Rating the Star Wars

[Emma]

I've absolutely never understood why the prequels get bashed to no end. These heartless, yes I said heartless, people with zero appreciation for art caused George Lucas to give up on everything. He retired and is very depressed.
The entire Star Wars series was pure art. All of it. I absolutely hate all the complaining about the prequels, as if it's supposed to be some war between the two, just like all of them. Episode I was actually based almost entirely on an earlier version of the script for A New Hope. A version that was rejected for one reason, and only one reason, Lucas didn't think he could do it with the technology that was available to him at the time. The climax of Revenge of the Sith was planned out for two decades. It's exactly how he said he wanted it to be over 25 years ago.
I guarantee you that if Star Wars was never made in the 70s and 80s, and instead Episode I was really the first, and they went on making the second trilogy, the same people that hate the prequels now would hate those "sequels" in the same manner.
You're all gonna hate this, but the prequel haters (the real haters and not those that just thought it wasn't the greatest but not terrible) have a classic case of what's known as "they changed it, so it sucks". This commonly happens when two parts of a series are separated by a significant period of time (or also an adapted work versus the original source). You will get a number of people that will hate the additional part for no more reason than it wasn't exactly the same as the first one. Even if the second one is exactly like they wanted the first one to be in the first place but just didn't have the ability to. It's very common, and it will always be denied. Honestly, who'd ever admit to that? Not a single person would. But I see the obvious signs. People complaining about problems that don't even exist, or complaining about things that are not a huge deal, or things that are actually in the one they like. Basically blowing things out of proportions.

Anyway, my list:

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Return of the Jedi
3. The Phantom Menace
4. A New Hope
5. Attack of the Clones
6. The Empire Strikes Back

I find one thing in common with most people that despise the prequel trilogies, they widely praise The Empire Strikes Back as the best one. The Empire Strikes Back was, compared to the other five, absolutely terrible. It had a weak plot that never really goes anywhere. I actually thought it had the weakest acting of the original trilogy, though the acting was still excellent on its own.
It's still a good movie, it's just the worst one of the main series. See, that's the difference between me, and those that despise the prequels. I don't relentless bash the original trilogy to no end stating how terrible it is and how it shouldn't even exist. They're all really good movies. Just because I made a choice in one being worse than others, doesn't mean I don't like them all.

 

[MW7]

Not from the beginning. Lucas intended to make three movies from the beginning, I believe (possibly just one, not sure), but only came up with his idea for nine movies during the production of The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars was not originally called Episode IV: A New Hope, for example.

Lucas has changed his story, though. He likes revising history. I think he's even argued he originally envisioned Vader as Luke's father, which is, of course, an outright lie.

Oh wow I never knew any of that. Thanks! I was aware of the revising history thing though- like just a week ago he said Han never shot first.

 

[A Link In Time]

As you see, I have no care for the first three movies. As action movies, they're passable, and the action sequences are fun for the younger crowd. The story is awful, however. Lucas practically ruined my childhood with the creation of these terrible prequels. It's hard for me to consider them Star Wars movies when I see Jar-Jar Binks around every corner at the toy store. Star Wars doesn't need comic relief, especially when it's not this funny. Attack of the Clones was pretty solid, and it had one of the best action sequences in movies. Then, the third one. Oh man, romantic drama much? They sacrifice story and action for the mushy romance junk, and then it makes me laugh at Hayden Christiansen's acting (won a Golden Raspberry, by the way) Who wrote his dialogue? A monkey? I could do better.

Besides that, the first three movies are incredible, and I love them.

The problem with this perception is that the original trilogy was composed of war movies whereas the prequels obviously take place before the battle between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance and therefore involve smaller scale battles but not an all-out war. Jar-Jar Binks also only truly appears in the Phantom Menace (although he makes cameos in the later two prequels) and is not as annoying as people make him out to be. It's a situation similar to Zelda fans complaining about Navi and Fi being annoying. As for Hayden Christiansen, his performance in Attack of the Clones left something to be desired but his guns were blazing in Revenge of the Sith especially during the final battle on Mustafar. At the very least, fans should appreciate that George Lucas didn't completely take the series in an action-oriented, Michael Bay direction. Even through some series errors, Lucas maintained his respectability.

 

[Caeda]

I have nothing else to do, so I'll rate them.

1. Attack of the Clones
I love this one. It just has the best story of them all (and take this from someone who can't really read through a love story without barfing about ten times and who hates politics). Other then that I really don't know why.

