Star Wars (1977 - present)

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  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,133
    My current movie ranking...

    The Empire Strikes Back
    Star Wars
    Return of the Jedi
    Revenge of the Sith
    The Phantom Menace
    Attack of the Clones
    Rogue One
    The Rise of Skywalker
    Force Awakens
    The Last Jedi
    Solo


    Rogue One
    maybe should be a place higher as Attack of the Clones is great at times though equally terrible in certain scenes.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    My ranking is

    SW
    TESB
    RO
    TFA
    TROS
    ROTS
    ROTJ
    AOTC
    TPM
    TLJ
    Solo
    THS
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
    STAR WARS (A NEW HOPE)
    THE LAST JEDI
    RETURN OF THE JEDI
    THE FORCE AWAKENS
    THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
    REVENGE OF THE SITH
    THE PHANTOM MENACE
    ATTACK OF THE CLONES

    Not sure where I’d put ROGUE ONE and SOLO. Wasn’t a fan of either, they might as well be lumped with those Ewok films. I’m of the opinion that the only Star Wars theatrical movies should be saga films.
  • edited August 17 Posts: 12,473
    1. The Empire Strikes Back
    2. Return of the Jedi
    3. Star Wars
    4. Revenge of the Sith
    5. Attack of the Clones
    6. The Phantom Menace
    7. The Last Jedi
    8. The Force Awakens
    9. The Rise of Skywalker

    Huge gap between #4 and #5. I’ve found ROTS to be the only post-OG trilogy film I significantly enjoy for a while now. I suppose ROTJ over SW is my most “based” opinion, but they’re both wonderful. #5-#8 in my eyes are pretty close in quality, with all the films featuring different issues that hold them back a lot for me. #9 is a clear dead last in my eyes, while #1 is the clear greatest.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited August 17 Posts: 16,413
    Funnily, those are the kind of sentiments many had when ESB was still relatively new. That compared to the 1977 original it wasn’t as fun, kind of dark and dour, and ends on a down note. 20 years later its rep had risen to be regarded as the best of the trilogy. And now we see a generation that grew up with the prequels that not only hold them up as cherished films but will argue that it’s ROTS that’s the best of the saga. I’ll be interested in how the sequel trilogy, especially TLJ holds up when we reach 2035.

    TROS is a fun breezy film in terms of execution, but it’s creatively lazy in such a way it’s kind of terrible, which is why it sits right at the bottom of the OT and ST films for me, yet well above the prequels because at least has a pulse.

    But then equally something like Moonraker is creatively lazy, and people love it now. I don't disagree that it's the same old stuff, but when you're nine films in I kind of think people shouldn't be too surprised if they're not surprised, if you know what I mean.

    If we're doing lists, then I did a preference revealer and this is how it came out:
    1. The Empire Strikes Back
    2. The Force Awakens
    3. Return of the Jedi
    4. Star Wars
    5. The Rise of Skywalker
    6. The Last Jedi
    7. The Phantom Menace
    8. Revenge of the Sith
    9. Attack of the Clones

    Feels right to me. I think TFA is genuinely one of the very best. It's not as original, no; but what do I care about originality when I've seen them all now? It's not like any of them are new to me.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    I’m not sure that comparison is applicable. MOONRAKER is more of a British pantomime brought to the big screen.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,413
    And those aren't creatively fresh either. Being brand new and inventive isn't always the only mark of whether something is worthwhile. We all love Bond films and an awful lot of those are the same thing regurgitated over and again in a different wrapper.
  • MaxCasinoMaxCasino United States
    edited August 17 Posts: 4,634
    It’s nice to see some more TROS fans. I agree that it does have a real Star Wars feel to it. I also agree that it is creatively lazy. The visuals and music are great, but it’s story and pacing are a mixed bag. I think Darth Jar Jar would have worked better as an overall villain. That way The Emperor’s death and Anakin’s sacrifice are more dramatically powerful in storytelling. As I’ve said before, I think Carrie Fisher passing away really hurt the original plans. Colin Trevorrow was always a mixed bag for me as a director, in particular for this. His apparent screenplay is not as good as some SW fans think. Similar to Sam Mendes with Spectre, I think JJ Abrams did as good as it could be with a strict deadline. However, I don’t think he should direct or write anymore Star Wars movies. We should also be thankful it wasn’t delayed, as it would have been hit with Covid. I’m excited to see where Lucasfilm takes the sequel trilogy characters next. I enjoy them and their actors. Rey in particular. I’m still hoping most of the announced movies get made soon!

