Euan's Movie Ranking

The age old question: in what order do you rank all the Star Wars movies? Let the hot takes flow through you. I’ve included all the TV movies and specials longer than 40 minutes because I’m thorough (and because the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a feature as a film that runs for more than 40 minutes.) I even considered including 2D Clone Wars, since it’s most commonly released as two feature-length compilation films, but that felt like it was pushing it. And the Phineas and Ferb crossover is kind of a special, but they count it as a numbered episode of the TV show so I can’t count it. Oh, and if your ranking differs from mine, that is: fine. Don't sweat it. Don't let me putting something lower than something else on my ranking take away one bit from your enjoyment, these are just my personal picks.

18. Caravan of Courage: The Ewok Adventure (1984)

I watched this movie. I watched this whole movie. I cannot tell you a single thing that happens in it. It does have some fun 80s sci-fi aesthetic to it, I like how it looks, wouldn’t mind having it on in the background. But it’s just so boring.

17. Lego Star Wars - Terrifying Tales (2021)

A disappointment after the Lego Holiday Special. These specials are still the only Star Wars media to come out after Rise of Skywalker that are set after it, but they’re not doing anything interesting with that, instead travelling back to classic characters across the timeline (a trend Summer Vacation would continue.)

16. Lego Star Wars - Summer Vacation (2022)

Ok, listen: I didn’t finish this one. But I’m putting it ahead of the Halloween one because this one has Weird Al in it.

15. Ewoks: The Battle For Endor (1985)

I didn’t finish this one either, but I’m putting it higher anyway because for what I watched it was doing more interesting things than Caravan of Courage (with a few more fun 80s sci-fi flourishes, like stop motion Blurrgs that would later re-appear in Clone Wars and The Mandalorian) and at least one character I remember liking. I’ll probably get around to finishing it someday.

14. The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)

How can I put this so high? Listen: It’s memorable. It is awful, but it’s such an experience. The ways in which it’s awful are entertaining, not just boring like the Ewok movies. Don’t get me wrong though, it is boring. You can basically only suffer through the Holiday Special, so best to drag some friends along with you and laugh at them. Gotta give credit to the Boba Fett animated sequence though. (Give it a watch on Disney+ if you’ve never seen it, “The Story of the Faithful Wookie”.) It’s animated by Nelvana, which as a Canadian is a very familiar name from my childhood. (They made Jacob TwoTwo, Being Ian, 6teen, and plenty of other Canadian kids TV staples from the early 2000s.)

13. Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020)

This special was definitely a step down from the earlier straight-to-DVD Lego specials The Padawan Menace and The Empire Strikes Out. (Go watch The Padawan Menace if you’ve never seen it, it’s genuinely super funny.) It’s not as funny, it’s not as charming, it’s not as nostalgic for me personally. And the conceit leans a little heavy on the fan service. But it’s still a pleasant thing to put on. Not something I’ll watch every Christmas, but I’m open to putting it on again for the good vibes, and to hear Matt Lanter as Anakin. Matt Lanter as Anakin scores you points in anything.

12. Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Alright here we go, the worst of the actual movies. There’s stuff to like, the opening Coruscant stuff is fun. Gotta love Jango Fett. Gotta love Count Dooku, and his interactions with Kenobi. But of all the Star Wars movies, it’s the least like a movie. It’s just a bunch of stuff that happens and then it ends. Across The Stars is the slap, though.

11. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

The first Star Wars movie I ever saw in theatres! When I watched this at the beginning of my full Clone Wars watch-through, it was definitely bottom of the pile, worse than Attack of the Clones. But out the other side of 7 seasons, (and watching it with a friend who had never seen Star Wars after working through 4-6, 1-3, Solo and Rogue One) I definitely enjoyed it a little more. Just a little. Cuz boy oh boy, it’s rough compared to the highs of later Clone Wars. Stinky. Ahsoka calls the baby Hutt Stinky. It’s a miracle that a decade later I like this character.

