Ranking the Nine Skywalker Saga Star Wars Films

Star Wars is my favorite film franchise of all time, and probably always will be.  There's not a single film in the series that I do not enjoy.  As a huge Star Wars fan, I obviously have my preferences and opinions on the films.  For this list, I am ranking the Nine "Skywalker Saga" Star Wars films, so Episode I through Episode IX. 

And in my usual fashion with ranking things, I assign each one attributes and sort them.  The attributes are Rewatch-ability, Believability, Quality, and Lore. 
- Rewatch-ability is pretty self-explanatory, but to further explain, it's how much I look forward to watching the film if I am to rewatch the entire nine episode series. 
- Believability may seem odd for a sci-fi film, but it's more of if the Star Wars universe existed, how believable are certain actions and events that unfold.
- Quality is just how good of a film it is, from the plot to the acting to the visual effects.  We know the sound and music are always top-notch, but not always everything else.
- Lore is how well it contributes to the Star Wars lore.  Does it contradict other films?  Does it introduce too many new things?  If it does, I dock it a point or two at least.  Obviously the original trilogy will score best here.

Each rating is on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the lowest and 5 the highest.


9. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Rewatch-ability: 4
Believability: 2
Quality: 2
Lore: 3
Total: 11/20

Comment: Most consider Episode I: The Phantom Menace as the worst in the series.  For a while, I considered it slightly above Episode II, but it really isn't.  It's at least got some rewatch value, as the lightsaber battle is always fun to watch.  There's a bit of meme-worthy stuff, as well.  It suffers in its believability, such as when Anakin pilots a Naboo fighter and doesn't take it seriously.  It's never been considered a great film, and this is probably the Star Wars film where the acting is the worst.  It is the earliest in Star Wars chronological order, so it contributes a bit to its lore and doesn't do much to make the OT look bad.

8. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Rewatch-ability: 3
Believability: 3
Quality: 2
Lore: 4
Total: 12/20

Comment: Episode I for me is a tad more rewatchable than Episode II.  I can't explain it.  The visual effects are probably the worst, especially the awful green screens they had to use.  The worst is when Mace Windu jumps off a Republic warship shortly after the start of the Battle of Geonosis.  See what I mean here.  It is so clearly obvious he is in front of a green screen.  But this film signals the start of the Clone Wars, and I think it does a decent job of getting us hyped for it.

7. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
Rewatch-ability: 3
Believability: 3
Quality: 4
Lore: 2
Total: 12/20

Comment: Is this really the third worst Star Wars film?  It might be.  It's not bad; it's just not as good as the others.  It may be partially due to my high expectations, but I feel J.J. Abrams started out the sequel trilogy so well only to have it lack in the end.  I have seen every Star Wars film at least twice in theaters, and this and the next are the two I just didn't care to watch a third time for a long time.  Anyway, Palpatine coming back from the dead?  Sigh.  At least the film did well in the technical aspects, and a shoutout to Adam Driver for his terrific acting.  I've shared my thoughts on how I feel about Force Heal and Force transport items.

6. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Rewatch-ability: 2
Believability: 4
Quality: 4
Lore: 3
Total: 13/20

Comment: That may seem like a low rewatch-ability score, but there's only two scenes I ever look forward to when rewatching TLJ: Kylo turning on Snoke and killing him and the ensuing fight, and Luke and Kylo's "fight" at the end.  It's a decently made film in terms of effects and acting and I found it probably the most believable of the sequel films.  It started the Force transport items technique, which I am not a fan of.

5. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Rewatch-ability: 4
Believability: 3
Quality: 4
Lore: 4
Total: 15/20

Comment: So many meme-worthy quotes and scenes in this, which makes it very rewatchable.  I'm still not a huge fan of how Anakin turned to the dark side, but it's definitely the best made prequel film.  I did like how Anakin became Darth Vader physically and they captured that very well.

4. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Rewatch-ability: 4
Believability: 4
Quality: 4
Lore: 3
Total: 15/20

Comment: TFA is definitely the most rewatchable sequel film to me; I did see it three times in theaters.  Everything else was fairly decent and it was such a pleasant experience seeing a well-made Star Wars film with good acting and effects (and a well-written plot).  The part that was hardest to get over was how it cancelled out the Expanded Universe where Han and Leia had not just one kid but three, including a boy who turned to the dark side, just like Ben/Kylo.  But no one can say TFA is a bad film, and in my opinion, it's the best film outside of the Original Trilogy.

3. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Rewatch-ability: 4
Believability: 4
Quality: 5
Lore: 5
Total: 18/20

Comment: Most would agree RotJ is the worst of the Original Trilogy; but that's like saying The Fellowship of the Ring is the worst Lord of the Rings film.  It's still a really, really good movie.  I do find myself spacing out a little when I rewatch RotJ, if I'm being honest.  The only reason it doesn't get a 5 in believability is because of the Ewoks being able to take out the "entire legion of [The Emperor's] best troops".  It still fits in with the rest of the trilogy with being a high quality film and contributing mightily to the Star Wars lore.

2. Episode VII: The Empire Strikes Back
Rewatch-ability: 5
Believability: 4
Quality: 5
Lore: 5
Total: 19/20

Comment: Don't get me wrong, ESB is still amazing.  Most people consider it their favorite Star Wars film, and many consider it one of the greatest films ever made.  I just prefer the original over this.  I took off a point for believability (again) because of Luke heading to Bespin foolishly.  He also foolishly ignored Leia's screams of "It's a Trap!".  I guess Leia said it first.  But everything else is magnificent, and I'd feel overly critical to give this film less than a 19/20.

1. Episode IV: A New Hope
Rewatch-ability: 5
Believability: 5
Quality: 5
Lore: 5
Total: 20/20

Comment: To me, this feels like two movies in one.  There's the climax of escaping the Death Star and Obi-Wan and Darth Vader's fight, and then there's a second climax of Luke blowing up the Death Star.  This film epitomizes Star Wars, and not only have there been countless parodies of this film, but The Force Awakens is technically a re-imagining of this very plot.

So, here they are in order, from my least favorite to favorite:
9. Episode I TPM
8. Episode II AotC
7. Episode IX TRoS
6. Episode VIII TLJ
5. Episode III RotS
4. Episode VII TFA
3. Episode VI RoTJ
2. Episode V ESB
1. Episode IV ANH

If I were to include Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story, I would put Rogue One fifth behind The Force Awakens and I would put Solo between The Last Jedi and Revenge of the Sith.

And, let's see the average rank by trilogy:
Prequel: 7.3
Original: 2
Sequel: 5.6

A few of these could move up and down a spot, but not far.  The original trilogy is the best, and neither the prequel trilogy nor the sequel could live up to it.  The sequel trilogy, however, is better than the prequels as a whole. 

My Thoughts on the Cast of Star Wars Episode VII and the Roles I think They'll Play

The filming for Star Wars Episode VII is underway, with pretty much all of the principal cast having been announced.  The cast includes Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Domhnall Gleeson, Andy Serkis, Max Von Sydow, Oscar Isaac, and recently announced Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendolyn Christie.  I really like this cast.  I don't think it's perfect, but I'll hold my judgment for after having seen the film.  So for now, since no plot or character names have been revealed, I will predict the role each actor will have to see how close I get. 

Adam Driver: Main Bad Guy/Sith (Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus?)
Adam Driver has been rumored to be cast as the main villain, so I'll go with that.  Obviously, it would be near impossible for his character to compare to the legendary Darth Vader, but if he comes close, his acting and JJ/Kasdan's writing will be well-commended.  If I wrote the script, however, I would have Adam eventually be revealed to be the son of Han and Leia.  In the expanded universe novels, one of Han and Leia's sons (they had two sons and a daughter) turns to the dark side.  I would love to see Adam reveal to someone (his sister...?) that he is their brother.  If he is a bad guy, he will more than likely be a Sith and fight a few lightsaber battles. 

Daisy Ridley: Lead female, daughter of Han and Leia (Jaina Solo?)
Daisy Ridley is one of the unknowns to be cast, and seeing as the bears a resemblance to Carrie Fisher as well as the fact that in the cast release photo, seen below, she is in between Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford, I believe she will be playing their daughter.  Also, I'd like to point out each Star Wars trilogy has had a trio be the main stars, which included two guys and a girl (Han, Luke and Leia for the original trilogy, Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme for the prequel trilogy).  I think she'll definitely be the girl in the trio for this trilogy, more than likely continuing down the female line of Skywalkers. 

