All Twelve Star Wars Films RANKED!

Star Wars is one of my favorite film series of all time, but it is also a series with many mixed films, as well as many polarizing films. I warn you that if you are a massive, die-hard fan of any of the three trilogies, this article may come as rage bait to you, and I recommend that you do not continue to read this article so you don't lose your mind. However, suppose you are okay with agreeing to disagree, dealing with possibly controversial opinions, keeping an open mind, and, well, being a grown-up on the Internet. In that case, I'd love for you to continue to read this article. Now, without further ado, I, Brighton Nelson from The Reel Ranker present to you... All Twelve Star Wars Films RANKED!

12 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars

The Reel Ranker Score: 26%
Letter Rating: E

Year Released: 2008
Common Critic Consensus: 27%
Common Audience Consensus: 50%

You know, it's almost like mashing multiple mostly disconnected episodes of television could be a bad idea or something. Oh, wait. It is. This movie literally was a more mainstream, theatrical way of introducing Star Wars fans to The Clone Wars TV show. As a glorified advertisement, this movie is simply brilliant. As an actual attempt to make a good, coherent Star Wars theatrical film? This is an abomination. I don't blame LucasFilm—this was an intelligent and primarily inoffensive business tactic that I can't blame anyone for making. Still, outside of financial admiration, this film is basically a few of the most abysmal episodes of the animated The Clone Wars show amalgamated into a gilded crap show of galactic proportions. Maybe Admiral Holdo was the one who came up with the "genius" plan to make a movie as bad as this... 

11 - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The Reel Ranker Score: 39%
Letter Rating: D

Year Released: 2019
Common Critic Consensus: 52%
Common Audience Consensus: 66%

The first time I watched this film, I absolutely adored it. Now? While I don't hate it as much as many, I certainly can't say it's good either. Where The Last Jedi bends the rules and traditions of Star Wars, this film bends the rules of narrative storytelling in some overtly lazy ways. For this movie to be genuinely fantastic, its overstuffed plot would need to have its fat trimmed off or would have to be extended into an epic like Zack Snyder's Justice League or split into a one-two-punch finale like Infinity War and Endgame. However, as a convoluted mess of new characters, unexplained plot points, bizarre McGuffins, and Finn yelling "Rey!", this movie was a bit of a letdown with tons of missed opportunities. I still like it for what it is, but not nearly as much as the other movies on this list. At least the "it's not a navy, sir, it's just… people" quote is one of the best of the whole saga! 

10 - Solo: A Star Wars Story

The Reel Ranker Score: 42%
Letter Rating: C

Year Released: 2018
Common Critic Consensus: 65%
Common Audience Consensus: 62%

I have no problems with Solo—it's an almost perfectly flawless Han Solo adventure and a decent enough origin story with a charismatic cast and only a couple of silly plot holes. It's practically unblemished, but it also doesn't do anything all too special with its characters or plot ideas. I'm delighted this film exists, but that's mostly how I feel about it—it exists. I'll put it on in the background now and then, but simply put, it's a star-studded, high-budget, Hollywood blockbuster in a distinctly Star Wars font.

9 - Episode IV: A New Hope

The Reel Ranker Score: 48%
Letter Rating: C

Year Released: 1977
Common Critic Consensus: 92%
Common Audience Consensus: 92%

And this is where everyone executes Order 67: the order to kill me, Brighton Nelson—and, frankly, at least I'd die an honest man. Nevertheless, I think this is a pretty average film on its own. The characters are brilliant, and many of the emotional sequences are impeccable, but if it weren't for all the great sequels and prequels, this movie isn't all too impressive on its own. It's a very well-written and perfectly-paced, snappy sci-fi film, but I don't find too much this film does better than the others. I don't mean to offend anyone's childhood, but as a fellow person who grew up watching this movie, I don't find it as memorable as any of the films that rank higher on this list.

8 - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The Reel Ranker Score: 50%
Letter Rating: C

Year Released: 1983
Common Critic Consensus: 71%
Common Audience Consensus: 89%

This is the Star Wars film I have the most mixed opinions about. On one hand, the final ship fight and the final duel? Those are immaculate sequences. On the other, there's too much time dominated by the cute (and pointless) Ewoks. On one hand, the Jabba's Palace sequence is tons of tons of fun, but, on the other, it makes not even a googolplex-eth of an ounce of sense (and it takes up way too much of the movie's runtime). It has its moments. Not many of them, but it does have them. It doesn't have enough of them to rank higher in this highly competitive ranking. Regardless, it's just good enough to edge out over many other films on this ranking.