2. Return of the Jedi-
This is second best because of the sheer awesomeness of it. I love all of the battles in it (though they were slightly obvious about stuff (cough Ackbar cough). I especially love the end fight between Luke and Dartb Vader and the Emperor's demise.

3. Revenge of the Sith-

4. The Empire Strikes Back

5. A New Hope

6. The Phantom Menence

I might go back and edit in reasons if I feel like it.

 

[Hanyou]

I've absolutely never understood why the prequels get bashed to no end. These heartless, yes I said heartless, people with zero appreciation for art caused George Lucas to give up on everything. He retired and is very depressed.

Lucas's mental state is not my concern, but he has little reason to be depressed. He presided over at least two cultural phenomena and some of the most important technological advancements of two generations. People know this, and Lucas rightly gets the credit for it. He is a very successful businessman. In interviews, he seems fairly well-adjusted and satisfied, but perhaps he's hiding something. It wouldn't be the first time.

Lucas served as a producer for the film Red Tails, released this year. It sounds quite interesting and I'd like to watch it. Having released a brand new movie, I would be surprised if Lucas really went into retirement.

The entire Star Wars series was pure art. All of it. I absolutely hate all the complaining about the prequels, as if it's supposed to be some war between the two, just like all of them. Episode I was actually based almost entirely on an earlier version of the script for A New Hope. A version that was rejected for one reason, and only one reason, Lucas didn't think he could do it with the technology that was available to him at the time. The climax of Revenge of the Sith was planned out for two decades. It's exactly how he said he wanted it to be over 25 years ago.

I don't know about that. I have the Star Wars Annotated Screenplays, published 1997, and the early drafts are certainly not identical to what we're presented with in the prequels. They're similar, yeah, but far from being the same. For example, the Kyber crystal was a fairly important plot device in early drafts of Star Wars; it has no analogue in the prequels. What stays the same is, mostly, some names, the way the Jedi and Sith function (sort of), and to some degree, the plot structure. I'm also skeptical he thought up the duel between Anakin and Vader in 1986 or earlier, though that's more likely than some of his other claims. Lucas likes to say he planned much of this out from the beginning, but there's ample evidence he didn't know Vader was Luke's father until The Empire Strikes Back came about.

I see little proof from before the prequels that the script was changed solely due to technological limitations. There's no record I'm aware of where Lucas said this prior to the late 90s. He could naturally be expected to do that to promote his new prequels, but in absence of early evidence, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

I guarantee you that if Star Wars was never made in the 70s and 80s, and instead Episode I was really the first, and they went on making the second trilogy, the same people that hate the prequels now would hate those "sequels" in the same manner.
You're all gonna hate this, but the prequel haters (the real haters and not those that just thought it wasn't the greatest but not terrible) have a classic case of what's known as "they changed it, so it sucks". This commonly happens when two parts of a series are separated by a significant period of time (or also an adapted work versus the original source). You will get a number of people that will hate the additional part for no more reason than it wasn't exactly the same as the first one. Even if the second one is exactly like they wanted the first one to be in the first place but just didn't have the ability to. It's very common, and it will always be denied. Honestly, who'd ever admit to that? Not a single person would. But I see the obvious signs. People complaining about problems that don't even exist, or complaining about things that are not a huge deal, or things that are actually in the one they like. Basically blowing things out of proportions.

There are a lot of straw men here. You can't presume to know what people are thinking when they bash the prequels. If they specifically say they hate them because they are different, that's one thing, but surmising those types of views is a bit disingenuous. The prequels are different, yes. They're different in a lot of bad ways. As part of an overarching saga, they create several plot holes, which are only solved by large retcons, but more fundamentally, they're just poorly-acted and poorly-written. The original Star Wars had some of this, but it also had that exuberance I talked about--people involved with the project seemed genuinely excited to do it. When otherwise good actors like Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, and Natalie Portman turn to cardboard on screen, something is very, very wrong.

Anyway, this argumentative tactic could just as well be applied to people who prefer the prequels, or even like them. "People just like the prequels because they're newer, and they're attracted to new, shiny things. They'll deny it, but it's true." You can't make broad, sweeping generalizations like that. I've run into very few people who hate the originals because they're just that good--but if someone did, I wouldn't pretend their reasons are illegitimate. Lots of people prefer Twilight Princess to Ocarina of Time. Lots of people prefer Terminator 3 to Terminator 2. Most people prefer Phil Collins' Genesis to Peter Gabriel's. I can't fathom why they think that way, but I'm not going to bash them. This is actually the very same argument many fans of modern Sonic make to those who prefer the originals, calling them "fanboys" and saying they would never be satisfied with anything. As Sonic Generations has proven, that is patently false. Fortunately, most people who enjoy either the newer or older Sonic games aren't intent on bashing anyone.

