers, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the sight of Samuel L. Jackson kicking @$$ with a lightsaber among several other Jedi. My only issue was with Yoda. We finally see Yoda in action and, while George Lucas will have you believe that Yoda is this all powerful Jedi master, Yoda doesn’t seem to be any more powerful than the random rogue-Jedi-turned-Sith he fights in the film. After watching
The Empire Strikes Back, you would think Yoda would be able to tear through six regular Jedi knights without breaking a sweat. Yoda’s level of power was greatly exaggerated. I do prefer the CGI to that silly looking puppet from
Episode I, though. As a matter of fact, the CGI was amazing! Half the time, Yoda didn’t even look like he was made of CGI; I could swear that he was actually there with the other actors.
Jango Fett was a great addition. He’s pretty much Boba Fett but with different armour, though I hate how we are given Boba Fett’s origin as a clone of Jango. It makes him seem less special as a villain and it ruins the mystique that helped made Boba an iconic villain. Speaking of less special, I have mixed feelings on how the Storm Troopers originated as clones of Jango Fett, simply because they had similar helmets. Despite all of that, it was cool seeing Jango in action, even if he gets killed in the most ridiculous way possible, much like Boba in
Return of the Jedi (Lucas doesn’t seem to know how to treat his more awesome characters as far as deaths go).
Casting the great Christopher Lee as a Sith Lord was absolute genius. Darth Tyranus isn’t quite as awesome as Darth Maul but he is a great villain nonetheless. I took issue with the reveal that the separatists were planning on building the Death Star under the orders of Darth Sidious. My issue is that we aren’t told how the plans came together or how Sidious came up with the idea or anything. They basically just came out of nowhere and said “Oh, and we’re also building the Death Star.” And while we’re on the subject of awful prequel reveals, there is no way Uncle Owen already owned C-3PO. I don’t buy that at all.
Easily the worst thing about the film is the relationship between Padme and Anakin Skywalker. I didn’t mind Natalie Portman’s performance so much, but Anakin was horribly mis-casted. Not only did the romance come completely out of nowhere but Anakin was absolutely creepy in all of the wrong ways. I kept expecting to see him assault Padme throughout the film. How exactly does she fall in love with him?
Other than the romance, I also took issue that Anakin is already about to turn to the dark side in this film. That sort of the thing needs to be earned. We need to see at least one full movie with Anakin as a good Jedi before he goes corrupt.
Verdict: 6/10
The film has redeeming qualities but major, major flaws.
5. Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
In a sense,
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace represents everything wrong with modern day prequels. Many of the problems with your typical prequel, and the level of just how unnecessary they are, are present in this film. Did we really need to see Darth Vader as a 10-year-old boy? Wasn’t Darth Vader much more menacing before he shouted “THIS IS PODRACING!”? Why does the film feel the need to connect things that don’t need to be connected? Why are we supposed to believe Darth Vader built C-3PO? Weren’t we previously led to believe that Yoda trained Obi Wan Kenobi? Why is something as religious as the Force given a scientific explanation? Is it a science people choose not to believe (a la climate change)? Like I said, typical prequel. All of these sorts of problems are present in a lot modern day prequels, such as
Hannibal Rising,
Smallville,
Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,
X-Men Origins: Wolverine,
Gotham and pretty much anything that is a product of the modern entertainment industries obsession with explaining every single detail (though
Smallville and
Gotham are guilty pleasures).
As with
Episode II, there are many redeeming qualities. Universe building, the A-list cast, Darth Maul (don’t get me started with how awesome that ending battle is), finally getting to see the Old Republic and Jedi Council (though it’s a bummer we don’t get to see them in action), learning the politics, ETC. There are also some cool Easter Eggs, such as cameos from the species of E.T. and Howard the Duck.
The most maligned thing about the film is Jar Jar Binks. Binks didn’t annoy me as much as he did many viewers but I still don’t like this character. However, I could still get through his scenes just fine. What annoyed me was how campy the Battle Droids were, not to mention how easy they were to destroy. How did anyone fight any wars with those things?
Verdict: 6/10
Though often tedious, Star Wars Episode I has its moments.
4. Star Wars (1977)
Now we can discuss the
REAL Star Wars films. Rest assured, the original
Star Wars is just as awesome several decades later as it was when it was released. And, no, you don’t need to see the prequels to understand the originals (as a matter of fact, I’d watch the originals first if I were you). Darth Vader may only have two seconds of character development in the film but rest assured: Darth Vader only needs two seconds of character development.
One thing you must appreciate about this film is how original it is. Though it may take clear inspiration from previous science fiction properties such as
2001: A Space Odyssey and
Star Trek,
Star Wars features unique characters, aliens, worlds, and an over-all unique setting.
The film’s main protagonist is Luke Skywalker, portrayed by the brilliant Mark Hamill. I’m not going to lie, Skywalker often came across a tad bit whiney and annoying in this film. However, it doesn’t overwhelm anything and Luke becomes more interesting in the sequels. I disliked how there was no emotional connection when his aunt and uncle were killed. It only served as a plot device so that Luke could join the rebellion. Han Solo is a selfish smuggler and not your typical movie hero, which sterotypically does everything for the good of all. Solo seems to only be motivated by his own well-being, even going as far as to flat out shoot Greedo without warning for he made a verbal threat. Of course, we wouldn’t have this character any other way. Princess Leia isn’t particularly interesting in this film but, like Skywalker, she becomes more relatable in the sequels. Obi Wan fills the role of mentor in this film and, while not as great of a character as he is in the prequels, Obi Wan fulfills his purpose. C-3PO and R2-D2’s interactions with one another are entertaining and the characters serve as the glue that brings the protagonist together.
The main villain of the film is Grand Moff Turkin, played by Peter Cushing, another great actor. Turkin is a villain with enough authority to give Darth Vader orders but is sadly forgotten by modern audiences due to being overshadowed by Vader. There is nothing I can say about Darth Vader that hasn’t been said before. The film plants the seeds for two villains that will be seen in the sequels: Jabba the Hutt and Darth Sidious. Jabba the Hutt was originally set to appear in the film but his scenes were cut. Personally, I think George Lucas made the right decision removing Jabba, as he is much more intimidating in
Return of the Jedi when he has already been built up in dialogue as an intimating crime lord. This same effect applies to Darth Sidious, who makes a cameo in
The Empire Strikes Back before making a full appearance in
Return of the Jedi.
I disliked how there was conveniently a way to blow up the Death Star with one shot. However, this is addressed in the sequels.
“Your over-confidence is your weakness.”
Verdict: 7/10
It has its flaws but this film is still worth watching at least once to practically any major film fan.
3. Star-Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
We had to get through two mediocre films to get a proper
Star Wars prequel. While the first two prequels were quite under-whelming, this is the
Star Wars prequel George Lucas promised us from the very beginning. While this film is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, this is the film where things begin to pay off.
The previous film,
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, introduced to us a horribly portrayed Anikan Skywalker in a creepy, out of nowhere romance. In this film, Hayden Christianson’s acting has improved exponentially. While the romance is still pretty generic, I no longer got a stalker vibe from Christianson and he was much less whiney this time around. It really felt like Skywalker had matured greatly with experience and Skywalker’s downfall was believable. The Padme character didn’t really contribute anything to the film; she was just a plot device. However, she didn’t do any harm to the film.
This film had a lot less of the “typical prequel problems” this time around. There were only four in particular that I had a problem with:
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We didn’t get much of an explanation as to where the “Darth Vader” name came from (and don’t even bring up that “Vater” is “father” in German. I’m pretty sure the German language doesn’t exist in a galaxy far, far away).
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So the explanation for Darth Sidious’ wrinkly skin is that…he was injured in a fight with Samuel L. Jackson? Why did that need an explanation? I thought it was pretty obvious that Darth Sidious had wrinkly skin in Return of the Jedi because, maybe (hear me out), just MAYBE, he was old and got wrinkly skin like every other human being at that age. I guess I’m pretty stupid for thinking that. Also, why did they give him his Return of the Jedi appearance? Shouldn’t the film have at least given him his Empire Strikes Back appearance since that film came before Return of the Jedi? Or at least provide an explanation as to why he changed appearances in between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? I guess he got into two more fights with Samuel L. Jackson before Return of the Jedi came around.
