“Let’s get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person: me.” As someone born in 1977, the year Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope hit cinemas, this writer is taking on a (Han) solo mission to rank the best Star Wars movies.
All jokes aside, your favorite Star Wars movies probably depend on when you were born. Think Ewoks are silly muppets for kids? Well, if you were a kid in 1983, there’s a good chance you loved Wicket and had the action figure to prove it. You probably think less of Jar Jar Binks though.
Then there’s the sequel trilogy. Star Wars: Episode VII –The Force Awakens revived Star Wars for a new generation, while what followed sparked arguments that still haven’t died down.
And where does The Mandalorian & Grogu fit into all this? Check out our ranking of the best Star Wars movies to find out.
Before we start, there’s no room at the Cantina for Star Wars: The Clone Wars or any TV specials. Got it? Let’s blow this thing and go home.
12. Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
- Release date: December 20, 2019
- Director: J. J. Abrams
- Cast: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Ian McDiarmid
What it’s about: “Somehow Palpatine returned.” In the final part of a sequel trilogy that suddenly seems to forget the previous movie happened, old electric fingers himself is back from the hole he fell into decades earlier. As the Resistance tries to stop the reborn Emperor, Rey discovers the truth about her past while Kylo Ren struggles between the dark and light side of the Force. Although, he is the only light in the film.
What we think: Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker might actually be a better standalone movie than Attack of the Clones, but it lands at the bottom because it completely lost its nerve after the backlash to Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. The result is an incoherent ending to the Star Wars story that has totally forgotten what happened before it.
Suddenly Rey’s story changes direction, old plot points are abandoned, and Emperor Palpatine is awkwardly shoved back into the picture like somebody remembered Star Wars needed a villain at the last minute. Had the movie properly followed on from Episode VIII, sure, it might still have annoyed some fans, but at least the sequel trilogy would have made sense.
That’s a shame because there are good performances buried underneath the chaos. Adam Driver is excellent once again as Kylo Ren, while Daisy Ridley does her best to hold everything together as the story spirals around her.
And as with most Star Wars movies, there’s still something memorable here. This movie’s podrace is the lightsaber duel on the wreckage of the Death Star, which is genuinely fantastic. We’ll always have that. We just had to sit through a movie messier than the trash compactor to get there.
11. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
- Release date: May 16, 2002
- Director: George Lucas
- Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Christopher Lee, Temuera Morrison
What it’s about: As Obi-Wan Kenobi investigates an assassination attempt on Senator Padmé Amidala, Anakin Skywalker is assigned to protect her and begins falling to the dark side while a mysterious clone army is created in secret.
What we think: What’s worse? Fumbling the ending of a beloved saga with an incoherent sequel or creating one of the only Star Wars movies with barely any excitement or memorable moments?
This is the movie that put the soap into space opera, with the romance between Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala giving us more cringe than chemistry. Then there’s Anakin moaning about sand.
The fact that Jar Jar Binks has less screentime is one of the movie’s few redeeming features, while Jango Fett feels included just to give older fans somebody cool after they spent years wondering about Boba Fett’s backstory. Honestly though, it’s hard to remember much about Attack of the Clones. The final arena battle has some energy, but it’s hardly the Death Star trench run or even Darth Maul facing Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon in The Phantom Menace.
10. Solo: A Star Wars Story
Disney- Release date: May 25, 2018
- Director: Ron Howard
- Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany
What it’s about: Set years before Han Solo could call everyone “kid,” this follows the young would-be smuggler as he tries to survive on the streets of the galaxy. Along the way, we learn how he met Chewbacca, won the Millennium Falcon, and earned the name Han Solo.
What we think: The origin story of the coolest smuggler in the galaxy sounded like a good idea in the wake of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but Solo was so-so. In fact, its disappointing box office performance meant that other Star Wars stories about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett weren’t told on the big screen.
It’s not completely awful. Alden Ehrenreich wisely avoids doing a straight Harrison Ford impression, while Donald Glover clearly enjoys himself as Lando Calrissian. The train heist is decent fun too, even if it’s not exactly Han Solo being chased through the asteroid field in the Anoat system.
