The Student News Site of Bryan High School

The Norseman

The Norseman

The Norseman

Dark side to Light: Star Wars movie franchise spans the galaxy on quality, entertainment

Star Wars, created by George Lucas in 1977, is my favorite movie franchise of all time. Many fans were opposed to Lucas selling the series to Disney, but personally, I couldn’t be more pleased because it will allow the series to continue on.
There are so many good standalone movies in the franchise, I don’t even know where to start. I have ranked movies from the franchise in order from my favorite to my least favorite.

1. Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Pros:
– Despite the Ewoks inhabiting the planet, the Battle of Endor is my second favorite battle in the entire series.
– The entire movie is peppered with amazing quotes, such as my favorite quote of all time, where Luke says to Palpatine, “You have failed, your highness. I am a Jedi, like my father before me.”
– The last 30 minutes of the movie is arguably the best 30 minutes I’ve ever spent staring at a TV screen. We get the the Battle of Endor, Luke vs Vader, Palpatine’s demise, and even a celebration scene.
– Luke vs Vader is one of my favorite duels in all of Star Wars.

Cons:
– Jabba’s Palace scene could have been shorter, it just felt like it was too long for me.
– I’m not the biggest fan of the scene where the rebels are captured by Ewoks, just because it was kind of boring.

Overview:
Although there are some prolonged scenes, Return Of The Jedi keeps me entertained each time I watch it. Overall, my favorite part is when my favorite character, Han Solo, devises a plan to trick the imperials into opening the back door. The look on his face is absolutely priceless.

2. A New Hope (1977)
Pros:
– I love when Han Solo returns in the Millenium Falcon and knocks Vader’s ship into the sky because he had a change of heart and decided to help the rebels.
– The ending left me satisfied, but still excited for the next movie.
– Character development is crucial to the story because this is where we are first introduced to the characters and they did an excellent job.

Cons:
– There is a small error where there is blood when Ponda Baba’s arm is cut off with a lightsaber, which was not the case in later episodes because lightsabers cauterize wounds.
– Luke seemed to care more about “Old Ben’s” death than his own aunt and uncle, who raised him, I just think they should have made him act sadder about the death of his aunt and uncle. He obviously cared about them, you can tell by the way he raced home. So why wasn’t he more heartbroken?
– Leia didn’t seem too bothered when Alderaan blew up, although her foster parents were there, and all of the other people she knew. She didn’t try very hard to stop Tarkin and the imperials from destroying it.

Overview:
From start to finish, A New Hope was nearly a perfect film. From the cantina scenes, to Han’s flying maneuvers, Episode 4 is on the brink of being my top Star Wars film. I have almost no complaints, other than some technical errors. And to think, this film was made in 1977! The graphics for the time this was made are ridiculous!

3. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Pros:
– Han Solo gets a lot of screen time, which is definitely a plus for me.
– Of course, the most iconic scene in all of Star Wars, where Darth Vader reveals he is Luke’s father, is the best part of this movie.

Cons:
– I’ve never been able to watch this one without having to watch the next one, since Han Solo was left encased in carbonite, it leaves me hanging and having to watch the next movie.
– The scene where Luke is placed inside of the Tauntaun is kind of gross, and I would have preferred it to be left out

Overview:
To be honest, none of the other 7 movies even come close to the likes of the original trilogy. The first 3 are bunched in a little group where they’re just a hair shy of each other, while the others take a large drop in their respective order. Overall, even though Episode 3 was my least favorite of the original trilogy, the margin is minimal and I would say the action in Episode is just a bit slower than the other two.

4. Attack Of The Clones (2002)
Pros:
– The Clone Troopers’ first appearance left me with goosebumps. I can still hear Yoda’s words: “Around the survivors, a perimeter create.”
– When I first got to see Yoda fight (against Dooku) it was not only amazing but it was also shocking.

Cons:
– It seems most of the movie is focused on the relationship of Anakin and Padme, and although I understand that it is what eventually leads to Anakin’s downfall, I feel that it could have been developed without pulling so much screen time.
– Although it may seem insignificant, I feel like Ewan McGregor as Obi Wan should have had shorter hair, because his mullet kind of bothered me.
– I would have preferred for Mace Windu to have received more screen time.

Overview:
Although this is what I would say is the most boring Star Wars created by Lucas, it produces some of the greatest scenes in the series, enough to push it as my favorite movie of the prequels.
5. The Phantom Menace (1999)
Pros:
– Anakin Skywalker’s blowing up the space station is definitely one of the best parts.
– The Battle of Naboo was the highlight of the movie.

Cons:
– Not much character development for Darth Maul
– There wasn’t as much action or fighting as other Star Wars movies.

Overview:
Although I loved this movie, it doesn’t exactly live up to the “War” in Star Wars. But still, there were some good parts: R2-D2’s intro scene left me with goosebumps, as did Anakin’s N1-starfighter scene. The Battle of Naboo finally brought us back to the fighting that the earlier parts in the movie lacked.

