By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
“Star Wars” is easily one of the most important parts of my life. I’ve been watching those films since before I can remember. My Christmas tree is mostly “Star Wars” ornaments, my bookshelf is covered in the novels and my Lego collection is not the kind I’d show a girl after a first date.
I frequently get asked what I think the best “Star Wars” film is and it usually breaks into a long, passionate rant. It’s time to set these opinions in stone.
The best film in the franchise is “Episode V: Empire Strikes Back.” This film has it all: intense battle scenes, compelling characters, a huge expansion of the “Star Wars” universe and one of the most intense plot twists in movie history. “Empire Strikes Back” is dark, iconic and easily the best “Star Wars” film around.
My second favorite is an unpopular opinion. I think the second best “Star Wars” film is “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” The writing is atrocious, the acting is almost worse and Lucas’ vision didn’t quite translate to screen the way he wanted, but that doesn’t change the fact that “Revenge of the Sith” is a huge, beautiful film in the Universe that I love oh-so-much.
I don’t watch “Star Wars” because it’s a well written piece of art, I watch “Star Wars” because I love the politics, I love the history, I love the mystery. I believe that “Revenge of the Sith” is a beautiful bridge between the prequels and the original trilogy that expands the Universe more than any other film did.
The third best is “Episode IV: A New Hope.” One must give credit where credit is due. “A New Hope” is a simple film, but one that shaped this entire trilogy and my life. Compared to the other films, it’s very small but without it there would be no “Star Wars.”
Tied for fourth is “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” and “Episode VII: The Force Awakens.” These are both great films with huge flaws. “Return of the Jedi” is repetitive with the second Death Star. Also, it irritates me that the Galactic Empire is taken down by a bunch of cute tree bears. The film doesn’t finish out the series as largely as I would want and that definitely brings it down.
“The Force Awakens” is also a really great movie that brings in new characters and revamps the series. My problem with it is that it is essentially a redone “New Hope.” A group of people, against all odds, work together to destroy a giant planet-killing superweapon. I really didn’t need to see that a third time.
The worst two films are “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” and “Episode II: Attack of the Clones.” Scientifically explaining the force, romantic subplots, Jar Jar Binks and overdone politics make for a pretty lackluster two movies.
There are some great parts of those films though. Seeing the Jedi in all their glory is extremely satisfying and characters like Count Dooku and Jango Fett went down as instant classics. The novelizations are also very well-written and help to fix some of the things that the films got wrong. On my movie watching list, however, they sit at the bottom.
My honorable mention is the most recent spinoff movie “Rogue One.” Overall, “Rogue One” is a mundane film that is easy to fall asleep to in the first hour, but the last act of the movie puts the “War” in “Star Wars” more than any other film does.
The stakes are high and remain feeling high, the loss feels real and tragic and the action scenes are dark and intense. Before “Rogue One,” battle scenes never felt very intense. Mostly because it’s obvious that the main characters would survive and good would win. “Rogue One” blurs those lines a bit and makes for a great battle sequence.
“Star Wars,” to me, is the most exciting fictional Universe around. The lore is rich with mystery and there are hundreds of doors that could be opened. Whether the film is good or not, all “Star Wars” movies are important and help to create one of the best series in entertainment.
Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu