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You want to know why C-3PO doesn’t remember the prequels? Because they erased his memory when he came onto Captain Antilles’ ship! But, wait…why didn’t they erase R2-D2’s memory? You see, C-3PO shouldn’t have even been in the first two prequels to begin with. They should’ve just had R2-D2 meet C-3PO at the end of this film. Then we wouldn’t have gotten the whole “Darth Vader built C-3PO as a kid” thing, we wouldn’t have had C-3PO already in the possession of Uncle Owen, and we wouldn’t have this plot hole.
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In Return of the Jedi, Leia vaguely remembers Padme. This implies Padme didn’t die until Leia’s early childhood. But because we’re watching a prequel that must improvise, Padme died in childbirth. I guess Leia has super-human memory.
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In order to make Darth Vader seem more like Hayden Christianson, they had to make him yell “NOOOOOO!!!” *Face Palm*
If it sounds like this is a really bad film, believe me, it’s not. Those are just the four major problems with the film. Other than that, this film is really solid. We see the Jedi get wiped out (in a very emotional montage), we see Anakin’s descent into becoming Darth Vader, we see the birth of the Empire and this film all around delivered. I didn’t even mind Yoda’s battle with Darth Sidious. If anyone is a match for Yoda, it would be Darth Sidious, not some random Jedi who went rogue.
On a lesser note, it seems convenient that Chewbacca just so happens to be among the Wookies who Yoda was with (and where the hell is child Han Solo?) but that’s just a nitpick.
Verdict: 7/10
This is the prequel we should’ve had from the very beginning.
2. The Empire Strikes Back (1981)
The Empire Strikes Back is the most famous film in the series and is most people’s favourite. There really isn’t any praise I can give this film that hasn’t been said before. This film is filled with surprises, not to mention the greatest plot twist in cinema history.
Luke was much less whiney this time around, but still seemed inexperienced and didn’t feel like a different character. We learn that Leia has chosen Han over Luke as a romantic partner (the romance felt mostly believable). Nothing has really changed with Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. And we are introduced to one of the coolest protagonists in the series, Jar Jar Binks…
Kidding! I mean, Lando Calrissian. This was the role that made Billy Dee Williams cool.
We get a lot more of Darth Vader this time around, as he has been upgraded from the role of secondary villain to primary villain. That’s always a good thing. And while the film introduced one of the series’ coolest protagonists, we also meet a fan favourite villain: Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt’s bounty hunter who is as mysterious as he is awesome.
Verdict: 8/10
If you haven’t seen this film, do so.
1. Return of the Jedi (1983)
Empire Strikes Back is a tough film to surpass, hell, most people prefer
Empire over this film. However, this film has always been my personal favourite.
In this film, we find that Luke Skywalker has matured greatly and is only an inch away from being a full-on Jedi Knight. This is easily the best version of Luke that we’ve seen yet. We also see Jabba the Hutt for the first time. Jabba serves as the films opening villain and is believable as a sleezy gangster. We see Darth Sidious in person (who looks very different from his hologram in the previous film for some reason).
I took issue with a few things. For one, I didn’t care very much for the Ewoks (their weapons shouldn’t have been any match for the Empire’s). And if Leia “always knew” that Luke was her brother, why did she kiss him? Boba Fett had the worst death scene ever.
But what makes this the best
Star Wars film for me is the interactions between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, now that we know he is Luke’s father, especially in the face of Vader’s master. The way Vader acts differently when he is and isn’t in front of Sidious, the way he taunts Luke about his sister, his redemption. It was all executed brilliantly.
And Darth Sidious is definitely more powerful than he looks…
Verdict: 8/10
A satisfying conclusion to an epic trilogy.
As always, I'd like to hear your thoughts in the comments below! Did you agree with my opinions? Disagree? Sound off in the usual place...
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