Travel | Straight From The Desk Of Nuin Giliath

For over forty years now Star Wars has been an icon of cinema, embedded in pop-culture since it’s release. It’s been translated into multiple media formats, is screened all over the world and has influenced storytelling in the four decades since it’s initial release. As a huge fan of Star Wars myself, I want to take all eight movies and rank them based on my own thoughts and opinions of each one. I’ll start with the one that came last on my list and work my way through to what became my favourite.

Note: A lot of people are going to disagree with my opinions on this movie, I get that a lot. What I want you to bare in mind is that this is my list based on my preferences. If you’re also a fan, I’m sure you have you’re own list, I’d love to see it. Why not post in the comment section below to tell me what your favourites are and how you’d rank the movies?

8- Attack Of The Clones

So in last place, I have Episode II – Attack Of The Clones. Like all the Star Wars movies, it has some fantastic moments; The attempted execution of Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan battling Jango Fett on Kamino, the Jedi appearing throughout the Geonosian arena, not to mention the actual attack of the clones and Yoda vs Darth Tyranus. With all these great moments, one might ask how on Earth this film managed to come in last place? Quite simply, the first two thirds of the movies is so boring, so unexciting and so badly acted that it was quite simply, awful.

We spend God knows how long with Anakin acting so unromantic it’s actually quite scary because he comes across as that psycho stalker stereotype that people joke about all the time. In many ways Obi-Wan is the only one to ground the first half of the movie, his journey is interesting at least. The who section on Naboo is beyond my ability to describe. If you’re having a marathon of all the movies, get your nap in now.

Best Moment – Jedi appearing throughout the arena and the clones attacking.

Worst Moment – Sand. That’s all I’m saying.

7- Empire Strikes Back

Now for the controversy. I’ll remind you at this point that this is a list built from personal preference.

I find ESP pretty boring, not quite as boring as Attack of the Clones. Again, it has some great moments but even when I watch it back, I feel like it’s going nowhere. It’s pacing is too slow, and it essentially acts as a bridge movie. When I watch ESB I feel like Han and Chewie must have felt, stuck inside the asteroid waiting it out. It simply drags out. The whole Dagobah section is fairly interesting because it delves into a bit more detail about the Force, but it’s leveled out by the dullness of Cloud City. Props to the film for that cool battle sequence on Hoth though.

Best Moment – I love you… I know

Worst Moment – C3PO. Just in general. Especially while being carried around in bits by Chewie.

6- The Phantom Menace

Rising up the ranks I’ve put Episode I in sixth place. In general I think the good outweighs the bad here although it doesn’t have the umph of the films further up the list. It’s a slow burner, but it gives us plenty of information as it goes. You get to see a galaxy pre-empire and at no point do you feel out of your depth with this new information. Politics play a big role in the prequel trilogy, which is another reason I enjoy them. To see the senate and how it functions what quite interesting.

The Phantom Menace did a great job of sowing the seeds for it’s two sequels. I should also take a moment to highlight Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn, both of whom are two of my favourite Star Wars characters. I remember seeing this movie in the cinema as an excited young boy and I sure wasn’t disappointed.

Obviously it has some major drawbacks, Jar-Jar being the main focus of hate for this movie. I seem to be one of the few people who don’t hate Jar-Jar. In a galaxy that big full of thousands of planets and thousands of races, there’s bound to be a Jar-Jar. I can’t say I thought much of young Anakin, but Jake Lloyd did okay considering how old he was at the time. Overall I don’t think it was a bad movie. When you take the space battle at the end into account, along with the three way lightsaber duel and duel of the fates playing over the top, I believe it to be a very underrated movie.

Best Moment – Maul vs Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan

Worst Moment – There’s a few but I think Anakin walking away from his Mother was pretty unconvincing.

5- The Force Awakens

The Force Awakens was a long time coming, not that we knew. It’ introduced us to a new galaxy, a new threat, new characters and new settings.

