Considering how long the Star Wars franchise has been running and how popular it remains, a major topic of discussion is always how fans rank the movies against each other. Some will swear by the original trilogy, a handful love the prequels, and there are certainly fans of the sequel trilogy from Disney.
There are even some fans who think the side stories are the best. Along with audience rankings, there are ones done by the ratings on places like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. Another good place to look for rankings is on Letterboxd, which is home to many movie buffs. The site allows members to rate them on a five-star scale.
12 Attack Of The Clones (2.5)
It's safe to say that many fans were pretty disappointed with Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace. However, there was hope that the 2002 sequel, Episode II - Attack of the Clones could be an improvement. After all, Anakin Skywalker was being aged significantly so the story could get closer to what fans originally loved.
Alas, it ended up being another missed opportunity. Audiences felt that Anakin came across as a whiny teen, the love story with Padmé missed the mark, and the CGI doesn't hold up well. Most ratings are either two or three stars, though nearly 10,000 users actually gave it the perfect five-star rating.
11 The Phantom Menace (2.6)
There's actually a tie near the bottom of the list as two different entries have the 2.6/5 score. Not many movies can top The Phantom Menace in terms of pure anticipation. After over a decade of waiting, fans were finally getting a new Star Wars in 1999.
Of course, as mentioned, it didn't work out the way fans hoped. Going way back to seeing Anakin as a kid didn't really work out and the plot was bogged down by focusing too much on politics. There were some great action scenes and Darth Maul quickly became a fan favorite though. Most ratings have this at three stars.
10 The Clone Wars (2.6)
Not to be confused with the TV series of the same name, this worked as its introduction. 2008's The Clone Wars marked the first animated entry into the franchise. The most important thing it did was debut the now-iconic character of Ahsoka Tano to the lore.
The characters went on to change drastically over the course of the show and while this wasn't very well-received, it did a fine enough job of setting things in motion. The Letterboxd scores are consistent, with most being between two and three stars total.
9 The Rise Of Skywalker (2.7)
The sequel trilogy is one of the most interesting in cinema history. After some fans were upset with The Last Jedi, 2019's The Rise of Skywalker seemed to go in the opposite direction, which made for a muddled series of films. Though there were attempts to crowd please with this final movie, it didn't totally work.
The Rise of Skywalker wrapped up the Skywalker Saga and had some great moments but it seemed like the reviews were middle of the pack. The majority of the ratings have it right at three stars, with very few considering it to be an all-time great or to be terrible.
8 Solo: A Star Wars Story (3.0)
Honestly, this rating feels perfect. 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story seems like the most 3/5 or 6/10 movie in history. For starters, most fans agreed that the tale of Han Solo's past wasn't something that needed to be explained. He's not that kind of character.
Although it forced many callbacks to the rest of the series, it had some strong suits. A few action scenes were good, Darth Maul made a surprise appearance, and Donald Glover was electric as a young Lando Calrissian. Indeed, 50% of the total reviews are either three or three and a half stars.
7 The Last Jedi (3.3)
It's easily the most divisive movie in all of Star Wars. It made some choices that loyal fans felt ruined the franchise. On the other hand, director Rian Johnson took admirable risks and the absolutely gorgeous nature of this 2017 blockbuster cannot be denied.
The ratings are all over the place on Letterboxd. Four stars is the most common, closely followed by three stars. Then there's two and a half, two, and five stars. The cinematography is breathtaking, there are good performances, and some questionable side storylines, so it's certainly a mixed bag.
6 Revenge Of The Sith (3.4)
There's no question that the best entry in the prequel trilogy was Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. The first two chronological entries in the Skywalker Saga were viewed as pretty big disappointments and that may have altered expectations by the time this 2005 iteration arrived.
That being said, it's clearly a good movie. This sets up the beloved original trilogy and culminates Anakin Skywalker's turn to the dark side. He got to don the Darth Vader suit for the first time and fans got to see arguably the franchise's best lightsaber battle. Most reviews have this between three and four stars.
5 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (3.6)
The first attempt at telling a side tale within the Star Wars movie universe came with 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The original 1977 movie begins after the plans for the Death Star are stolen, while Rogue One explains the story of how they were taken.
Fans fell in love with these characters, even though they knew they were doomed. The battle scenes were heavily praised, as were the performances. There was also the epic scene of Darth Vader destroying his foes. Four stars is the most common rating, while only 2% of reviews are under two stars and 11% are between two and three.
4 The Force Awakens (3.6)
It's widely agreed upon that the first installment of the sequel trilogy is the best. In 2015, Disney made the controversial decision to render things like the novels as "non-canon" and came up with their own story to continue the Skywalker Saga. It worked the first time out.
New characters like Finn, Rey, and Poe proved to be fantastic and very likable, while Leia, Han, and the rest of the characters from the past were used the right amount. Throw in a huge spectacle and great action and this worked. The majority of the ratings are at four stars.
3 Return Of The Jedi (4.0)
If you ever needed proof that the original trilogy is still viewed as the best, this is all you need. The entries with the highest ratings are those three. First up is the final leg of the trilogy, which is 1983's Return of the Jedi. Only 3% of the total reviews scored under three stars.
While a few fans were unhappy with things like Boba Fett's death and the Ewok storyline, most view this as a fitting conclusion (for the time) of the series. The most common rating is again four stars, though the full five stars is the next most frequent.
2 Star Wars (4.2)
Sometimes, it's hard to top the original. 1977's Star Wars (later commonly known as A New Hope) changed the face of movies when it arrived. This space opera looked unbelievable and still mostly holds up several decades later while also starting one of the world's biggest franchises ever.
This was a remarkable introduction to the likes of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Leia Organa, Han Solo, and more. The perfect five star score is actually the most common, with 34%, while four stars (31%) and four and a half stars (16%) are next in line. It's an all-time classic.
1 The Empire Strikes Back (4.4)
In a bit of a surprise, Star Wars managed to somehow improve with the second entry. 1980's The Empire Strikes Back upped the ante in a major way. Luke went deeper into his Jedi training, Leia and Han grew closer, the action was bigger, and characters like Yoda, Lando, and Boba Fett made their debut.
For a look at how remarkably high the ratings are, only 2% are under three stars and a mere 12% are under four. Meanwhile, a whopping 46% have it at five stars, meaning nearly half the people who reviewed The Empire Strikes Back find it to be perfect.
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April 04, 2021 at 05:30AM
