Was curious to see how everyone ranks the Star Wars films. Feel free to explain why it is ranked where it's at on your list as well if you'd like.
1. Revenge of the Sith - I know it is blasphemy to rank any Star Wars film higher than Empire Strikes Back (wait for it...), but every time I see this movie I love it more than the last time I saw it. It has everything; an excellent plot and character progression, amazing action and lightsaber fights, deep mature themes, and an excellent soundtrack score. I get chills watching this movie and feel amazing after watching it every time. It was only recently that this one climbed to my number one spot, and fighting for years with my number 2 Star Wars film, ultimately beating it because it does everything it does and way more in my opinion.
2. Empire Strikes Back - Here it is, the Star Wars movie that everyone places at the top, and maybe up until a year or so ago it was there for me as well. What can I say about this amazing movie that has not already been said; it's a timeless masterpiece with excellent writing, great fight scenes, a gripping story, and probably the biggest plot twist in movie history. I get mad feels watching this movie, and overall I'd be lying if I said it wasn't right on the heels of Revenge of the Sith in terms of being my favorite Star Wars movie of all time.
3. The Force Awakens - Often considered a remake of the first film, A New Hope, I would partially agree with that, but I feel like it did take what made the first film awesome and ran with many of it's themes an story and did something amazing on its own with those elements. It is definitely very entertaining from start to finish and has some of my favorite characters in the whole franchise, including Rey who is hands down my favorite Star Wars character of all time. I am completely stoked to see where her character goes in future films.
4. Return of the Jedi - Not as memorable or as well written as Empire, where it lacks in substance, it makes up for with awesome space battles, more lightsaber action, and pretty much a lot more flare than Empire Strikes Back. While this flash only goes so far in terms of carrying the movie, it is enough to make this movie better than at least three of the other films. With all that said, the story is good too, just not as interesting as the films ranked higher on the list.
5. The Phantom Menace - I am going to come right out and say, yes, I have a lot of nostalgia for this film which maybe the reason it ranks higher than a couple of the other films (one which I often get massive shit for), but beyond that it did have some awesome things including an introduction (a decent one at that) to several of the most important characters in the entire franchise. The pod racer scene is still awesome to watch, as is quite possibly the best lightsaber duel in the entire series. Yes, Jar Jar is stupid, yes, the whole "the force are organisms" is facepalm worthy, and yes, the pacing of this film is terrible at times, but it's still a fun movie to watch.
6. A New Hope - I feel like I always have to explain myself thoroughly when I tell people that the film that started it all is ranked as my second least favorite Star Wars film. No, A New Hope is not a bad film, not at all, in fact it's an awesome start to one of the best franchises ever conceived. However, it ranking so low has to do with the fact that the movie in general has aged terribly imo, even with the Special Edition adding some modern flare and effects. I also feel like it might be the least entertaining in terms of action. There is also a lot that is not explained right away which takes away from some of the urgency of what is going on in the film. I do really enjoy watching this film, but it almost borders on me having to be in the mood given it's lack of appeal on several levels.
7. Attack of the Clones - The only genuinely bad Star Wars film imo, this film is ruined by bad acting, bad story, bad pacing, and overall a forgettable experience that is only redeemed by a few noteworthy scenes that still pale in comparison to similar scenes in other films in the series. The film leaves a lot to be desired and I typically only watch this film as simply a way to fill in the gads between Episode I and III.
