Now with the Skywalker saga finished, there is the long and always contested debate of the ranking of the Star Wars movies. Here is the ranking of every movie based on its best features and why it deserves its spot on the list. As expected spoilers ahead for all the Star Wars movies. 

11)  The Last Jedi- Some argue over the last spot but I believe TLJ easily takes the last spot on the list. This movie killed Luke’s reputation. He was known as the exiled, but well-respected Jedi, and they portrayed him as this wimp who quit on The Order with no motivation. They killed off Snoke without explaining who he was or showing his supposed power. The movie was the longest of the series and felt the most dragged out with barely any time moving in the plot.

10)  Attack of the Clones- The big movie of CGI. This movie was filled with CGI, long boring emotional scenes and little action. Its main good points are how they showed Anakin’s anger, the formation of clones, Jango Fett, and it was the first time seeing Grand Master Yoda fight. 

9) The Phantom Menace– Most consider this the worst movie but TPM has one saving quality which is Darth Maul. The whole movie feels very unlike the rest of the Star Wars movies. It is slow and barely any action with an overuse of CGI to show off new species of aliens. The music and action from the Darth Maul fight scene is one of the best in Star Wars. It involves for the first time three lightsaber wielders in one fight. This specific trio battle scene is also fast-paced and just overall very entertaining. 

8) The Force Awakens- With a big anticipation and the need of new ideas for a new trilogy, JJ Abrams was left in a tough place. The movie felt very similar to A New Hope but was liked well enough by fans, unlike the start of the prequel trilogy. The movie is not hated nor loved. TFA stands as number eight on this list due to its feel as just one of those middle movies among movie storylines.

7) The Rise of Skywalker- Some may love the finale, some hate it. ROS finished off the saga fine with the storyline of the Skywalker finishing out, Kylo redeeming himself, and The Sith finally dying off. 

6) A New Hope- There will be some slack for putting the very first movie here. ANH is great for starting the franchise and there are characters we love, but it’s also lackluster in some things. One of the biggest downsides is that Vader only shows for twelve minutes. The movie is loved by many as the best but many feel it lacked major fight scenes and the simplistic plot leaves it to be behind other great Star Wars films.

5) Solo: A Star Wars Story- Some found it hard to play the character of the great Harrison Ford, but Aidan Ehrenreich stepped up the plate and smashed the acting performance through the roof. He was able to display Han’s confident attitude while also showing his thrilling risk-taking. The plot gave great background of how we met Chewbacca and Lando as well as how Han got the Millenium Falcon. Also, the acting of Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian mixed with Glover’s looks, felt like he was an actual younger Lando. 

4) Return of the Jedi- Here lies the middle movie of the original trilogy. It has some of the best scenes like the fight over the Sarlacc pit and the Luke Vs Vader fight scene on the new Death Star in front of the emperor. It also has some slow points of talking and the most hated creature in Star Wars: Ewoks. Overall the movie is still one of the best and captures the hearts of many Star Wars fans. 

3) Rogue One: A Star Wars Story- Sceptical of a movie that is not part of the saga, some did not know what to expect going into this, but this movie captured the hearts of many fans. This movie had an interesting plot with all new characters, which gave great in-depth background of the rebel alliance, and a consistent moving plot to keep the moviegoer interested. The movie also used CGI to create a young Leia and a Grand Moff Tarkin with it looking completely natural. It had the feeling of an original trilogy film while involving new characters. The one downside many fans did not like was killing off almost the entirety of the new characters, but this was a theme of heroic deaths from within the rebel alliance. 

2) Revenge of the Sith- This movie easily made up for the previous two failures of Star Wars films. It profoundly showed the character development of how Anakin Skywalker turned into Darth Vader. We get the best fight scenes in all of Star Wars and get to see the power of the light and dark side of the force in full effect. The whole movie was action-packed, showing the fall of the republic and how the empire rose to be. It is hard to hate on ROTS as it gave a sweet kiss to cap off the prequel trilogy. 

1) Empire Strikes Back- This is widely accepted as the greatest Star Wars film and for good reason. Empire gives some of the most memorable scenes and quotes. From Luke taking down AT-AT’s on Hoth, to him training with Yoda on Dagobah, to Vader giving the infamous often mispronounced quote “No, I am your father.” Empire had it all and takes the #1 spot on this list. The whole movie shows the original band of characters displaying their main attributes and gives an inside look to the light and dark side of the force. Overall, Empire gave everything a Star Wars fan could want and is not only a Star Wars great, but in movie history, an amazing movie.