The Star Wars franchise is a series that has had some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999, directed by George Lucas) is the first film chronologically in the franchise, and it’s not very good.
The film itself follows Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (played by Liam Neeson) and his padawan Obi-Wan Kanobi (played by Ewan McGregor) investigating why the trade federation is blocking the peaceful planet of Naboo.
So, how does such an epic series with some of the most unforgettable characters in cinema begin? Well obviously the first thing that would come to anyone’s mind is trade disputes and space taxes.
Aside from a few exceptions, the acting is either painful or stilted. The characters aren’t very likable or are annoying.
Some of the few good points are the character of Darth Maul (played by Ray Park) even though he has the character of tofu is intimidating, and the fight scene involving him and the two leads is very well done along with music that goes with it.
The pod racing scene, while a little long, is still fun and feels like Star Wars.
The next film unfortunately is not much better.
Attack of the Clones (2002) is also directed by George Lucas and still has Ewan McGregor returning as Obi-Wan.
The film follows Obi-Wan and his padawan Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen) investigating the attempted murder of Senator Padme Amadala (played by Natalie Portman).
This film is either really interesting or really painful to watch.
The part with Obi-Wan investigating and looking into clues is a lot of fun and a good cat and mouse. Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan is so sassy that everything he says makes me chuckle.
The other half, with Anakin and Padme’s love story, is full of stilted dialogue and wooden performances that would probably offend Pinocchio.
Similar to the last film, the saving grace for this film is the fight scenes and its villains.
Count Dooku (played by the late, great Christopher Lee) is a very good villain, who pulls off intimidation, charisma, and grace.
The final 30 minutes of this film is just non-stop, very well done action.
Thankfully the next film is much better than the last two films.
The last film in the prequel trilogy, The Revenge of the Sith (2005), is a bit darker but is a much better put together film.
The film is directed once again by George Lucas and still stars Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, and Natalie Portman as the same characters in the last film.
The film is about the tail end of the clone wars and the fall of the Jedi order.
Obi-Wan and The Emperor (played by Ian McDiarmid) make this movie.
Obi-Wan is still the sass master and comeback king, making every interaction enjoyable while still having his dramatic moment.
And the Emperor is just a million flavors of fun. He can be charming, intimidating, subdue, bombastic, and most of all manipulating.
The action as always is fun and exhilarating.
The film still suffers from the earlier films problems but instead of falling on its face, merely stumbles.
Hayden Christensen is still a little wooden though he is better than he was in Attack of the Clones. And the dialogue is still as stiff as a cadaver.
The next film chronologically is Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018; that’s a mouthful) directed by Ron Howard and stars Alden Ehreneich as Han Solo, Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca, and Woody Harrelson as Beckett.
The film goes into the backstory of Han Solo, showing how he became the scoundrel we all know and love.
If you looked up the picture of meh on google, this movie would show up.
There’s nothing atrocious about the film, but there’s not a lot great about it either.
This film funnily enough also has two really good things going for it: Chewbacca and Han’s friendship and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, which is just pitch perfect casting.
The film’s biggest flaw is how they handle Han Solo. He’s too nice and willing to give up his reward in return for doing the right thing.
Han in the original trilogy was a good person too but he was still a smuggler and still would want to make a profit at the end of the day. And would only help someone for free if they were a really good friend of his.
The next film chronologically wise is Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016).
The film is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones as Jyn Erso, Diego Luna as Cassian Andor, and Ben Mendelsohn as Orson Krennic.
The story is about Jyn and Cassian trying to get the plans of a new and deadly weapon, the Death Star, which has the capability of destroying an entire planet.
Right off the bat, this film is great. The action is so grounded and interesting, while still being fun
The characters, while not the most in depth, are still fun to watch, more specifically Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, who is downright hilarious.
That hallway scene with Darth Vader (played by James Earl Jones) is worth the price of admission alone.
The film’s biggest flaw is the deepfakes for Grandmoff Tarken and Princess Leia; sometimes they look pretty good and sometimes they look like eldritch abominations.