7 - Episode I: The Phantom Menace

The Reel Ranker Score: 52%
Letter Rating: B

Year Released: 1999
Common Critic Consensus: 51%
Common Audience Consensus: 61%

Yes, Jar Jar Binks is a dumba**, but that really doesn't sour this film for me, and I've always found this to be more extraordinary than the first installment of the original trilogy, even if just by the smallest of minute margins. Many people's least favorite things about this movie are some of my favorites—namely, young Anakin and the never-ending galactic politics. I love seeing Anakin at the actual start of his journey, and as a politically inclined history buff, I have an enjoyment of galactic politics that some may consider... unnatural. I also love Qui-Gon Jinn and young Obi-Wan a lot, as well as, of course, Darth Maul and his enigmatic presence and his fantastic Duel of the Fates. The Battle of Naboo is intense (just an unfunny stretch of a joke for you; you're welcome), and the podracing scene? Probably my favorite scene of the movie—I know, quite out of the ordinary when the Duel of the Fates is in the same film. However, as much as I adore this movie, cutting out the Gungans and spending a little less time on Tatooine could've highly benefitted the film, and, in the end, this movie doesn't have as many iconic, memorable scenes as the subsequent movies on this list. 

Side note: Yoda looks like the man junk of a domestic and hypersexual Sarlaac, but that'd be unfair to include in a critical analysis of the film. So let's move on.

6 - Episode VII: The Force Awakens

The Reel Ranker Score: 66%
Letter Rating: A

Year Released: 2015
Common Critic Consensus: 71%
Common Audience Consensus: 89%

I've always found this to be like a modern reimagining of A New Hope, and this was a better film than the original. Before you use a Jedi Mind Trick and attempt to bring me to the "light side" of movie criticism, hear me out. I adored Finn in this movie—if the later sequels didn't ruin him, that is. If he weren't ruined, he'd likely be my second favorite Star Wars character after Ahsoka. I loved that it took a simple plot like Episode IV and gave it a grander scope and, in my candid opinion, more emotions. While this film's utilization of Kylo Ren makes him look like the most epic villain ever in his scene on Jakku, just to make him later look like a bumbling buffoon lacking Vader's screen presence, that's a minuscule stain on what I find to be the most polished and inoffensively good Star Wars film of them all. Call me a traitor to the Galactic Republic and try me for treason all you want, but my opinion will stand firm until the day I die.

5 - Episode II: Attack of the Clones

The Reel Ranker Score: 69%
Letter Rating: A

Year Released: 2002
Common Critic Consensus: 60%
Common Audience Consensus: 59%

There are many reasons this is an underrated Star Wars film in my eyes—and it's not just because of my dad's abnormally high praises for the film (though that may play the slightest bit into it, but likely a smaller part than Rose's in Episode IX—like Luke, I am not always too much like my father). Seriously, this is his favorite film in the series. But I digress. This movie is filled to the brim with galactic politics that, as aforementioned, I thoroughly enjoy. It boasts perhaps my favorite climax of the series in the Battle of Geonosis, as well as some fantastic lightsaber duels. The romance between Padme and Anakin is so unironically abominable that it is ironically some of the most entertaining and memorable on-screen chemistry of any film I've watched. The subplot about Obi-Wan, the Fetts, and the Clone Army is a brilliant setup for later in the movie and for the eternity of Star Wars media. I'd be hard-pressed to find anything I dislike about this movie except for a couple of moments that drag out too long. This is a brilliant and underrated film, and it sets the groundwork for one of my favorite films of all time, Revenge of the Sith.

4 - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

The Reel Ranker Score: 76%
Letter Rating: S

Year Released: 1980
Common Critic Consensus: 89%
Common Audience Consensus: 94%

While I've always vastly preferred the complex storytelling and atmosphere of the prequels over the more straightforward and less thought-provoking originals, Episode V uses its simplicity to make for one of the most outstanding and breakneck, fast-paced sci-fi adventure films ever made. With not a dull moment, tons of action and emotions, twists and turns, and endlessly iconic moments, there's a reason this is the most critically acclaimed Star Wars movie and often cited as one of the best sequels ever made. I genuinely think this movie far surpasses the other films in its trilogy and is able to hook me in a way that the simpler, less "convoluted" original trilogy films do. This movie justified the simplicity of its narrative and made it into a masterpiece, giving it more than enough reason to place this high on this ranking. 

