What happens when you throw canon out the window and decide what are the best Star Wars films.
(No, it’s notEwoks: The Battle for Endor.
No one is that irony-poisoned.)
Lucasfilm; Eva Sereny/Lucasfilm/Kobal/Shutterstock
And what exactly counts as aStar Warsmovie?
For this list, it’s not all canon.
It’s what’s best, no matter the format or how it was released.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
The craftwork just does not compare due to their pared-down budgets, effects cheats, and cut-to-commercial television pacing.
(Nothing but respect toWarwick Davis, though, who gives his all as Wicket in bothEwokfilms.)
We honor them for existing, but we do not rank them.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
The good:Warwick Davis, Boba Fett, andBea Arthurwondering about her life decisions.
Sarah Sprague
13.
And she buries Anakin’s lightsaber in sand of all things.
Jonathan Olley/ Lucasfilm Ltd.
The good:Lando!
Wedge!Anthony Danielsgetting an actual role again!
The bad:The dead speak!
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Lauren Morgan
12.
Pod racing is not cool, and pod racing will never be cool.
Most digital effects age poorly, butPhantom Menace’s biggest set pieces are especially DOA today.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Just compare the plastic-y new Jabba toReturn of the Jedi’s magnificently corpulent puppet.
Darren Franich
11.
(Didn’t we leave that dynamic behind with the prequels?)
Lucasfilm Ltd.
The good:Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s snarky L3-37 andDonald Glover’s charming Lando Calrissian.
Give us a movie about those two!
(Though we’ll take a TV series Glover and his brother are writingLandofor Disney+.)
David James/Lucasfilm Ltd.
Devan Coggan
10.
But the film does have some positive elements that make it worth recommending.
The good:Ahsoka!
Lucasfilm Ltd.
The bad:Stinky the Hutt.
Sarah Sprague
8.
The good:Yoda with a lightsaber.
Lucasfilm Ltd./Cartoon Network
A lovely day for a secret wedding.
Boba Fett’s (Daniel Logan) sad farewell to his father.
Darth Vader foreshadowing in Anakin’s literal shadows.
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Misdirections on when Anakin would start his journey to being more machine than man.
Sarah Sprague
7.
Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens (2015)
Audiences greetedJ.J.
Lucasfilm
Still, Abrams deserves credit for bringing a fun new cast into the old universe.
As Kylo Ren, Adam Driver makes the Dark Side look complex, mournful, and sexy.
The plot fails these characters somewhere around the 90-minute mark but surely sequels would resolve allForce Awakens' incongruities?
Lucasfilm Ltd.
(They did not.)
Darren Franich
6.
The good:Obi-Wan finally gets a good haircut.
Darth Vader in ‘The Empire Strikes Back’.Lucasfilm Ltd.
The Mustafar lightsaber battle.
Ian McDiarmid’s opera scene performance.
The bad:Darth Vader’s “NO!”
Padme’s death from, um, what did she die of?
Lauren Morgan
5.
It’s an ugly title for a gorgeous visual feast.
The good:Where to begin?
Mace Windu vs. the earthquake tank.
Awuxia-inflected lightsaber duel through a jungle.
The moment when Master Yoda Force-pulls a mountain into a robot-crushing avalanche.
It’s not even the only moment inClone Warsthat feels likePredatorfor fifth-graders.
The bad:“But is this really a movie?”
you’re probably asking.
“What even is a movie, really?”
is our fragile response.
The two volumes ofClone Warsrun a little over two hours in their collected edition.
Darren Franich
4.
Does Ford seem mildly bored?
Is the second Death Star kinda lame?
Though the Special Edition changes rankle (give us the original Ewok song, dammit!
The good:Both Skywalker twins look hot as hell.
Luke and Vader’s final fight.
The bad:A second Death Star?
The Special Edition changes.
Lauren Morgan
3.
And isn’t that whatStar Warsis all about?
The good:The throne room fight!Porgs!
The gasp-inducing thrill of the Holdo maneuver!
Did we mention the throne room fight?!
And again, the Canto Bight stuff could’ve been 50 percent shorter.
Devan Coggan
2.
It’s no surprise we’ve spent the last 40-plus years revisiting that galaxy far, far away.
The good:There’s so much here to love: R2-D2!
Fisher’s brave, I’ll-rescue-my-own-damn-self princess!
Devan Coggan
1.
The screenplay by Leigh Brackett andLawrence Kasdansplits the heroes between two journeys.
The good:Every scene is a classic, every location an eye-popping one.
Yoda isfunny, which makes his life coaching uniquely quotable.
“Billy Dee Williamsas Lando Calrissian is so groovy that he practically restarts the movie.
Also, always: Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch).
The bad:Is Luke’s screechy “Noooooooo!!!!!”
accidentally funny or purposefully embarrassing?
Viewers will debate this mystery until the end of time.
Darren Franich
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