The rest just doesn’t have the energy you’d expect from a Han Solo movie. The dodging lasers, the wisecracks, even the romantic chemistry – it all feels about as lifeless as Han Solo frozen in carbonite.
9. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
Lucasfilm- Release date: May 19, 1999
- Director: George Lucas
- Cast: Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ray Park
What it’s about: Set an even longer time ago than the original trilogy, The Phantom Menace follows Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they protect Queen Amidala during a growing political crisis. Along the way, they discover a gifted young slave called Anakin Skywalker while a mysterious Sith warrior emerges from the shadows.
What we think: There’s a generation gap between those who love the prequels and those who still pretend they don’t exist as part of the story. There’s a reason for that.
It’s hard to explain just how exciting Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace felt in 1999. Fans queued through the night to see the first new Star Wars movie in 16 years, feeling the thrill as the John Williams score blasted through cinemas. Then the disappointment slowly started creeping in as the opening crawl rolled down the screen.
Bogged down in needless politics almost immediately, The Phantom Menace felt strangely dull, while adults who already thought Ewoks ruined Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi suddenly had to deal with Jar Jar Binks. Kids probably didn’t mind him though.
If there was one thing almost everybody agreed on, it was that Darth Maul was impossibly cool and the podrace absolutely ruled – so much so that a classic Nintendo 64 game was built around that one sequence.
Today, the crushing anti-climactic feeling has faded almost as badly as the dreadful CGI. It’s still dull, though.
8. Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu
Disney- Release date: May 22, 2026
- Director: Jon Favreau
- Cast: Pedro Pascal, Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White
What it’s about: Set after the events of the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian is working for the New Republic on a mission across the galaxy to find and rescue Rotta the Hutt, Jabba the Hutt’s son, and return him to his family. However, with the Hutt twins not to be trusted, Mando and his cute companion Grogu (the artist formerly known as Baby Yoda) soon go rogue.
What we think: The Mandalorian and Grogu is lucky not to have the baggage that can weigh down the main Star Wars series. A spin-off from the Disney+ show, it’s an action-packed blast.
Mando himself has some John Wick-style moves with his blaster, while Grogu remains as adorable as ever whether he’s eating snacks, getting told off for pressing buttons, or using the Force to save the day.
At times it feels completely Star Wars, with the Hutt twins, funny creatures, Stormtroopers, orange jumpsuits, and X-Wings. At others, it doesn’t – especially in the modern rain-soaked metropolis of Shakari, which feels like something out of Blade Runner.
The only thing that really feels out of place is Jeremy Allen White’s Rotta the Hutt, whose American accent and muscular build make him feel nothing like his slimy relatives – but maybe that’s the point.
7. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
Lucasfilm- Release date: May 19, 2005
- Director: George Lucas
- Cast: Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson
What it’s about: As the Clone Wars reach their conclusion, Anakin Skywalker is pulled closer to the dark side by Chancellor Palpatine while Obi-Wan Kenobi hunts down General Grievous and the Jedi Order edges toward destruction.
What we think: “Noooo…” Darth Vader doesn’t shout “Nooooo…” He goes “Hmmm paah,” then talks in a deep, menacing tone before force choking some goon with his fingers. If we’re being generous, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith made the Dark Lord seem more human in a tale that finally put the prequel trilogy to bed.
Many would say thankfully (this writer included), but after hours of politics and awkward romance punctuated by occasional thrills like the podrace and pretty much every moment Darth Maul appeared on screen, Revenge of the Sith finally gave us a story to care about: how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader.
Yes, there was still clunky dialogue, stiff performances, and bad CGI, but the march on the Jedi Temple was suitably dark while the final Obi-Wan versus Anakin duel on Mustafar felt like the payoff fans had waited years to see.
6. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi
Disney- Release date: December 15, 2017
- Director: Rian Johnson
- Cast: Daisy Ridley, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Carrie Fisher
What it’s about: After finding Luke Skywalker hiding on a remote island, Rey hopes to convince the former Jedi hero to help the Resistance in its war against the First Order while Kylo Ren grows more powerful and conflicted.
What we think: How you feel about Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi kind of depends on how seriously you take Star Wars. Did Luke Skywalker casually lobbing a lightsaber over his shoulder raise a snigger or a gasp?
This writer definitely sniggered.
While Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens was undeniably fun, there was criticism that it was basically another Death Star story. The Last Jedi wasn’t that. Directed by Rian Johnson, the man behind the brilliant sci-fi movie Looper, it took risks.
Not all of the ideas worked – The casino planet sequence drags badly – but at least The Last Jedi had ideas in the first place. Instead of treating Luke Skywalker like an untouchable superhero, we were shown showed what decades of failure, guilt, and regret might actually do to someone carrying the weight of an entire galaxy on his shoulders.
Rey and Kylo Ren also had genuine chemistry, while Adam Driver continued to prove he was easily the sequel trilogy’s most interesting character. This is one of the best-looking Star Wars movies ever made too, and it was packed with memorable moments, from the hyperspace attack to Luke’s final stand (or sit).
5. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
Disney- Release date: December 18, 2015
- Director: J. J. Abrams
- Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
What it’s about: Set decades after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows scavenger Rey, former Stormtrooper Finn, and Resistance pilot Poe Dameron as they become caught up in a new war against Kylo Ren and the rising First Order.
What we think: Whatever you think of Episodes VIII and IX, can we all agree that Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens remembered Star Wars is supposed to be fun?
That was reflected in the cast too. Daisy Ridley instantly made Rey likeable, John Boyega gave us a Stormtrooper with an actual conscience, while Oscar Isaac became the coolest pilot in the galaxy despite barely being in half the film.
That said, Star Wars is also serious. After all, this is a series where entire planets get wiped out by giant space weapons and The Force Awakens understood that balance. Finn’s horror after the Jakku massacre felt real, while Kylo Ren was the first genuinely menacing villain Star Wars had produced in years. Watching him force that crossguard lightsaber into Finn’s shoulder was one of the standout moments.
Then you had the escape from Jakku, the Falcon chase through the wreckage, and Kylo Ren freezing a blaster bolt in mid-air before casually walking away from it. The whole thing moved faster than a podracer on Tatooine.
Yes, it borrowed heavily from Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. There was another desert planet, another masked villain, another droid carrying important information, and yes, basically another Death Star. But after years of trade disputes, senate meetings, and awkward sand monologues, safe probably wasn’t the worst idea.
4. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
Lucasfilm- Release date: May 25, 1983
- Director: Richard Marquand
- Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Ian McDiarmid, Billy Dee Williams
What it’s about: As the Rebel Alliance launches one final attack against the Empire, Luke Skywalker attempts to save Darth Vader from the dark side while Han Solo and Leia Organa lead a mission to destroy the shield protecting a second Death Star.
What we think: Ewoks didn’t ruin Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi. The internet did. At the time, hardly anyone was complaining about the cute little critters. Ok, maybe if I’d been 16 instead of six I wouldn’t have liked Paploo, Nippet, and Wicket W. Warrick as much, but seriously, it just wasn’t a conversation. Sure, they sold loads of action figures, but when they cost a couple of dollars and came with cool cloaks, who cared?
Besides, Return of the Jedi had so many memorable moments – Jabba the Hutt, the Sarlacc Pit (even if fan favourite Boba Fett did get accidentally chewed up by it), and the final showdown between Luke, the Emperor, and Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker also looked properly cool for the first time with his black Jedi outfit and replacement hand.
What holds it back slightly is that parts of it feel too familiar – another Death Star, another desperate attack on a giant Imperial weapon, and another huge celebration once the Empire is defeated.
3. Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
LucasFilm- Release date: May 21, 1980
- Director: Irvin Kershner
- Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Frank Oz, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels. Peter Mayhew
What it’s about: After the Rebel Alliance is forced to flee its hidden base on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker travels to Dagobah to train with Jedi Master Yoda while Han Solo, Leia Organa, and Chewbacca try to evade Darth Vader and the Empire.
