Star Wars is one of the biggest movie franchises in the galaxy and has grown considerably since A New Hope back in 1978. Each movie, both pre and post-Disney, has its moments that stand out amongst the best these stories have to offer, but there are also some low points. I'm here to talk about both, and maybe share some controversial takes on the best and worst parts of every major movie Star Wars has ever made, after a recent binge with my Disney+ subscription.
Some of these takes tackle the biggest complaints and high points of the franchise, and some capture the moments we don't talk about enough. Surprisingly, Jar Jar Binks did not make the list, but there are a lot of other things we need to talk about from each movie.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Best Thing: Luke's Destruction Of The Death Star - When it comes to all-time moments in blockbuster cinema, there are few scenes as thrilling as Luke's run in the X-wing to destroy the Death Star. Despite impossible odds, he is able to channel the Force and destroy the Empire's greatest weapon in its arsenal. This might be the top moment in all of Star Wars, period, hence why it's a highlight.
Worst Thing: Han Stepping On Jabba's Tail - The special edition cuts are controversial for how they altered the originals, but this scene is without question the worst of them all. Han disrespecting Jabba in their meeting and going so far as to step on his tail and injure him is absolutely bonkers, given what we know about Jabba. He kept Han frozen in carbonite for months in his bar for owing him money. I believe Jabba would've thought nothing of having Han killed right then and there for this, money be damned. As such, it's a real lowlight of this movie.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Best Thing: Vader's Reveal To Luke - It's one of the most mind-blowing reveals in movies, to the point that it's been parodied to death. While the impact of Vader revealing he's Luke Skywalker's father isn't felt quite as strongly now as when it first happened in theaters, the scene itself is still so awesome and definitely the high point of one of Star Wars strongest films.
Worst Thing: Leia Kissing Luke On The Lips - Of course, one of the best Star Wars movies also features the most painful scene in the franchise's history. Leia plants a big kiss on Luke in an effort to make Han jealous early in the movie, and Luke kicks back in an effort to brag. Of course, we find out in Return of the Jedi that they're brother and sister, which makes the whole scene just painfully awkward and not even Mark Hamill joking about it can shake the ick. Of all the things that have been done to change the movie over the years, why hasn't this been removed?
Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi
Best Thing: Everything In Jabba's Palace - Jabba The Hutt's palace is, quite possibly, one of the coolest sets in sci-fi history. Some fans might complain about the movie spending around a half-hour in the gangster's palace, but you won't see me doing that. Luke's Rancor fight is great, and Leia killing Jabba is one of Carrie Fisher's best Star Wars scenes. All of this happens in the Jabba scenes, and I think without it, the movie wouldn't have been nearly as good.
Worst Thing: The Ewoks - Stormtroopers are incompetent, and the Empire made plenty of mistakes during the Galactic Civil War. With that said, I've always struggled to suspend my belief enough to buy that a trained army with modern weapons could possibly lose to a bunch of small fuzzy Ewoks using primitive technology.
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Best Thing: The Introduction Of Darth Maul - If you're someone who has watched Star Wars Rebels or read the expanded materials, you already know that Darth Maul is a gift to the universe. Even then, this villain kicked off the prequel trilogy in an awesome way with his unique lightsaber and look that was so frightening I can't help but think he inspired that demon from Insidious. Plus, he killed the immensely powerful Qui-Gon Jinn and set up an arc with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Those who haven't checked out other works with Maul that feature some of his best moments definitely should.
Worst Thing: Anakin And Padme's Dynamic - I won't go so far as to say that Anakin and Padme's scenes in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace are unrealistic, but they are certainly uncomfortable. Trying to lay the framework for an eventual romance when the characters are 9 and 14 was a weird choice, and I still question why it even had to be established in the first place. Is it so hard to believe this romance waited to blossom until they were both adults?
Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones
Best Thing: Seeing The Jedi Council In Action - Star Wars: The Phantom Menace introduced the Jedi Council, and then we went the entire movie without seeing them in action. Attack Of The Clones rectifies that with a massive battle between most of the members and Count Dooku's Separatist droids. We also get the first-ever Yoda lightsaber duel, which still holds up even in these days of modern CGI.
Worst Thing: Anakin And Padme's Romance Scenes Are Bland - One thing this movie would never be accused of being is a romance film, despite any attempt to make one. The romantic chemistry between Anakin and Padme is minimal and almost painful at times. The best thing I can say about these scenes is that they led to Anakin's iconic rant about hating sand, which has lived on well past the praise for this movie.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith
Best Thing: Battle On Mustafar - I've had a theory for a long time that when people say they like the sequel trilogy, what they really mean is they love the Battle on Mustafar. Let's be honest, it's the greatest lightsaber duel in the history of Star Wars cinema, and it will be very hard for any future film to outshine it. It's pretty hard to top any duel in which the loser bursts into flames.