We are finally in the original trilogy. Star Wars, or Star Wars: A New Hope, (1977) was directed by George Lucas (good to see you again) and stars Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo (remember him) and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.
The film set directly after Rogue One and is about Luke, Obi-Wan (played by Alec Guinness), Han Solo, Chewbacca (played by Peter Mayhew) and two droids R2-D2 (played by Kenny Baker) and C-3PO (played by Anthony Daniels) on an adventure to rescue Princess Leia and deliver the Death Star plans to Rebel HQ.
This film is remembered fondly for a reason — the world-building, the heroes, the villains, the practical effects, the sound design, the music, and the story are all top notch.
Aside from hokey acting at certain parts and special editions questionable additions the film is amazing. If you for whatever reason haven’t watched it, stop what you are doing (it’s not that important anyway,) and go watch it!
And believe it or not the next film The Empire Strikes Back, (1980), directed by Irvin Kershner, is even better.
The film is about Luke learning more about his abilities and Han and the rest of the gang on the run from the empire.
This film does what every good sequel should do, build on the story of the original in engaging ways, while introducing new ideas and new characters.
This film in my eyes is near perfect and has no flaws that aren’t just nitpicks.
The same, if less so can be said of the third and final film of the original trilogy Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983).
The film was directed by Richard Marquand and features the original cast.
The film’s plot is set a few months after Empire and follows the gang’s plot to rescue Han and finally defeat the Empire once and for all.
This film’s beginning and ending acts are really good, but the middle act is a bit meandering, making for an uneven experience.
But aside from that, the acting, action, sound effects, etc., are all still top notch. Out of the original trilogy, this is the least amazing film.
After a several year hiatus, the sequel trilogy began with the seventh Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, (2015), directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley (who plays Rey), John Boyega (as Finn), Oscar Isaac (as Poe), and Adam Driver (as Kylo Ren).
The plot is about a group of people finding the plans of a super weapon that could destroy an entire planet and trying to get those plans to the resistance.
The first thing one might notice is that the film is very similar to A New Hope, which depending on how you look at it will either bother you or won’t.
It doesn’t really bother me personally so I’m fine with it being a bit similar if it means easing us in. But some people do have a problem with it being similar.
And characters aren’t immediately as interesting or charismatic as the original, aside from Kylo Ren.
The film itself is fine, but nothing special.
The next film The Last Jedi (2017, directed by Ryan Johnson and stars the same cast as the last film) is a very divisive film. You either hate it or you love it — there is no in between.
The film is about Rey trying to learn from Luke who is less than willing to teach her. And the rest of the Resistance on the run from The First Order, which has replaced the Empire as the source of all evil.
This film does some things really poorly and some things really well.
Starting with the positives, the film looks great and the action is really well done, with some great set-pieces.
The story and characters are straight up not well written, loved characters are straight up not acting like they should, characters not telling each other pertinent information, and story plots that are dropped and go nowhere.
The character of Luke is straight up assassinated in this film.
Luke in the previous films was many things: hot-headed, inexperienced, sometimes forgets to look before he leaps, and kind-hearted.
One thing he wasn’t was a coward, yet in this film he is. We learn in this film the situation is partially his fault and instead of owning up to his mistake and trying to fix it. He just goes into hiding on an island planet and lets Leia deal with the powerful enemy he himself created.
The next film is The Rise of The Skywalker, (2019, directed by a returning J.J. Abrams) is better than Last Jedi but still isn’t great.
The film is set a few months after Last Jedi. It turns out the Emperor (once again played by Ian McDiarmid) was alive the whole time. How? I don’t know! So Rey, Finn, and Poe need to find out where he’s hiding in order to launch a strike on his location and kill him for real this time.
This film has the pacing of a yellow-jacket hopped up on caffeine, that being all over the place.
The action is fine, and it takes itself a bit less seriously than last time, but the film feels like it’s on autopilot just going through the motions.
The Star Wars films are a collection of films ranging all over the place.
From best to worst film, it’s A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Rogue One, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens, Solo, Rise of The Skywalker, Attack of The Clones, Phantom Menace, and The Last Jedi.
Patrick Pugh writes for the Thunderword.