Star Wars Movies in Order of Preference

I’ve always appreciated Star Wars. I’d watched Episode V a few times and I’ve always had a fascination for Darth Vader but I don’t think I’d ever really, truly taken it all in.

At the start of lockdown, I realised I had a ridiculous amount of time on my hands so there was no time like the present to sit down and immerse myself in what would quickly become awe of the franchise.

I spoke to my brother and informed him of my intention, and he offered a suggestion of the order to watch them in. He even got a bit huffy-puffy when I said I’d skip past Rogue One and Solo so, as not to upset him, I promised I would include them in the list. I’m glad I did, although he’s still a bit miffed that I haven’t yet completed the set as I haven’t watched The Last Jedi (2015) or The Rise of Skywalker (2019). The reason being, I was a little bit miffed myself; it really upset me when *spoiler alert* Han Solo was killed and the first person Leia consoled was Rey and not Chewbacca. It just didn’t seem right to me so I’m boycotting them until I feel like I’m over it.

So, I’m going to put the Star Wars movies in order of my own preference. You may agree or you may be horrified with this order but here we go…

1. The Empire Strikes Back: Episode V

This was definitely my favourite. I felt it was much more fast-paced than A New Hope and, even though everyone knows the most famous cinematic spoiler in the history of the arts, I still had goosebumps when Darth Vader revealed himself to be Luke’s father. I just felt the movie flowed so much more than any of the others and I loved the closeness of the characters by this point. I even got the whole Han Solo/Harrison Ford fascination as, well, he is a little bit dreamy actually!

Also… Yoda! (He’s not dreamy, I just thought he was brilliant!)

2. A New Hope: Episode IV

I loved this movie. It was just so ahead of its time. The story and the effects were just epic for 1977. It really did have everything going on and if I’m feeling overwhelmed by such beautiful cinematography in 2020, then I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like viewing this masterpiece for the first time when it first came to cinemas.
I recently read that Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford had an affair during the production of this movie and I became a little obsessed with reading about her infatuation with him – I think that the chemistry is strikingly noticeable between them, particularly in Empire.

From the storm troopers to the Death Star, this movie had a lot going on.

Oh, and Han shot first!

3. Revenge of the Sith: Episode III

I think I may receive some frowns for putting one of the prequels into the top three, but I thought this movie was a brilliant prelude to the original franchise. I became a little obsessed with Palpatine’s descent into darkness and thought he was so menacing as he took Anakin with him… then there was the moment when you heard *spoilers again* Padme’s heartbeat stop at the same time as Anakin’s… and then Darth Vader was born. Again, goosebumps.

4. The Return of the Jedi: Episode VI

Ay up – who’s that on the left?
(I jest, I know it’s the original Anakin)

This was a nice movie to round off the original franchise. It also put the world’s most awkward love triangle to bed as Luke finally worked out that Leia is his sister. Awks. I think what I liked most about this movie was the return of the ghosts at the end – it gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling that let me know that Luke Skywalker was going to be OK.

5. Attack of the Clones: Episode II

Well, Anakin looked a bit different. This is also the movie where things got a bit weird and uncomfortable as Padme was a lot older than Anakin, and she met him when he was a child. Other than that, this movie was good for one of, if not the, best fight scenes in the franchise – and, I have to say, I just really loved Samuel L. Jackson’s purple lightsaber. Only Samuel L. Jackson could pull that off.

6. Solo: A Star Wars Story

I thought this was a great addition to the franchise. I don’t think it gets a good enough press but I much preferred it to Rogue One. I thought Alden Ehrenreich and Danny Glover were brilliant as a young Han Solo and Lando – they both perfectly captured the charm and charisma that their older versions displayed in the originals. It also gave two classic characters a well-deserved backstory.

7. The Phantom Menace: Episode I

I know, I know! I can hear you all screaming at me as I dared to put The Phantom Menace at number 7, above Rogue One and The Force Awakens. However, I stand by this movie as it was the first I ever saw of any of the Star Wars movies. I believe I was about 14/15 at the time and I was captivated by the Jedi manoeuvres of Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and not to mention Darth Maul’s double-ended lightsaber.

I didn’t get the whole Jar-Jar Binks thing though. He was a nause.

8. The Force Awakens: Episode VII

This movie was OK. The only reason it worked was because it was a regurgitation of the original franchise – the original gang back together to defeat another Skywalker who has been lured to the dark side by Lord Sidious. It felt forced to me (hang onm is that why it was called The Force Awakens??) and I’ve already expressed my disappointment with Leia for comforting Rey who knew Han for five minutes when Chewie would have been devastated. It really did put me off watching the final two movies. Convince me I should…

9. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I think this movie was one for the action lovers amongst us. It didn’t excite me as much as the others because I felt it lacked depth in story. I didn’t connect to any of the characters and I felt like I didn’t really care about anyone; it was just a filler for plot-holes, I believe.

So, there we have it. I think I’ve probably infuriated some Star Wars fans (my brother, mostly!) and, for that, I do apologise. However, I’m open-minded enough to be convinced that I’m wrong so feel free to annihilate the order of my choices!

Loula Bella xoxo