The RedLetterMedia reviews explain in a lot of detail what's wrong with the prequels, so it's always a good idea to look those up. In any case, they are so different in tone and execution from the originals that it is not too farfetched to believe that some people who enjoyed the originals would never have enjoyed the prequels, and vice-versa. I know Episode I's childishness, boring, senseless political plotline, trivial disputes, wooden acting, and clumsy dialog wouldn't have interested me past the age of ten. Some people see different things in Episode I, so naturally they have a different perspective, but it would always have appeared that way to me.

Here's an anecdote. My girlfriend was only recently introduced to Star Wars (2004). She watched the prequels and the originals fairly close to each other (she still hasn't seen the original Star Wars, though) and concluded that the originals were far better, and that the prequels were bad. While I spoke to her about the prequels a bit, my opinion about them then was not as strong as it is now, as I was still anticipating Episode III and hoping it would tie everything together. In fact, I even called Episode II a good movie at the time. So there's one "newer" Star Wars fan who doesn't simply hate the prequels because they're new. That handily disproves your generalization.

I find one thing in common with most people that despise the prequel trilogies, they widely praise The Empire Strikes Back as the best one. The Empire Strikes Back was, compared to the other five, absolutely terrible. It had a weak plot that never really goes anywhere. I actually thought it had the weakest acting of the original trilogy, though the acting was still excellent on its own. It's still a good movie, it's just the worst one of the main series. See, that's the difference between me, and those that despise the prequels. I don't relentless bash the original trilogy to no end stating how terrible it is and how it shouldn't even exist. They're all really good movies. Just because I made a choice in one being worse than others, doesn't mean I don't like them all.

You are free to enjoy the originals, of course. As I said, they are just that good. I bash the prequels not because they are newer Star Wars films, but because I find them to be genuinely bad.

As to Empire being the best, what can I say? That's been the consensus pretty much since that film's release. I certainly don't see how the acting in any of the prequels, or in the original Star Wars, exceeds the more nuanced, character-driven approach of Empire. I also don't see how the story stagnates, as it has a lot of forward momentum throughout. The only Star Wars film with a really slow-moving story is Episode I.

 

[Simon]

1. Revenge of the Sith: I loved the external conflict between Obi-Wan and Annakin as well as Annakins inner conflict between power and saving Padmay (not sure how you spell it). Great way to drive the movie forward and the ending battles between Yoda and Sidious and Darth Vader and Obi-Wan was epic. I was on my feet the entire time.

2. Attack of the Clones: The colloseum battle onwards really sold this movie for me. We finally get to see a mass battle between the Jedi and the clones and Yoda finally makes an appearence in battle as well. Great movie all around.

3. Phantom Menace: The background story on how Obi-Wan became such a great jedi was just magnificent to see since he's one of my favorite characters in the whole series. Also, Darth Maul was pretty epic along with the final battle when you see Quigan (again have no idea how you spell that name) die.

4-6 : The sequel trilogy wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to my expectations of what a Star Wars movie should be. The acting wasn't as good, the special effects weren't up to par with the prequels, and I didn't like Luke as a protagonist. Just overall a step below the prequels.

I love them all, though. It's really hard for me to hate a movie since I'm not that hard of a critic to please.

I think my head is literally exploding with rage. The Empire Strikes Back is easily the best, followed by Return of the Jedi and A New Hope probably equal, I can't even bring myself to rank the prequels, because, not only are they disappointing Star Wars films, they're just not very good films. I find it hard to see how you can say that the first 3 films don't live up to what a Star Wars film should be, when they set originally what Star Wars was. I grew up on those first 3 and the prequels just aren't proper Star Wars films.

 

[Koosholts]

I think my head is literally exploding with rage. The Empire Strikes Back is easily the best, followed by Return of the Jedi and A New Hope probably equal, I can't even bring myself to rank the prequels, because, not only are they disappointing Star Wars films, they're just not very good films. I find it hard to see how you can say that the first 3 films don't live up to what a Star Wars film should be, when they set originally what Star Wars was. I grew up on those first 3 and the prequels just aren't proper Star Wars films.

Read Matts post on his opinion of the Empire Strikes Back because that's exactly how I feel about that film.

You obiously didn't read my second post because I said I watched the first three prequel films in order and then later watched the sequels in order. Therefore, the prequels were the ones that set the standards for me because I watched them first. Unlike you I didn't grow up with the sequel trilogy, rather I grew up with the prequel trilogy and later watched the sequels. Like MW7 said, the opinions on which trilogy is better is more then likely based upon which movies you grew up with. However, like Matt said, it shouldn't even be an argument about which one is better because it should be seen as one whole series, not a divided set. I'm not stating that the seuquels suck, because they don't. If people want to make it into an argument about which trilogy is better, which I never even thought of it that way since I always saw it as one whole series, I prefer the prequels rather then the sequels for the reasons stated above.

@Hanyou: When you mentioned the battle scenes earlier and how the sequels were largely better then the prequels, I have to disagree. PM didn't have too great of battles IMO, but the colloseum battle in Attack of the Clones, the Yoda vs. Count Doukou Battle in Attack of the Clones, The opening scene in Revenge of the Sith, were all better then the battle that you mentioned IMO. In all of these battles the technology that they were available too was utilized perfectly and it really made adreniline pump through your body the first time you watched them. At least, it did for me.

Actually, the fact that anybody can say that the ending battle in Revenge of the Sith between Annokin, or Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan wasn't there favorite battle astonishes me. The special effects were so good in that battle that it hurt, the amount of emotion that was portrayed between the two characters was touching, the amount of adreniline that whent through my body during the whole battle was more then when I whent parasailing (and I'm afraid of heights). Overall, it was so epic that it should be claimed the best action battle of the century because nothing has lived up to my expectations that the battle set for me. I still to this day sometimes fast forward just to that scene to watch it because it's just that epic for me.

^Of course everything that I said there about that battle was an opinion lol.

 

[TF/HH]

1. Revenge of the Sith
2. Return of the Jedi
3. Attack of the Clones
4. Empire Strikes Back
5. A New Hope
6. The Phantom Menace

 

[Myriadviper42]

Apparently, it's a crime to love the Star Wars saga as a whole. I liked all six films, but, as a kid, I always thought the prequels were better because they had better special effects. But as I matured, I realized that the original trilogy was just as good as the prequels, and better than the first two prequels.

1. The Empire Strikes Back 9/10
2. Revenge of the Sith 9/10
3. Return of the Jedi 8.5/10
4. A New Hope (feel kind of bad putting this on the bottom rung) 8/10
5-6. Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones 7/10

 

[Zorth]

The Original Trilogy

The original trilogy is, on the whole, better than the prequel. Each individual release in this trilogy is better than every individual release in the PT. In fact, I dislike the PT so much that I prefer to forget it's canon when I watch the originals.

1. The Empire Strikes Back

Easily the best Star Wars movie, and the only one I'd rank as a true work of art, a piece of great film. It's meticulously detailed--everything, right down to the camera work and the lighting, helps create a contemplative, sometimes despairing, sometimes uplifting atmosphere. The characters are at their peak here, the script is clever and witty but also sincere and sentimental. The Star Wars movies are character stories, and the arcs here are something to behold. Magnificent.

2. A New Hope

Perhaps the most well-executed Hero's Journey story in film history, but it never takes itself more seriously than it should. It has a youthful exuberance and enthusiasm about it which could not be manufactured--this all had to come naturally. Great adventure story, and it earned its place as a classic.

3. Return of the Jedi

There's a tiredness here, and you get the feeling that if its two predecessors hadn't been so good this story couldn't stand on its own. Yeah, that's kind of the point, though. It managed a good balance in tone between the first and second films and the story of the Rebellion and Luke's own personal journey both come to a satisfactory close. Not the best, probably couldn't stand on its own merits like the other two, but it's a worthy sequel.

The Prequel Trilogy

Why do these exist?

4. The Phantom Menace

This movie has a senseless, badly-constructed script entirely lacking in any sort of emotion at all. The story is without context and character arcs are practically nonexistent. The actors move through this blue-screen world with all the conviction of Lucas' background CGI robots and creatures, and the jokes are juvenile in the worst way possible. This movie is without charm.

But hey, at least it still kind of looks like a Star Wars film and has some kind of remotely interesting special effects. At least Tatooine set is believable. Darth Maul is kind of cool, even if he's as insignificant and stupid as everything else in this unnecessary film. And at least the movie is not usually blatantly offensive--acting's flat, not laughably bad yet.

5. Revenge of the Sith

I really get the feeling that George Lucas got input from a 12-year-old boy who'd read too many 90s comic books when making this movie. It's dark, dark, dark, but the bad things seem connected tenuously at best, so most of it just looks like random angst. Anakin's motives, a driving force in this story, are unrealistic for anything but a sociopath or psychopath (perhaps Anakin already was one- see Episode II). I bought into the hype for this crapfest initially, but by the time it came out on DVD I'd realized it didn't live up to the hype. On further observation, I have to wonder what anyone saw in it.