3 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Reel Ranker Score: 80%
Letter Rating: S+

Year Released: 2016
Common Critic Consensus: 75%
Common Audience Consensus: 82%

Everyone goes on and on about the Battle of Scarif and the Darth Vader hallway scene, but there's so much more to this movie than those two scenes! I loved the characters, the narrative, the setting of each of the planets... it's brilliant. I get why some people find it overrated and why some find it underrated—it's not exactly for everyone, and it's not exactly too crucial to the plot of the Skywalker Saga. But for there to be a much more modern and intriguing film of the original trilogy that has the complexity I like from the prequels? It's fantastic. What a bloody good film.

2 - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi

The Reel Ranker Score: 88%
Letter Rating: S+

Year Released: 2017
Common Critic Consensus: 87%
Common Audience Consensus: 42%

And this is where people will torture me like the Sith... but, whatever, I'll withstand it like Jack Bauer in the custody of the Chinese government. I'm a sucker for plot twists, and for that, this movie is an absolute guilty pleasure of mine. I can see why people hate this movie, but I can equally see why people (mostly critics) love this film. As a traditional Star Wars fan, there's a part of me that is offended by this movie. But as a plot twist addict who wanted to see something entirely new from the Skywalker Saga? This was a fantastic movie. Whenever I'm bored and want to a watch a more light-hearted and less complex Star Wars film? This is the one I always gravitate toward—it's my most-watched Star Wars movie for a reason. Again, I understand why it's not for everyone, but it's certainly for me (as much as the Star Wars nerd in me is furious about the rule-breaking fiascos, but, unlike many, I'm over it by now).

1 - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

The Reel Ranker Score: 95%
Letter Rating: The Reel Tier

Year Released: 2005
Common Critic Consensus: 74%
Common Audience Consensus: 72%

While The Last Jedi may be my fun, lighter-to-digest, guilty pleasure Star Wars film that I watch the most, this is indisputably my favorite Star Wars film and, in my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time. The character line-up in this movie? Easily the best of all the films. The lightsaber duels? Far better than any of the other movies, with the Obi-Wan and Anakin versus Dooku, Obi-Wan versus Grievous, Yoda Versus Palpatine, Mace Windu versus Palpatine, and, of course, the Battle of the Heroes. The space battles? Immaculate. But even without all the well-choreographed action, I'd still find this movie brilliant. The fall of Anakin from light to dark is one of the most compelling sequences I've ever seen in a movie, and Order 66 is still haunting all these years later. I could rant for pages and pages about how phenomenal this movie is, but to continue would be to undermine my self-admitted strong and concise argument about how good this movie is, so... enough is enough. This is one of the best films of all time.

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The Verdict

The Reel Ranking:

12 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars (26%)
11 - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (39%)
10 - Solo: A Star Wars Story (42%)
9 - Episode IV: A New Hope (48%)
8 - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (50%)
7 - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (52%)
6 - Episode VII: The Force Awakens (66%)
5 - Episode II: Attack of the Clones (69%)
4 - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (76%)
3 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (80%)
2 - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (88%)
1 - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (95%)

Common Critic Consensus:

12 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars (27%)
11 - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (51%)
10 - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (52%)
9 - Episode II: Attack of the Clones (60%)
8 - Solo: A Star Wars Story (65%)
7 - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (71%)
6 - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (74%)
5 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (75%)
4 - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (87%)
3 - Episode VII: The Force Awakens (88%)
2 - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (89%)
1 - Episode IV: A New Hope (92%)

Common Audience Consensus:

12 - Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (42%)
11 - Star Wars: The Clone Wars (50%)
10 - Episode II: Attack of the Clones (59%)
9 - Episode I: The Phantom Menace (61%)
8 - Solo: A Star Wars Story (62%)
7 - Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (66%)
6 - Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (72%)
5 - Episode VII: The Force Awakens (76%)
4 - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (82%)
3 - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (89%)
2 - Episode IV: A New Hope (92%)
1 - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (94%)