I enjoyed this one, quite a lot. I could see where people were coming from, claiming it was simply a rehash of A New Hope, but I felt it brought enough new material to the franchise. I like that there was a female character front and center, Leia was always there but Han and Luke got more focus. I liked that it involved a turncoat stormtrooper and I liked that we had a villain that appears much more dangerous than Vader. I say that because without going into ‘Is Kylo Ren truly evil’ you have at face value, a religious fanatic. The thing with Vader is he’s conflicted, whereas Kylo isn’t. He truly believes in what he’s doing.

The film has a lot of sentiment attached and it’s arguable that a lot of the moments are simply fan service, but it’s enjoyable. I think the film was meant to charm audiences, and as far as I go it succeeded.

Best Moment – General Hux addresses the First Order prior to destroying the Hosian system.

Worst Moment – Han Solo’s death. It was just weird and totally not in tune with that character.

4- Rogue One

Rogue One is the wildcard on this list because it could slot in anywhere for anyone, for any number of reasons. As you can see, it ranks in the higher half of this list because I think it really embodied the spirit of Star Wars and what the fans love about the franchise.

First and foremost, it’s a war movie. It also does a pretty good job of functioning as a heist film. There’s a lot to love.

I think some of the highlights for me was seeing a bit more of the Imperial leadership. Krennic I fear will go down as an underrated villain, his interactions with his superiors being some of the film’s highlights. Grand Moff Tarkin’s return to the screen, while taking a little getting used to, was also brillant.

I think where this film succeeds most is in it’s characters. You have the loner in Jyn, the morally ambiguous hero in Cassian, the faith in Chirrut, the doubt in Baze, the humor in K2-SO and the belief in doing what’s right in Bodhi. It very much makes you feel apart of that crew while also making you understand the stakes.

One thing Gareth Edwards did really well with Rogue One was highlighting the scale of everything. From the sheer size of the Death Star, to the battles, to the ships and the battlefields themselves, you get a sense of being incredibly small while watching this movie.

There’s a few parts that deserve highlighting with this film, that glorious space battle for one. Another highlight was getting to see Vader’s castle, I can’t imagine what mysteries it holds and what we might one day find there. Another is the acting, besides Saw Gurerra, I can’t think of a single shakey portrayal, even then Saw is questionable.

Overall, a brilliant movie.

Best Moment – Vader takes down a group of rebels in an attempt to regain the Death Star plans.

Worst Moment – Saw Gurerra decides to just stand and die, despite easily being able to get to the ship and escape with the others.

3- A New Hope

I have to confess at this point, I had originally put Return of the Jedi in third place, but after some thought I decided that A New Hope sits quite comfortably in third place.

What can you say about a movie that embedded itself so far in film history and pop culture that it’s still going forty years later and celebrated all over the world. Quite simply, it’s a masterpiece. From storytelling, to characters, to special effects and writing – there’s very little to criticize. Baring in mind it was considered a little indie flick at the time, and no-one thought it would do very well… It did okay.

You can tell a lot of love went into this movie; from the sets, to the acting, to the score. It also plays out much like a fairy-tale, arguable simplistic and elegant.

I think the sheer power and legacy of this movie puts it right up there with the best for me.

Best Moment – Luke Blowing Up The Death Star.

Worst Moment – The medal ceremony at the end felt far too cheesy and very much out of place.

2- Return Of The Jedi

I’m very sentimental about Return of the Jedi as it was the first Star Wars film I ever saw. My earliest memories are of the scene in the Rancor pit, as well the Sarlacc scene.

What I love most about this film is the whole third act, with it’s symbolism, raw emotion and atmosphere of ‘we might not be coming back from this’ feeling a lot more prevalent that the first two movies. The scenes in the Emperor’s throne room are without doubt some of the best scenes in the franchise.