6. Revenge Of The Sith (2003)
Pros:
– Probably the most emotional Star Wars movie.
– Intro scene with Obi-Wan and Anakin was the best part of the movie, as it’s one of the few times Anakin is good.
– The whole movie was really good, other than the fact that it was so sad because a lot of characters died.

Cons:
– This movie leaves me feeling depressed every time I watch it.

Overview:
I love this movie, I’m not going to lie. But I have a hard time watching it, because It’s just so hard that everyone has to die. The movie is just too sad, which is why I’m putting this as my least favorite one of Lucas’s Star Wars films.

7. Rogue One (2017)
Pros:
– Overall amazing characters, from Jyn Erso to Director Krennic.
– Darth Vader’s finishing scene was just about the coolest thing ever.

Cons:
– Literally every new character they introduced died in the movie.
– There isn’t a single lightsaber duels.

Overview:
Similarly to Revenge Of The Sith, Rogue One is absolutely great, but to be honest, is just too sad. This is just inches shy of the prequels, and it’s easily Disney’s best Star Wars film. If everyone wouldn’t have died, this might have even been rated higher.

8. The Last Jedi (2017)
Pros:
– Two absolutely breathtaking scenes take place in this movie: When Admiral Foldo sacrifices herself to save the rebellion is a more solemn moment, and there’s also the Praetorian Guard Battle, which is extremely cool.
– Poe Dameron’s character is my favorite thing Disney has done with the new trilogy, and his role is even better in this movie than in The Force Awakens.

Cons:
– Luke Skywalker’s initial reaction was just not something he would do at all. The same person who was always saying, “there’s still good in him” is now just saying “I failed” and “go away”. Even the actor of Luke, Mark Hamill, who played the part in 1977, 1980, 1983, 2016, and 2017, disagreed with the direction they took his character.
– Everything with Finn and Rose was just…hard to watch…Rose changed her entire outlook on life and I found that unrealistic…I wasn’t happy when at the end she was still alive.
– I don’t even like the main character, Rey, and I’m annoyed she’s taking over Han’s ship, The Millenium Falcon.
– Yoda, similarly with Luke, was unlike himself in the film.

Overview:
This movie has some extremely good parts and some extremely bad parts. Overall though, I feel like the movie was pretty good. It had a really good ending and middle, despite its disastrous start. And although I liked Yoda bringing down the lightning, he never would have said of the Jedi texts, “that library contained nothing that the girl Rey does not already possess”, because she was still learning the ways of the force. And I didn’t mind most of the jokes, but there was just an excess of them, enough where it was kind of annoying.

9. Solo (2018)
Pros:
– Tobias Beckett, one of the main characters in this movie is one of my favorite characters created by Disney.
– Even though I was skeptical, Alden Ehrenreich surprised me, and actually did a pretty good job portraying Han Solo.
– I actually liked how they had Han speak Wookie.

Cons:
– The way they portrayed the Kessel Run was annoying to me, I feel like they should have had Han pilot it the whole time.
– Han Solo got the name “Solo” because he was alone. Like THAT’S THE STUPIDEST THING I’VE EVER HEARD OF. Good job, Disney.
– Chewbacca. Does. Not. Eat. People. Period. GET IT RIGHT, DISNEY.

Overview:
Other than Tobias Beckett, I hated the movie. Without him, this would be by far the worst Star Wars movie ever. As it stands, though, he is in the movie, so it barely outpaces The Force Awakens. But a lot of the backstory that they gave Han in the movie movie disgusts me.

10. The Force Awakens (2016)
Pros:
– Han Solo had more than just a cameo in the movie, and I loved all of his scenes, save his death.
– Poe Dameron’s return scene was breathtaking and shocking at the same time. It was just like, “What?! He’s not dead?!”
– The beginning scene was great, especially the part where Poe is making fun of Kylo.
– General Hux was a funny, enjoyable character.
– BB-8’s scene’s were fun to watch.

Cons:
– Han Solo’s death left me in tears. Even after I walked out of the theatre the first time I saw it, I was finding it hard to compose myself. I was bothered by his death for a good month, and I would say that it is one of the main reasons I hate this movie.
– When Rey fought Kylo, she seemed to be his equal. How? She had never even ignited a lightsaber before while he was well-trained in the Jedi arts.
– Rey’s character just wasn’t developed in a way that I would have liked.
– There are no Siths…let me say this again…THERE ARE NO SITHS.

Overview:
Overall, this movie doesn’t have much in its favor. It’s a good movie, I guess, just because it’s Star Wars, but that’s about all I can say for it. Yes, there are some characters who I like, but those characters didn’t get very much screen time, so for me this movie is the worst Star Wars to date.

Star Wars IX is set to come out this December, and I’m hoping Disney can build on the storyline they created and move on from their previous mistakes and make a great film. I hope that they will continue to make Star Wars films in the future, and for that to happen, Star Wars fans need to realize that Disney will never be perfect, and accept the movies Disney is giving us.

Donate to The Norseman

Your donation will support the student journalists of Bryan High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.

More to Discover
Donate to The Norseman