    Also, I don’t do rankings in Star Wars, as I generally view it as one long story. Once we get more standalone movies, maybe I will.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    mtm wrote: »
    And those aren't creatively fresh either. Being brand new and inventive isn't always the only mark of whether something is worthwhile. We all love Bond films and an awful lot of those are the same thing regurgitated over and again in a different wrapper.

    James Bond films are mostly standalone adventures with a formula. Star Wars, for the most part, are a little more varied than that. That’s why ROTJ got some criticism for rehashing the Death Star, and then TFA got similar criticisms. But at least those films had enough novel elements to them to not feel as creatively lazy as JJ deciding to make Palpatine the grandfather of Rey. There’s a difference between the formula of including space battles/lightsaber duels in every film, and story decisions like revealing Palpatine not only to be alive but also that he’s the grandfather of Rey. Especially now that we know previous drafts of IX at least tried to be a little more novel even if they still had a ton of work to get done.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    My ranking is

    SW
    TESB
    RO
    TFA
    TROS
    ROTS
    ROTJ
    AOTC
    TPM
    TLJ
    Solo
    THS

    Mine:
    SW
    ROTJ
    TESB
    RO
    ROTS
    Solo
    The rest don't really matter to me...
  • Last_Rat_StandingLast_Rat_Standing Long Neck Ice Cold Beer Never Broke My Heart
    Posts: 4,589
    What's THS?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    What's THS?

    The Highlander Syndrome (there can be only one), meaning that SW is self contained, and should be considered the only real film. LOL, J/K :D :)>- =))
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    The one Harrison Ford wishes we all forgot.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    What's THS?

    @Last_Rat_Standing
    The Holiday Special, of course! Life Day! Chewie's family! :-D

    Seriously, it's not canon or anything. But... the Boba Fett cartoon does introduce material that Favreau inserted in The Mandalorian.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    I think the cartoon was the only thing Lucas regarded as being canon from that special. I thought it was fine, charming in its very 70s stylistic expression.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    I think the cartoon was the only thing Lucas regarded as being canon from that special. I thought it was fine, charming in its very 70s stylistic expression.

    The cartoon is why I return to THS every once in a while. I'm certainly not there for Lumpy's Life Day preparations, nor for Art Carney or Jefferson Starship's contributions. ;-)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,800
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    I think the cartoon was the only thing Lucas regarded as being canon from that special. I thought it was fine, charming in its very 70s stylistic expression.

    The cartoon is why I return to THS every once in a while. I'm certainly not there for Lumpy's Life Day preparations, nor for Art Carney or Jefferson Starship's contributions. ;-)

    Ahh, you little kids who were not at least 15 when Star Wars came out don't understand how thrilling The Holiday Special was when we saw it. Yeah, it was mostly crap, but we got to see the actors in costume again!!! And the cartoon was really good....
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Oh well. I was on board for S2. That’s more than I can say for some of the other shows.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 16,413
    I was maybe onboard to the extent that the David Harewood scene was the best thing in the whole show and presumably that’s where they would moved it in S2, but generally it was a poor show so probably the right decision.
  • Fire_and_Ice_ReturnsFire_and_Ice_Returns I am trying to get away from this mountan!
    Posts: 25,133
    A wise decision by Disney to cancel The Acolyte, they should cancel S1 from cannon and delete The Acolyte from Disney+ like they did Willow.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    Why stop there? Might as well delete the prequels while they’re at it.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited August 20 Posts: 24,183
    Ah yes, the cancel culture. You youths cannot think of anything else these days, can you? ;-)

    I jest, I jest. Though I know this won't happen, a part of me wants SW to go dark for a few years, and then slowly rebuild our desire for more if and when new films arrive. This constant influx of SW product that I feel compelled to consume even though my schedule is pretty crowded as it is, doesn't so much entertain me as it does stress me out.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    edited August 20 Posts: 5,433
    My problem with TROS is the ending. It was there for Ben to get some redemption and he is a Skywalker. I never understood how Rey can claim to be a Skywalker at the end of the movie. It feels a bit of a reach. I didn't envy JJ for having to retcon in some of the threads from TLJ. He had a lot to navigate.