10. Episode 9: the Rise of Skywalker (2019)

It’s bad. The random Palpatine retcon is bad. The walking back of everything Last Jedi established is bad. The sidelining of Rose to appease racist trolls is unforgivable. …But, on rewatch, it’s an entertaining movie. Definitely better on rewatch, at least with how my brain works, because I can put issues like “Palpatine should not be back” to the side and engage with the movie on its terms. The acting is super fun, just like it is in the other sequels. The art design is still on point. We got Maz Kanata as a real physical puppet for the first time and no-one even noticed! And the practical effects planet explosion looks incredible. So yeah, definitely not good, definitely a huge letdown of a finale, but there’s stuff here worth going back to.

9. Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999)

We got pod racing. We got Darth Maul, and that great lightsaber duel. We got droidekas. We got all the scenes from Lego Star Wars: The Video Game that I remember the most. We got the yellow Naboo starfighter that was my favourite bath toy as a small child. But we also have what Peter Serafinowicz (the voice of Darth Maul) described as “the most racist film of the 20th century.” I would highly recommend the making of documentary for the movie, which is available in full on the official Star Wars YouTube channel. It’s a fascinating look into the production (and the way no-one ever challenged George Lucas), and with hindsight knowing the immense backlash looming in the near future, it feels like watching a months-long car crash play out over the course of an hour. Also, you owe it to yourself to hear Ahmed Best’s side of the story. I also wanna say that Jake Lloyd, oddly, makes kind of more sense as a young version of Matt Lanter’s Anakin than of Hayden Christensen, which is an interesting way to watch it. And that even though this is the worst Yoda puppet, it’s still a Yoda puppet, and I appreciate that (and thus have to watch older Phantom Menace DVDs to circumvent the CGI Yoda they added later.)

8. Episode 6: Return of the Jedi (1983)

Ok finally, we’re over the hump and into the good movies. I don’t have a lot to say about Return of the Jedi. The behind the scenes Making Of book by John Phillip Peecher is surprisingly good.

7. Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars. There it is. That’s where I’ve put Star Wars. In my Star Wars ranking. It’s the classic for all the reasons you already know. It’s also dry, and slow, and the writing, acting and directing hasn’t aged so well (even though the effects are so ahead of their time.) A tip of the hat for starting the ball rolling. But it doesn’t belong at the top of my list. (Oh and needless to say, Harmy’s Despecialized, 4K77 or 2006 laserdisc scans for all of the OT. I don’t mess with the Special Editions. You might’ve guessed from the pedantic way I refuse to call this A New Hope.)

6. Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Alright, it’s a close call between this and Star Wars. Revenge of the Sith is bad in a lot of ways. The dialogue especially is ridiculous. But it’s very entertaining. The opening unbroken-shot starship sequence is one of the best scenes in the entire franchise. This Kenobi is best Kenobi. General Grievous, he got 4 arms and 4 lightsabers look at em gooo! And of course, this movie is now so enhanced by the Clone Wars (and all the other TV shows dealing with Order 66.) Lot of great video game tie-in stuff here too, you’ve got Battlefront 2, Lego Star Wars, and the Revenge of the Sith game (both on GBA and PS2). But the movie itself? All the appeal of the prequels, in their least awful form.

5. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Ok yes listen I’m sorry for putting it above 2 thirds of the OT and all of the prequels, BUT! I found a way to really enjoy this movie: pretend Han Solo doesn’t exist. I admit, it’s unconventional, and I’m sure difficult for fans of the character, but I don’t count myself as one. And while doing this makes all the fan service moments hit even more hollow than they did before, it also makes you realize how fun of a character Alden Ehrenreich’s Han is. I think of him like “if Han was a sub.” He’s really likeable when you’re not busy comparing him to Harrison Ford. And the movie is solid and fun, if messy, showing evidence of the change in directors. Wish it would’ve gotten a sequel. (But yes: “I have no people.” “Han… Solo.” is just the worst.)

4. Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

The classic. Everyone’s favourite. Yeah, it’s good. The best the OT has to offer. Great visuals, great characterization, great drama. And Yoda! Suffers a little from the same slowness as Star Wars, but if I’m gonna rewatch an OT movie, it’s gonna be this.