Return of the Jedi, like The Phantom Menace seems to get a lot of hate for strange characters. Where TPM had Jar-Jar, ROTJ has Ewoks. I think the battle of Endor is heavily misunderstood because a lot of people say things along the lines of ‘Well, how could teddy bears beat the empire’. Well firstly, they didn’t beat the Empire, they simply defeated a battalion with the help of Han, Leia, Chewie and the other rebels. Also, they’re on home turf so they know exactly where they are and precisely what they’re doing. I don’t believe for one minute they’re as cuddly as they look, weren’t they going to burn Han Solo alive and eat him?

There’s a lot to love about ROTJ, especially when it comes to Luke Skywalker. In ANH I found him almost whiny, in ESB he’s fairly arrogant, but in ROTJ he seems to have the balance needed to have really come into his own. I love that scene where he gives in to his anger when Vader says if Luke won’t join him, maybe Leia will. Luke beats Vader down, cuts off his hand and then realizes he has a lot more in common with his father than he realized. It’s a great moment because it shows the strength of his character, dangling over the edge of oblivion (Figuratively and literally) whilst choosing to remain in the light. I hope one day people will appreciate this movie as a whole a lot more.

Best Moment – I am a Jedi, like my father before me.

Worst Moment – Boba Fett’s jet pack getting his by blind Han.

1- Revenge Of The Sith

Again, this might cause a bit of disagreement but Revenge of the Sith comes in as my favourite Star Wars movie. It’s the point of no return for Anakin and while we knew what was coming, I don’t think we were prepared to see it unfold.

From beginning to end it goes about deconstructing the galaxy in front of us. If we thought the Empire was an evil construct, it pales in comparison to the process of how it came it be. The worst thing is we are simply viewers, we can’ jump into a senate seat and protest, we can’t warn the Jedi that the Clones are about to turn on them. Instead, we have to watch this seemingly incorruptible, almost invulnerable heroes cut down in front of us no matter their age.

At the same time, these things are all what makes ROTS so brilliant. It’s refreshing to have the villain’s come out on top but the end of the movie (Except Obi-Wan, he has the high ground). That is not to say all the villains walk away from this, Dooku and Grievous both meet their fates at the hands of Anakin and Obi-Wan respectively. I think the biggest slap in the face is seeing Mace Windu and Yoda defeated at the hands of the Emperor.

There’s a lot of emotion in this movie, much like the third act of ROTJ, that’s where Star Wars succeeds. I was only about 13 when the movie came out but there were a handful of moments I had tears in my eyes. Order 66 was horrible to watch, at that point a lot of my own philosophy was built up that of the Jedi; to protect, not to let emotion cloud my head, to strive for better. To see them killed in the way they were was heartbreaking.

ROTS also has the legendary battle that left Anakin clad in black armor for the rest of his days. What can be said about this battle further than it’s probably the greatest one on one fight in cinematic history (A bold claim but I’ll run with it). It was the culmination of six films, scores of books, years of speculation and it didn’t disappoint in my opinion.

Best moment – Anakin and Obi-Wan clash on Mustafar.

Worst Moment – Padme ‘Giving Up’ and dying.

What about you? What were your favourite Star Wars Movies? Let me know in the comment section below!

Tonight the stars descend,

In their flaming glory they shall light up the sky,

Brighter than ever before,

Darkness shall be banished,

And will remain only under the soles of our feet.

–

People in countries far from here will stare in wonder,

And gaze as those heavenly bodies fall from on high,

The world itself will hold it’s breath,

And watch as those who gave so my hope to so many,

Come crashing down triumphant.

–

Some will cry, Others will smile… A few will understand,

That in the passing of these brightly lit giants,

All will be well,

There is hope in their passing, Yet tears we will cry,

For that’s what we do when our loved ones die.

–

The sky will be dark, the earth will be cold,

Stories of this night will forever be told with a smile and a tear,

But no-one would ever forget, the sight of the stars,

Falling…

A sight to haunt even the coldest heart.

–

A long time they have been gone,

The lights that brought life to the night,

But in our dreams their light remains,

And what then would the darkness matter,

For here… There is light.

–

Tonight the stars descend.

Straight From The Desk Of Nuin Giliath

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"I find the trick to writing is never imagining, but simply believing it is real" – Nuin Giliath