4 years ago I thought we’d never see another Star Wars film, but flash forward to today and we have just seen the release of the first spin-off from the Skywalker saga with Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. We now have 8 Star Wars films and a new one to be released every year. So, with all these films it begs the question which is the best? Where does Rogue One fit into all this? Well read on and let’s find out!
Star Wars: Episode I – A Phantom Menace
If trade negotiations and the introduction of Jar Jar, the most annoying character in history, is your thing then by all means, rank this at the top of all your lists. But this was the most anticipated thing since sliced bread, and for me, it all boiled down to a poorly paced script with and bad dialogue.
Best scene:
The opening of the security doors on Naboo to reveal Darth Maul, the most underused villain in the series. Seeing this character use a double-sided sabre was incredible, while it might have only been a plot device to fight the two Jedi at once, it secured itself in movie history.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac3U40FBVSs
The introduction to Boss Nass and the Gungans. If one Jar Jar wasn’t enough there is an entire civilisation of these creatures. And this son of a bitch Boss Nass, is just spitting on people. Not only that, he is just plain annoying and useless to the movie. He agreed to send off his soldiers to the front lines of war and they were meant to be working with the Naboo people, instead, the Gungans are the only ones in the battle. Are we to believe that the 7 soldiers that went with Padme are the only Nabooians available? Nonsense!
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
George Lucas should have come off The Phantom Menace, seen all the negative reviews and realised that his plan for Attack Of The Clones might not have been the way to go. Filled with even more politics, poor CGI, horrible acting and another annoying child actor (Boba), this film might have even come off worse than its predecessor if it wasn’t for the saving grace of Ewan MgGregor and Sam Jackson lobbing off heads.
Best Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fP7YJtjbZY
The Battle of the Jedi. Seeing countless Jedi flock to the aid of our heroes for the first time in this franchise was awesome. Until that point, I hadn’t realised how many Jedi were out there. This is also the sequence where we got to see ‘Bad Ass Motherfucker’ Sam Jackson cutting Jango Fett’s head off and delivering the line ‘This Party’s over’.
Worst Scene:
Mario Bros: Stars Wars Style.This is one of those scenes you just shudder to watch. It’s pointless and is clearly in the movie to let Lucas show off his CGI skills.
Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
The final episode of the Prequel Trilogy closed off the story nicely and introduced us to one of the most beautifully shot space battle sequences in the franchise. The opening scene allowed us to see what Attack Of The Clones lacked and that was the friendship between Anakin and Obi-Wan. They are aligned to each other and always have the others back… until of course when the shit hits the fan and Anakin falls to the dark side.
Best Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOhZ5wD6u7A
Battle of the heroes. This lightsaber battle between the film’s heroes is what we have been waiting to see and while it is bogged down by the overuse of CGI and set pieces it’s the emotion that is dealt out by the characters that matter the most.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAxKsqkaRqQ
With the death of Padme, we got not one but two of the worst scenes in this entry. One being Darth Vader screaming ‘No!’, the other being Padme dying from losing the will to live. Couldn’t she have gone out in a better way?
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
The final chapter of the Original Trilogy brought the end of the Empire and the death of the Emperor. Not only that but it also featured Luke becoming a Jedi and withstanding his father’s wishes to join him on the Dark Side of the Force.
Best Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuPe-ly0BHM
The duel between father and son, it all comes down to this. Will Luke give into his Father and join the ranks of the Sith Lords, or will good conquer evil and the rebellion save the day? If you don’t know the answer to this question then I suggest you rethink your life.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G0IS94bBlM
Revisiting Dagobah. I’m not sure what is it about this scene but the pacing seems way off, I always felt like fast forwarding it as a kid just so we could get back to the main event.
Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
I waited 10 years for this film, not even knowing it was coming. It was perfectly crafted with new and old and not just the cast of characters but the use of practical effects and CGI. It didn’t feel like the green screen mess of the prequels and it restored my faith in the Star Wars franchise.
Best Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWF0f183tSA
Kylo Ren vs. Rey. Some will say that this scene makes no sense. Kylo should have easily beat Rey with his eyes closed. What everyone seems to forget is that Rey was a trained fighter and Kylo was just shot by one of the most powerful guns in the Galaxy. The Lightsaber battle is a welcome return to the saber battles we got from the original trilogy, not the over-choreographed dances we had in the prequels.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh-zGP-LcQQ
The death of Han Solo. Now this isn’t because the scene is poorly made, it’s because they killed off the best character in the franchise. Damn you Lawrence Kasdan, damn you!
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The first in the spin-off films… well as long as you don’t count the Ewok films Battle Of Endor and Caravan Of Courage. Rogue One had it’s problems while it was being made, with a rumor that over 40% of the film was reshot. Not that it matters because it has come out as one of the best entries in the franchise.
Best Scene:
The final 10 mins. It’s what was the catalyst to A New Hope. Seeing Vader lose his shit and destroying the rebels before losing the Tantive IV was amazing! At this point seeing Vader at this level was just hinted.
Worst Scene:
The opening titles. No, this isn’t because Rogue One didn’t have an opening crawl. It’s because the title they did have in the film looked like it was made with WordArt. I made the above in WordArt and I think mine is a step up in comparison!
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
The sequel that set the bar for sequels. So many films have tried to be it with very few coming even close. Empire gave us the best ground battle in the series with the battle of Hoth and left us with the biggest cliffhanger with the reveal of Luke’s father.
Best Scene:
The reveal of Vader as Luke’s father and making me wait to find out what happened next.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsY71TFWSSs
The scenes before the battle of Hoth. I get it, we need to see Luke show his knowledge in the Force and they needed to explain why the hell Mark Hamill looked so different in this film, but come on already just get to the AT-AT’s!
Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
I know a lot of you will read this and yell sacrilege for picking this as the Best Star Wars film. But what it all comes down to is that without this entry we wouldn’t have Empire. A New Hope introduces us to the Star Wars universe, the Force and freakin’ lightsabers. We get the first appearance of the greatest villain in cinematic history with Darth Vader and what can only be called the most epic space battle ever.
Best Scene:
https://youtu.be/2WBG2rJZGW8?t=9m56s
There are a few great moments in this film but the one that sticks is Luke’s trench run. We have just witnessed an epic space battle that all came down to the last hope of the Rebellion. This scene gets you on the edge of your seat right down to the sigh of relief we get from Luke when his torpedoes make it into the vent.
Worst Scene:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93DzOXD_91o
Worst scene has to go to the addition of Jabba the Hutt, that was added in the 1997 Special Editions. We had just seen Han be such a bad ass, when he killed Greedo then to see him almost grovel to Jabba to get more time on his debt left a sour taste in my mouth. Don’t mess with Han.
So that’s my list! What do you think? Did we hit the mark or not? Let us know in the comments below.