Simply being "dark" doesn't make for a good movie. Bad things happening doesn't make for believable character development. Silly platitudes from character's who've only paid lipservice to political movements are meaningless and laughable. Seriously, "this is how democracy dies...?" I thought the Republic wasn't a democracy or republic, just some weird oligarchy. That's all we've ever seen in these godforsaken scripts. Nothing makes sense in this world.

Episode 3 was the point where the prequel trilogy came crashing down. The whole thing was so contrived and deficient that it had to happen sooner or later. But I guess the sheer intensity of the bad things that happen to everyone in this movie kind of makes for an experience. It was fun to watch the Emperor trot around the set like he owned the place, so yeah, I'll watch this movie.

6. Attack of the Clones

A contrived, stupid love story. The acting was really, really bad. Also, how am I supposed to sympathize with these characters? Padme excuses small-scale genocide and basically laughs off Anakin's ambitions toward a dictatorship. The video game sequences, like the conveyor belt, certainly don't help.

I'm not wasting any more words on this atrocity.

Someones been watching Plinketts reviews it seems..

I agree tho, Why GL did what he did with the PT is beyond me. I heard it's because he felt guilty for getting all the credit for the Original Trilogy and wanted to show everyone that he was a good director/story writer, and look how that turned out. But why he still makes these little changes in teh original movies also is baffling. I like the saga as a whole but the PT is just filled with stuff that doesn't make sense and the originals outclass the PT in everyway except for special effects, they are popcorn movies to me, while the originals are classics that makes you wanna travel to that galaxy far, far away.

 

[unknown]

1: A new hope
2: Return of the Jedi
3: Empire strikes back
4: Revenge of the sith
5: Phantom menace
6: My ex-favorite, Attack of the clones

 

[Strangelove]

Actually, my favourite is the Phantom Menace. I know most people hate it, but I liked it. It's where the whole thing began. Some of the dialog was a bit boring, but it was good. I saw it in 3D recently. Could've done without the 15 minutes of extra dialog though.
It's like...there's this video from Phantom Menace on YouTube, someone made this comment I agree on a lot. That scene with Qui-Gon on one side of this forcefeild and Maul on the other, Qui-Gon meditating but Darth Maul angrily pacing. At no point in the rest of the star wars saga was each side of the force expressed so well.

 

[Vanessa28]

I have been raised with the old trilogy and the new trilogy is really BAD and then I am even mild here. This is just my opinion so don't feel attacked if you disagree okay? Good here we go

ESB:
Simply the best out of all of them. I used to like RotJ the most but after rewatching it I changed my mind. It has everything. An epic battle, a good story and great acting. This one will always remain the fav by most SW fans all over the world

RotJ:
I used to love this one the most. It has a good twist and I like how Han Solo is develloping through the story. Still some cheesy parts but enough to keep the movier in second place

ANH:
The beginning of a Saga since the prequels were made later. I do believe they could have done a better job with some parts but it is always better than the whole new trilogy all together. Luke his story is cool but it is actually Han Solo who steals the show. He saved Luke's life more than once and is never boring.

RotS:
Honestly the best out of the three but so non realistic. Anakin's change to the dark side was laughable. This just doesn't fit in anywhere. He warned Mace Windu about a Sith Lord and suddenly walks to the dark side. It just don't fit his character in that movie. The only positive point here was the fight between Obi and Ani in the end.

TPM:
This could have been better if the storyline was a bit different, we have seen more of Darth Maul and if the story wasn't going into a very boring way and don't even remind me of Jar Jar Binks. Probably the worst character EVER created.

AotC:
Really??? The worst SW movie EVER. Wooden actors, terrible script. I am not going to spend more words here

 

[JuicieJ]

1.) The Empire Strikes Back - One of the greatest movies ever made. Period.
2.) Return of the Jedi - Very, VERY good storytelling and intense action, even if that goes only for its time
3.) Star Wars (A New Hope) - What can I say? A great movie in every way.
4.) The Phantom Menace - Pretty good movie. Nowhere near the caliber of the originals, but still good.
5.) Attack of the Clones - Not bad. A major step down from even PM, though.
6.) Revenge of the Sith - Not the best of movies in general, but it's also a total disgrace so the saga. The only thing good about it was the action, which is only a small part of Star Wars.

 

[Yoda's LSD Dealer]

Empire Strikes Back will forever be my favorite. Bobba Fett, Lando Clarissian, heck, even Bossk. I was a big fan of this movie growing up, and loved it all the way.