Star Wars: Ranking Disney’s four movies from worst to first
After shocking the world by buying Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney’s put out four entries in the Star Wars saga — some better than others.
Remember when Disney announced the Star Wars sequel trilogy after purchasing Lucasfilm seven years ago? Yeah, I was riding high back then, too. What a time to be alive.
Has Disney made its mark on the franchise? Absolutely.
Is it a good mark? Depends on who you ask. Personally, I think that with every mistake it has made, Iger and company have done something to make up for it.
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Take The Force Awakens. It was a big hit with the critics, but some fans were split on it. It was aimed at kids, they said. It was a replay of the O.G. Star Wars, they said. Those fans had a point, but it was a success for Disney. Then, you had Rogue One, a movie that turned out to be one of the darkest entries in the franchise and something that fans had been craving for a while.
The Last Jedi is a different story–I don’t really need to explain why. Again, a hit at the box office (hard not to do, unless it’s Solo), but severely divided the Star Wars faithful. Pretty soon — emphasis on “soon” — Solo came around the corner and mended some of those wounds.
I’ve decided to rank Disney’s four Star Wars movies, in honor of Star Wars Celebration and the hopefully-soon-to-be-named Episode IX.
4) The Last Jedi
Photo Credit: [Star Wars: The Last Jedi] LucasfilmSee, my problem with TLJ is that there were times that it didn’t feel like a Star Wars movie. I get why people like it, I really do. You can’t argue with the throne room duel or the Yoda cameo, but it was one of those movies where I tried to convince myself it was good, and it just wasn’t (Batman v. Superman, anyone?).
It was like any other lead-up to a Star Wars movie — the hype was through the roof. This time, though, you thought you’d find out Rey’s lineage. You were sure you’d come out of it knowing who Snoke was, or how powerful Luke actually was.
But no.
I don’t want to sit here and go through what I didn’t like about it, mostly because it’s been kicked around enough. Oh, and it’s been almost a year and a half since it came out, so I think it’s time to move on.
3) The Force Awakens
Photo Credit: [Star Wars: The Force Awakens] LucasfilmTalk about hype.
Until Infinity War, I don’t think a movie had so much anticipation swirling around it than The Force Awakens. There were a ton of unknowns: who are these new kids on the block? Where is Luke? Why does C-3PO have a red arm?
One thing was for sure, though: Hurricane Cash Money was about to make landfall at Disney’s doorstep.
Honestly, TFA didn’t disappoint. It seemed to me (and a lot of other fans) that a bright future was ahead for Rey, Finn, and company. There were so many angles that needed to be explored — the Knights of Ren, Rey’s parents, Snoke’s origins, Luke’s status as the most powerful hermit of all time, etc.
In the end, The Force Awakens accomplished something that’s really hard to do — it set up a promising storyline.
2) Solo
Photo credit: Lucasfilm/Solo: A Star Wars Story
I loved Solo. I went into it prepared for the worst, but I came out pleasantly surprised. In the end, they brought my boy back, so that’s all I really care about here.
Seriously, though, Solo just really made me happy. It wasn’t a story that I needed or asked for, but I’m glad that I got it. Seeing how Han worked himself up the ranks of the underworld, how he met Chewie, his savvy pursuit of females, and everything else.
After Qi’ra screwed Han over, I was already convinced that I liked the movie. Then, the Son of Dathomir showed himself, and I came dangerously close to yelling “there is a God” in the theater.
1) Rogue One
You know, the only evidence I need here is the Vader rampage. I wrote out a whole post on that scene alone. Ya love to see it, folks.
Still, we all know that wasn’t the only great thing about Gareth Edwards’s masterpiece. It was just what us fans needed, a darker entry into the saga that filled the gap between Rebels and A New Hope.
Rogue One gave us a great mix of characters as well — a no-nonsense warrior (Baze), a Daredevil knock-off that I enjoyed (Chirrut), a likable protagonist (Jyn), and an atypical droid (K2). I want to see more material like Rogue One, but at the same time, I think it’s one of a kind.
Next. 10 moments we should see in Episode IX. dark