What we think: For many people, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie. The Godfather Part II of Star Wars, if you like.
And for good reason – it’s absolutely brilliant and packed with incredible moments. The Battle of Hoth feels like something out of a war movie, only with AT-ATs instead of WWII tanks. Lando Calrissian’s betrayal and Han Solo being frozen in carbonite was genuinely shocking for those of us who counted him as our first action hero, and then there was the big twist which nobody saw coming at the time.
Empire also gave us one of Star Wars’ most iconic characters in Yoda and some incredible locations like Cloud City, Hoth, and Dagobah, although having watched the original trilogy and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story again recently, Luke’s Jedi training is honestly a bit dull. Sorry, I know.
An incredible middle chapter and easily the riskiest Star Wars film until Episode VIII, Empire Strikes Back deliberately leaves you hanging, which is why it doesn’t quite feel as complete as A New Hope.
But then, that’s also exactly why so many people think it’s the best.
2. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Lucasfilm/Disney- Release date: December 16, 2016
- Director: Gareth Edwards
- Cast: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Ben Mendelsoh
What it’s about: Set just before A New Hope, Rogue One follows a group of rebels on a desperate mission to steal the Death Star plans before the Empire can use the planet-killing weapon to tighten its grip on the galaxy.
What we think: Ok, it’s another Death Star story, but what a Death Star story. Rogue One gets almost everything right and, because it’s a Star Wars Story rather than an episodic chapter, it gets away with a much darker tone.
There are no cute creatures, no chosen one prophecies, and no attempts to soften the reality of what the Empire actually is – a brutal fascist regime building a weapon capable of wiping out entire planets.
That darker tone is established immediately when Cassian Andor shoots his own informant rather than let him fall into Imperial hands. Suddenly, Star Wars feels dangerous again. Later, Donnie Yen’s blind warrior Chirrut Îmwe quietly repeating “I am one with the Force and the Force is with me” became one of modern Star Wars’ most memorable moments, while Jyn Erso’s speech before the Scarif mission is genuinely punch-the-air rousing.
And then there’s the ending. The Battle of Scarif is spectacular, but what really makes Rogue One work is the growing desperation as the Death Star plans are passed from rebel to rebel while the Empire closes in. We already know the mission succeeds, yet the destruction of Scarif still feels tense, tragic, and beautiful all at once.
Most impressively though, Rogue One actually makes Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope even better. That’s a very difficult trick to pull off.
1. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Lucasfilm- Release date: May 25, 1977
- Director: George Lucas
- Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing
What it’s about: A young farm boy called Luke Skywalker is pulled into a galactic rebellion after discovering secret Death Star plans hidden inside a droid. Alongside smuggler Han Solo, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Millennium Falcon crew, he sets out to stop the Empire’s planet-destroying superweapon.
What we think: Being six months old when Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope came out, I never got to experience that moment when the Star Destroyer takes over the big screen in pursuit of a tiny Rebel ship. It must have been incredible in 1977 because it’s still amazing now.
Star Wars has everything. There are beautiful cinematic scenes and an uneasy droid bromance (dromance?) as C-3PO and R2-D2 begin their journey across the sands of Tatooine, tragedy as homes, families, and entire planets are destroyed by an evil empire, yet there’s also comedy in the Cantina with arguably more quotable lines in five minutes than most of the other films combined.
Then somebody’s arm gets chopped off.
Yes, for something rated U in Britain, Star Wars could be surprisingly scary. A whole planet was blown up and Darth Vader agonisingly force choked people to death, yet the most terrifying moment was when Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewy escaped into the trash compactor, with Luke dragged beneath the filthy water by an unseen creature while the walls slowly closed in.
Then there was the action – lightsaber and blaster battles, X-Wings versus TIE Fighters, the Falcon jumping into hyperspace, and the final mission to destroy the Death Star.
It feels like the culmination of an epic series, but this was only the beginning. The best and most complete Star Wars movie is Star Wars.