    Why they didn't better plan out the three films I will never understand. It felt like JJ came in with TFA and did a greatest hits of the OG trilogy. Then Rian took TLJ to a different place introduced new characters and did took from creative chances. Then JJ had to deliver something that the fans would react to. As the orginal trilogy proved different directors could deliver a satisfying series of films, but these were written with an end game in mind. With these last three films it feels like they went film to film but didn't really have an end game in mind.

    For what it is worth the Rotten Tomatoes has the following ranking
    1. Empire 95% certified fresh
    2. Force Awakens 93% certified fresh
    3. Star Wars New Hope 93% certified fresh
    4. Last Jedi 91% certified fresh
    5. Rogue One 84% certified fresh
    6. Return of the Jedi 82% certified fresh
    7. Revenge of the Sith 79% certified fresh
    8. Solo 69% fresh
    9. Attack of the Clones 65% fresh
    10. Phantom Menace 52% rotten
    11. Rise of Skywalker 51% rotten

    All films fresh until Rise and Phantom Menace. These are the critics ranking.

    As for the Acolyte, the writing was so uneven and at times confusing. Characters seemed to switch motivations, sometimes within the same episodes. Plot holes that were rather large to overlook. I am not surprised that we won't get a season 2.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Ah yes, the cancel culture. You youths cannot think of anything else these days, can you? ;-)

    I jest, I jest. Though I know this won't happen, a part of me wants SW to go dark for a few years, and then slowly rebuild our desire for more if and when new films arrive. This constant influx of SW product that I feel compelled to consume even though my schedule is pretty crowded as it is, doesn't so much entertain me as it does stress me out.

    That’s something I feared when the announcement was made of new SW films coming out each year back in the 2010s, I feared Disney was going to risk franchise fatigue the way it happened with Star Trek under Rick Berman. Ideally, the only films that should exist are Saga episodes, and they should come out as trilogies spaced out between decades like we saw with the three that we got. So if they were planning an Episode X, that should be held off until 2029 or later. Have the franchise take a break long enough to stir interest for something new. It worked for Star Trek.

    As for TV shows? I dunno. I always felt SW should exclusively remain a film franchise, but I guess THE CLONE WARS basically started a whole new market there.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,433
    Absence does make the heart grow fonder. More is not often better. The sausage factory can sometimes produce...well substandard sausage. LOL!

    Maybe with the Acolyte being cancelled, this will allow some space for the next series of movies. I am not sure how many of those in development are series. It sounded like most were stand alone stories.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    I'm glad I'm not the only who believes that sometimes less is more. While I can appreciate The Mandalorian, I, too, wish that SW would focus on the Saga films (and stuff like RO). Leave the rest for comics, EU novels and animated series for those willing to consume more.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,188
    This is why I’m not griping about Eon not jumping the gun on making Bond 26. There’s nothing to suggest Eon not making the film sooner will hurt the franchise, because we had hiatuses before Brosnan and Craig and they’re arguably part of what built the hype towards their debut films.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,183
    This is why I’m not griping about Eon not jumping the gun on making Bond 26. There’s nothing to suggest Eon not making the film sooner will hurt the franchise, because we had hiatuses before Brosnan and Craig and they’re arguably part of what built the hype towards their debut films.

    I'm thinking the same way. Whether entirely intentional or not, the hiatus between LTK and GE, and then again between DAD and CR, must have helped GE and CR tremendously.
  • thedovethedove hiding in the Greek underworld
    Posts: 5,433
    It can certainly allow some creative time to breathe and think about a new direction. In CR they had the idea and creative angle. This time they have nothing. I would like them to take as long as they need to move things along to a suitable point to start.
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