3. Episode 7: The Force Awakens (2015)

So many good memories. Yeah, the promise this movie is brimming with is dampened slightly by Rise of Skywalker, but even now it brings me back into how exciting it was in 2015. Star Wars was back in such a big way. And I don’t think that’s just the context and the timing, that feels inherent in the filmmaking. The suspense, the pacing, the music! My God, the music, my favourite John Williams Star Wars score, easy. This is the most exciting Star Wars movie to me. And the art design, all the creatures, all the puppets, all the practical effects. It still feels so dense with all the care everyone involved put into it, and I think we have to thank it for the bar it set for the rest of the Disney Star Wars era (which has had such consistently fantastic art design and prop work.) And like I said with Rise of Skywalker, the acting is great, better than the prequels, better than the OT. I mean Adam Driver? Come on. And John Boyega shines in Force Awakens. The sequels are my favourite Star Wars trilogy, to me they’re the best directed, best performed and most polished of the Skywalker Saga.

2. Episode 8: The Last Jedi (2017)

The massive smile on my face when they brought back Yoda, and he was a puppet again. (Thank Last Jedi, all Baby Yoda fans.) Kicking his little feet and going “MHMHMHM!” I love him. That scene made me suddenly really like Yoda, after being kind of indifferent to him all my childhood. Star Wars, still, was a mainstream film series that could, can, just have puppets in it. I love Star Wars. Rian Johnson’s take was controversial, but I’m a fan (and Knives Out and Glass Onion cemented him as a director to pay attention to.) This is the funniest Star Wars has ever been, probably funnier than it will ever be again. After waiting two whole years in anticipation, seeing Luke throw the lightsaber over his shoulder for the first time was hilarious. I love General Hux. (The moment where he briefly reaches for his gun as Kylo lies unconscious on the ground, only to cover it again as he wakes up? Killer.) The Snoke twist felt ballsy as hell (undermined, of course, by Rise of Skywalker.) I personally really like the controversial Canto Bight side story. After Rise of Skywalker, I appreciate even more how Last Jedi lets us spend time exploring a new location. Oh, and the bit where Kylo has a whole row of AT-ATs fire on Luke, only for him to step out of the rubble and brush off his shoulder? This movie whips ass.

1. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Surprising, right? This surprises even me. Rogue One was kind of underwhelming the first time I saw it. The characters were a bit underdeveloped and forgettable. The question it answers (“How were the Death Star plans stolen?”) never really needed an answer. The best it had to offer was the Darth Vader hallway scene, which was, I must say, at the time, the coolest thing I had ever seen. (I’m also very interested in digital actor recreations, so I had been looking forward to seeing the CGI Peter Cushing for years. It isn’t quite right, is it? Very fun to look at though.) BUT! After I got really into the canon expanded universe, after I’d watched all 7 seasons of Clone Wars and all 4 seasons of Rebels, after I’d played Fallen Order and Squadrons and started reading the canon Thrawn books, and the Ahsoka book, and watched 2 seasons of The Mandalorian. After the Star Wars universe had started to feel real to me, expansive, with every piece of it feeding into every other piece, enriching each other, making everything feel connected. After all that, going back to Rogue One was a transcendent experience. The first time, all I could think was “who cares how the Death Star plans were stolen.” The second time, it felt like the stakes of this movie were history itself. Ever since Anakin met Saw Gerrera, Darth Vader inadvertently creating the first rebel, everything has been building to this moment. Star Wars can’t happen if they fail. Luke never defeats the Emperor if they fail. The future hangs in the balance. It was an incredibly different experience. And I’m sure that feeling will only enhance now that we’re one season deep into Andor with another on the way. Gareth Edwards’ directing (gotta give him props as a lifelong Godzilla fan) gave us a Star Wars movie that’s made to look and feel like a grounded and gritty modern war film, and that new tone paved the way for Andor, which I’m gonna go ahead and say is the strongest piece of Star Wars media ever in any medium. (It’s close with Clone Wars, but only certain parts of Clone Wars. Clone Wars is so up and down.) But yeah, Rogue One, my favourite Star Wars movie, who’d’ve thought?