As today is Star Wars Day (May the 4th – May the Force) I figured I’d do something Star Wars related.

So, here we go with my ranking of the Star Wars Saga. 

The official Star Wars saga only includes the 9 films. This is the Skywalker Saga and involves members of the Skywalker family.

Maybe for the fun of it (if I’m bored) I’ll put together a post where I would rank the other two movies. ‘Rogue One’ is by far the superior of the two Anthology films (A Star Wars story) whoever, I don’t think it would be fair to add either to this list.

So, without further adieu, here we go:

There may be some spoilers below.

Honestly, the top two constantly swap all the time. Some people might hate me for saying this but  I love Return of the Jedi and every now and then it creeps up to number one. 

But for today:

1. Empire Strikes Back (V): (1980)

Because it is an amazing sequel, a true continuation from the episode before it and a serious middle story to this section of the original trilogy.

This is the middle story of a trilogy that all other middle stories wish they could be. Leaving you with a cliffhanger, making you want and need the next installment.

2. Return of the Jedi (VI): (1983)

The much hated but oddly loved Return of the Jedi. For most, this is the beginning George Lucas trying to pull as much money out of the Star Wars franchise as possible. 

But I have always loved it. I love the Death Star II in this, the forest moon of Endor, this movie has the most color out of the original trilogy. I wish that Lucas would have made another movie in the franchise right after this. I think he was doing great expanding this world.

3. The Force Awakens (VII): (2015)

I love Force Awakens. While I understand the hate that this movie gets as it literally rehashes the first Star Wars film (A New Hope) I think it is a great fun movie. 

It did what it was supposed to, earn back the trust that was lost with the prequels by giving the audiences something not only something that they felt nostalgic about but also giving them something familiar. Same world, same characters, easy story to follow.

I put this above A New Hope because, here’s a shocker, I’ve never 100% loved the first Star Wars movie. While I understand that it is the first of its kind, its always been the weakest of the original movies for me. 

And thus is the reason why it is my #…

4. A New Hope (IV) (1977)

The first of Star Wars movies. The one that started it off. 

Let me clarify what I said about never 100% loved this movie; this is a great movie, but out of the original 3 it is my least favorite. I don’t care if it started it all, if I am going to re-watch one of these movies, this is my least likely film to pick.

I love what they set up and the world building is tremendous. 

I just think the three I picked above were better made (even if one of them told the same story).

5. Revenge of the Sith (III) (2005)

I have not been a fan of the prequels, however, I think out of the three of them, Revenge of the Sith is the best. This one bridges the gap between the painful first two and the great next three. 

It’s still not great, probably the best thing about this movie is the climatic lightsaber battle between Obi Wan and Anakin.

There was a lot not to like about this movie, but I still think it is better than the bottom three options.

6. The Last Jedi (VIII) (2017)

This was a hard one to rank. While I don’t like the movie because I feel like it crapped on everything that was built up in the first installment of the sequel trilogy, I also think higher of it than ‘Rise of Skywalker’.

‘The Last Jedi’ is a true sequel to ‘Force Awakens’ and takes place directly after the events of the previous film.

I know there is an extreme LOVE or HATE for this film. Most people say that you can only swing in one direction or another for this one and I’m here to say that I like the movie. I’m indifferent to it. I had higher hopes for this installment and it was just ok.

Like the first two, I’m sure these next two will constantly swap.

But for today:

7. Attack of the Clones (II) (2002)

I remember enjoying ‘Attack of the Clones’ when I saw it in 2002. I don’t think it holds up at all.

It is a weak installment in the prequel trilogy, however, I don’t think it’s as weak as the first episode. 

I appreciate this one more because I think even though it isn’t great, it still has a cohesive story and flows with the other two movies in its trilogy; unlike the next movie.

8. Rise of Skywalker (IX) (2019)

I was highly disappointed with Skywalker. I felt like it completely crapped on Last Jedi, to a fault. And it wasn’t a true sequel to Force Awakens. It could have taken place directly after the events of Return of the Jedi and no one would be any wiser.

While I understand that Kylo Ren may not have seemed like a strong enough main villain, I think bringing back the Emperor was a huge mistake and negated a lot of Vader’s sacrifice in Return of the Jedi. 

I know that Disney and Lucasfilm had wanted this to be the Avengers: Endgame movie for the Star Wars universe, but it wasn’t. 

I also know the entire Star Wars thing is for trilogies, but I think that the film and the sequel trilogy as a whole would have benefited from another movie. An episode X. They needed to plant the seeds for a lot of things (especially the Emperor).

9. The Phantom Menace (I) (1999)

My least favorite out of any of these. I’ve never fully rewatched this movie from beginning to end since seeing it in the theater. While I do own the movie and have shown it to Miles I will never sit through and watch this episode.

I don’t have much to say about this movie that hasn’t been said in the past.

My opinion – as with much of the blog, this is my opinion. May not be remotely close to your opinion or thoughts, but leave your comments below! Let’s talk about it!

I’d love to hear what you had to say!

Hope you all have a great Star Wars Day!