There are now eight Star Wars movies to enjoy. All of them are better than the average movie but some do fall short of greatness. So on that note let me start the listing.

8. Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

I love Star Wars. Ever since I was a baby Star Wars has filled my world with a magic unlike any other. Unfortunately this film is simply bad in terms of Star Wars standards. Hayden Christensen’s portrayal of Anakin Skywalker is horrible. He comes across as a whiny brat whose struggling between his duty as a Jedi and his love for Padme. Padme goes from being the really cool queen of Naboo to a senator infatuated with a boy who she knew when he was nine years old (yuck.) Their scenes together, which are a large portion of the movie, completely ruin this film. The romance between them on Naboo is cringe worthy and the Tatooine sequence supposedly revealing the beginning of Anakin turning to the dark side falls short of anything meaningful. One of the worst scenes in the entire movie is when Anakin talks to Padme after his mother’s death. It’s supposed to be an intense scene but thanks to the terrible acting from Christensen it turns into a sort of joke.

Now the scenes with Obi-Wan are great. I love the cool Jedi library. His scenes on the amazing planet, Kamino and Geonosis are wonderful. His fight with Jango Fett, on Kamino and in the asteroid ring, are some of my favorite parts of this movie. Unfortunately this isn’t a movie only about him and that’s when the film drops considerably. One time when I watched this movie I skipped all of the Naboo scenes, which are the worst section of the film, and the movie was ten times better.

The last twenty or so minutes of the movie are okay. The arena part is decently entertaining, the large battle is alright, the lightsaber duel between Count Dooku, Obi-Wan, and Anakin is boring, the fight between Yoda and Dooku was supposed to be epic but fell very short (and that’s not a pun.) And I don’t even watch the final scene when Anakin and Padme get married because what’s the point. All in all, this is the worst Star Wars film.

7. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

I like The Phantom Menace. This movie introduced some really cool new characters to the Star Wars universe like Qui-Gon, who died, and Darth Maul, who was obviously resurrected in the cartoons. There are some good scenes like the pod race which I still enjoy to this day and the space battle. This film is number seven on my list however because it’s kind of boring, Anakin as a little boy is slightly annoying and Jar Jar Binks is the worst co-star of any of the Star Wars movies. Before the new Star Wars movies that have come out in the last two years Jar Jar didn’t annoy me that much. After seeing the great new characters that have been added to the Star Wars universe from The Force Awakens and Rogue One Jar Jar Binks is now barely watchable.

6.Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

This might be a surprise that I put Return of the Jedi at #6 but it’s here for only one reason…the Ewoks. When I was younger I loved the Ewoks. They were these cool giant teddy bear aliens that lived on a beautiful forest moon. The last time I watched this movie the Endor scenes were so boring I struggled getting to the good scenes at the end. Now I love the scenes where Luke faces Emperor Palpatine and when he fights Darth Vader but the Endor sequence is too large a section of the movie.

5. Star Wars Episode Three: Revenge of the Sith

This movie is enjoyable from the beginning to the end. Anakin is still annoying but he isn’t as bad as when he’s in The Attack of the Clones. Padme is a damsel in distress the entire movie but she’s not in the film too much so that’s good. The scenes with Obi-Wan are of course very enjoyable. Emperor Palpatine’s evil plan to wipe out the Jedi is still terrible to witness. And the duels between Obi-Wan and Anakin and Yoda and Palpatine is very entertaining. I love when Palpatine is throwing all of those pods at Yoda as they fight where the Senate has its hearings. That’s one of my favorite parts of the entire film. The best part of the movie to me is the last seven or so minutes. I love it when Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine are watching the Death Star being built, it’s cool seeing a glimpse at Alderaan which is a beautiful planet, and Obi-Wan giving Luke to Owen Lars and his wife before walking off at the end always gives me chills. This wasn’t the perfect way to end the prequel trilogy but it was much better than the other two prequels.

4. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

A New Hope is a great film. I mean it’s literally the first Star Wars ever. There wouldn’t be all of these great Star Wars movies if it wasn’t for this one. As classic as this movie is it’s still quite boring. Now Rogue One helped make it interesting again but at the end of the day this movie still has the worst lightsaber duel and space battle out of all the films. And the remaining Star Wars movies are just better.

3. Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

 

This is where things start getting very difficult. I really, really love The Force Awakens. It contains so many hints and clues to the next movie that I’m still discovering things, particularly from Rey’s vision. The new characters are great and I can’t wait to learn more about them in the next Star Wars film which finally has a name (hooray!) The action scenes are wonderful, the lightsaber duel between Kylo Ren and Rey is one of the best parts of the movie, and the end when Rey finds Luke is to me, the best ending of all the Star Wars films. Yet with all the positives this movie has to offer there comes one negative that I cannot ignore. The movie basically was A New Hope all over again. Now the movie had a few things that were different but if it wasn’t for the backbone of A New Hope helping this story along who knows what The Force Awakens would’ve been like. They did, however, make this movie better than the fourth Star Wars without a doubt but I wished it could’ve been a little more original. That’s why, as much as I love this movie, it’s third on the list.

2. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

This was very, very tough. I love The Empire Strikes Back. Darth Vader is at his coolest in this film as he chokes people through screens and demands respect from everyone around him. Luke is being taught in the ways of a Jedi by Yoda himself who lives on the mysterious planet of Dagobah. Han and Leia are trying to avoid being captured by the Empire. We know how that turned out. All in all the story is very good. I love a movie that gets better and better as it progresses. By the time Luke gets his hand cut off by Darth Vader the film has already taken you on a rollercoaster ride that just doesn’t stop. And then after a brief conversation with an angry Luke Darth Vader says, “No, I am your father.” Drop the mike. That is one of the best lines in any movie ever. So after all this praise why is this movie at second place on my list? It’s because as great as this film is, and it is great, it’s just not at that the level these new Star Wars films are. If The Force Awakens wasn’t A New Hope revised it would be third on my list. So yes, The Empire Strikes Back is a wonderful movie but it’s not my favorite.

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

This was very difficult to decide. I love Rogue One, it was a great film, but was it really my favorite Star Wars movie? The more I thought about it I realized it was my favorite. This movie introduced some of the best new characters in the Star Wars universe, the action was superb, and the story was surprisingly great. Even though I knew how the movie was going to end I was still surprised at every turn. The last ten minutes were mind boggling. I mean when do you watch a film where everyone on the poster dies. That’s like watching an Avengers movie and all of the Avengers die. I also love it because this is one of those movies where you can keep seeing different things if you look in the background. That’s always fun. On top of that this film made A New Hope less boring which is a miracle. And last but not least, when a Star Wars movie has an awesome scene with Darth Vader like the one Rogue One had I can’t help but make this #1 on the list.

So this is my list of the Star Wars movies. Hopefully Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi will end up being my new favorite Star Wars film. Until then I can’t wait until Rogue One comes out on Blu-Ray.