Worst Thing: The Slaughter Of The Younglings - As Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker would go on to commit plenty of atrocious acts that far outweigh anything he did in Revenge Of The Sith. The exception, I'd argue, is the slaughter of a multitude of Younglings in the Jedi temple. That alone should've kept him from any redemption he allegedly got down the line, and is a rare display of the true evil of this Skywalker in the movies.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Best Thing: It Led To The Acclaimed Television Series - The television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars might be the best Star Wars show/movie ever made. Dave Filoni's fleshing out of the Clone Wars era led to wonderful characters like Ahsoka Tano, as well as a greater appreciation for the prequel trilogy from fans who craved more information about that time. None of it would exist without the movie, which, as we'll get into, wasn't quite as well respected.
Worst Thing: It's Not The Quality Of The Acclaimed Television Series - Many people tend to forget The Clone Wars started with a movie, and with good reason. It's one of the most panned movies in the franchise and found widespread criticism for being a movie that relied on knowledge of deep franchise lore, but also had a lame plot geared primarily toward children. The series would find a way to balance that tone in its series run, but the first attempt clearly missed the mark.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Best Thing: The Fresh Cast Of Characters - Star Wars: The Force Awakens needed a cast of fresh faces to lead the sequel trilogy, and damn, did they hit the jackpot. Daisy Ridley alone would've been enough to put this cast over the top, but Adam Driver, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac? That's a solid group to lead a sequel trilogy, regardless of anyone's thoughts on how it all turned out.
Worst Thing: It Feels Like A Reskinned Version Of A New Hope - The Force Awakens is a good film, but it gets that reputation primarily by being A New Hope with a new cast of characters and many of the original legacy characters. It doesn't do anything to shake up the formula of the original movie, which might be the biggest crime, seeing as it didn't give much for the movies after to build on.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Best Thing: Vader's Hallway Scene - If there's one thing the original trilogy could be faulted for, it was how it failed to make Darth Vader look like more than a stiff robot. I mean, yeah, that's what he is, but as more movies went on there was a great disparity between the amazing duelist Anakin Skywalker and the stiff saber-using Darth Vader. This one scene bridged that gap considerably and showed in a very simply scene why Vader was one of the most feared people in the galaxy.
Worst Thing: CGI Grand Moff Tarkin And Leia - De-aging and digitizing actors is still a controversial process in 2023, and we've gotten better in executing it than when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story came out. Grand Moff Tarkin's scenes are hard to watch, and he almost looks like a caricature of Peter Cushing at times. The Leia scene is easier to overlook since it's so short, but even then, it's far from perfect. I see them as two unfortunate missteps in an otherwise perfect movie.
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Best Thing: Rey and Kylo Ren Fighting Off The Elite Praetorian Guards - If the duel on Mustafar is the best duel in Star Wars history, I would say this scene from Star Wars: The Last Jedi is a close second. Rey and Kylo Ren coming together to defeat the elite praetorian guards minutes after he killed Snoke is an incredible sequence and some of the best fight choreography in the entire franchise.
Worst Thing: The Canto Bight Story - Whether you love or hate this movie, there is no denying the Canto Bight adventure that Finn and Rose go on is overly long and a bit unnecessary. After all, they go there looking for a master codebreaker and end up returning with someone completely different. The scene was meant to be like a "cold water" reset, except I felt soggy and without a towel after.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Best Thing: The Train Heist - There aren't many exciting moments in Star Wars you can point to that take place without a single lightsaber. The train heist is definitely one of Solo's coolest scenes that bucks that trend and delivers high-flying action for the entire sequence. It also accomplishes this while being relatively low-stakes in relation to all that happens in the universe, and I think we need more of that in the franchise in general.
Worst Thing: The Necessity To Shoehorn In Han Solo Explanations - Solo: A Star Wars Story wanted to tell the tale of Han Solo and how the famous galactic smuggler came to be. Weirdly enough, it seems like literally every key moment of his life came together in this one adventure. This movie worked a little too hard to explain the key moments of Han's past, and it hurts the movie.
Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise Of Skywalker
Best Thing: The Reveal That Rey Was A Palpatine - The reveal that Rey is a Palpatine is the absolute mic drop moment of the sequel trilogy. To find out the hero is the descendant of the galaxy's most evil character was incredible and set up Rey in a big way for future Star Wars stories.
Worst Thing: We Don't Get Much Time With That Reveal - Unfortunately, Star Wars sat on the Rey Palpatine reveal far too long. Fans needed more time to sit with it, and I think if we could go back in time, we'd make this come out in The Last Jedi. Instead, we got it toward the end of the sequel trilogy and the Skywalker saga. The twist was kneecapped and should get more acknowledgment in stories going forward.
Disney+ is the home for all things Star Wars, be it movies or television. While there's still quite a gap between now and the next movie, this might be a great time to do a rewatch and find the things people like or dislike about each movie.