John Boyega: Member of trio, descendant of Mace/Lando?
John Boyega, another unknown (at least to me) cast, has a role that is hard to predict.  He is rumored to be one of the stars, so I'm guessing a good guy and one of the trio.  To add to his character, I think he'll be either a descendant of Mace Windu (Great-nephew?) or Lando Calrissian (Son/Nephew/Grandson).  He's got to have some connection to the rest of the characters, so being a relative of Lando's would be the most logical choice.  The fact that Billy Dee Williams has yet to be cast might mean the character of Lando is dead for this trilogy, meaning Boyega might be seeking vengeance or redemption.  But, if he's a Jedi, the most logical thing would be to have him be a descendant of Mace Windu.  I just can't pinpoint it. 

Domhnall Gleeson: Luke's son (Ben Skywalker?)
I love Dohnall Gleeson.  He was awesome in Harry Potter and he was brilliant in About Time.  He will make a fantastic addition to the cast.  His role is slightly hard to predict, but I'm going to go on a limb here.  I predict he will be Luke Skywalker's son, therefore completing the trio with Ridley and Boyega.  I could be completely wrong and his role could be just as a supporting character, like Bail Organa was in the prequel trilogy.  But the resemblance with his actor-father Mark Hamill is there, albeit slightly, and what's a Star Wars movie without a Skywalker as part of the main cast? 

Andy Serkis: Alien Creature (Bothan?)
Andy is arguably the best motion capture actor today, playing Gollum, King Kong, and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.  So it would be safe to assume he'd have another motion caption role.  Since this is a Star Wars film, he'll probably be an alien creature.  If I had to pick a species from the Star Wars universe, I'd say he'll play a Bothan, because they were mentioned in the original trilogy, but never shown.  Andy Serkis isn't tall enough to play a Wookiee, so that's not really a possibility.  He won't be the lead star of the film, but his role certainly will be interesting and will more than likely use the best in technology available.

Max Von Sydow: Evil Leader (that is killed off)
Many legendary actors have appeared in Star Wars, from Peter Cushing to Alec Guinness to Christopher Lee.  Most of them have played bad guys.  My best guess is that Max too will play a bad guy.  I think his role will be similar to Peter Cushing's in A New Hope.  He'll only be in one film and be killed off, but he will have an evil presence.  Someone is bound to arise 30 years after the fall of the Empire to try to bring it back, and maybe that could be Max's character that leads it.  I am pretty confident that they will kill off Max's character in Episode VII, because of Max's age and not wanting to commit to him for a full trilogy. 

Oscar Isaac: Evil apprentice
It is very hard to pinpoint what Oscar Isaac's role will be.  I loved him in Inside Llewyn Davis, but I don't think he'll have that large of a role for the new trilogy.  I think he'll be like a Darth Maul/General Grievous type villain, not really being the main villain but certainly one the heroes will have trouble with.  I would guess that he will also be a Sith and not just an Imperial Officer or anything.  I'll just say he'll be Adam Driver's apprentice that is probably killed off before Adam, but hopefully not in Episode VII.

Lupita Nyong'o: Asajj Ventress

One of the more recent additions to the cast was Lupita Nyong'o, the Oscar-winning actress from 12 Years a Slave.  There have been rumors that she could play Asajj Ventress, one of the main villains from the Star Wars The Clone Wars TV series.  I'll go with the rumors yet again, feeling that I might be wrong this time.  Asajj Ventress would be quite a few years older (approximately 60 years have passed since the Clone Wars).  But they curiously did not kill off Ventress in that series, because perhaps they were saving her for something else.  I could be wrong and Lupita could end up playing a descendant of Mace Windu or Lando Calrissian, or an entirely new character, but whatever role she has will be a very interesting one.

Gwendolyn Christie: Mon Mothma-type leader
I haven't seen Game of Thrones (yet) or anything else Gwendolyn Christie has been in, so it's hard to say what she's capable of as an actress.  She's more than likely playing a supporting character, and I will predict she'll play a role very similar to Caroline Blakiston/Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi.  She could even play her daughter or granddaughter.

Well, those are my thoughts on the cast and predictions for the roles they'll have.  Things will start to become clearer as things get leaked or announcements are made about the plot or characters.  I'm going to go back to this post after having seen Episode VII and see how bad or good I was at predicting the characters for each of the actors.  I can't wait!