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The lone happening Star Wars fans emotion much than Star Wars is arguing astir which Star Wars movies are the best. So, to settee this quality and bring bid to the galaxy, the IGN Movies Council convened to statement and ballot connected which Star Wars live-action theatrical films are bantha poodoo and which person unlimited power.
So, without further ado, here’s IGN's ranking of each the Star Wars movies, from worst to best! We've adjacent added the newest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, to the lineup.
Ranking the Star Wars Movies From Worst to Best
12. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
After 4 decades and 8 episodes, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was expected to bring the Skywalker Saga to a satisfying conclusion, but alternatively of going retired with a bang, it ends with thing much akin to that sound the Sarlacc pit makes aft eating a bounty hunter.
Simply put, the movie conscionable doesn’t work. It’s afloat of unearned moments, inconsequential characters, and crippled twists that wounded your caput the much you deliberation astir them. And don’t get america started connected Chewie’s decease fakeout! But hey, astatine slightest Babu Frik.
Yet what genuinely makes Episode 9 a hard ticker is its deficiency of committedness to the events of The Last Jedi, and truthful we ticker arsenic the crippled bends implicit backwards to rewrite Star Wars lore, alternatively than gathering disconnected what came earlier to present fans a much fitting conclusion.
11. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
While Star Wars: Attack of the Clones whitethorn person an breathtaking title, it’s 1 of the astir boring movies successful the franchise, adjacent with its redeeming qualities. Watching Obi-Wan Kenobi play Jedi-detective arsenic helium investigates the Separatist question and the enigmatic Count Dooku is the item of the film. Not to notation immoderate astonishing enactment sequences, including the pursuit done Coruscant, the Jedi/Bounty Hunter conflict connected Kamino, and a genuinely wizard duel featuring the frog-hopping Master Yoda.
But the movie is different bogged down by uneven pacing, woody dialogue, and “dramatic” moments that upwind up being unintentionally funny. There’s nary amended illustration of each this than Anakin and Padme’s snoozefest of a romance. What was expected to beryllium a emotion worthy sacrificing the postulation for, alternatively ends up making america privation to instrumentality our heads successful the sand.
In the end, Episode 2 is much fondly remembered for the things acceptable up successful the greater Star Wars canon–looking astatine you, Clone Wars–than for however bully of a movie it is connected its ain merits.
10. The Mandalorian and Grogu
The Mandalorian and Grogu yet ended the astir seven-year drought of caller Star Wars movies that fflicted the franchise aft The Rise of Skywalker. Unfortunately, we mightiness person hoped for a stronger outing for the franchise successful its long-overdue instrumentality to the large screen.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is simply a theatrical spinoff of the Disney+ series, and it sticks precise adjacent to the established formula. Once again, Pedro Pascal's Din Djarin and his small buddy Grogu are tasked with a unsafe ngo by the New Republic, 1 that pits them against Imperial warlords and vindictive Hutts alike.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is simplistic to a fault. There are fewer surprises to beryllium had here, and the movie fails to physique connected the instauration of the bid successful immoderate meaningful way. The Mandalorian and Grogu seems deathly acrophobic of rocking the vessel oregon veering excessively acold disconnected its prescribed path, and the effect is possibly the biggest nothingburger Star Wars has ever delivered. To paraphrase Mando himself, this is astir surely not the way.
9. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
While we’ll ever emotion Star Wars: The Phantom Menace for bringing Star Wars backmost to the masses successful 1999 and introducing a full caller procreation to a postulation far, acold away, that doesn’t mean it’s arsenic beardown a trilogy-starter arsenic A New Hope oregon The Force Awakens. Don’t get america wrong, the movie gets recognition for introducing franchise staples, specified arsenic the Jedi Order and the city-planet of Coruscant, portion continuing the series’ contented of peerless ocular effects and music. Who doesn’t emotion the podrace and the Duel of the Fates?
But the praise dries up faster than a closing Naboo palace information doorway [soundup of the doorway closing] erstwhile you commencement to see the dull governmental plot, clunky storytelling, and a formed afloat of ill-conceived characters. From the cringey antics of Jar Jar Binks to the over-the-top enthusiasm of a excessively young Anakin Skywalker, not to notation the overstuffed 3rd enactment that struggles to juggle 4 antithetic conflicts. Episode I ne'er seems to spell agelong without taking yet different misstep.
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8. Solo: A Star Wars Story
While Rogue One gave fans anticipation for the “A Star Wars Story” subtitle, the anthology space was swiftly shelved by Lucasfilm aft the mediocre reception to its 2nd entry, simply titled “Solo.” Where its predecessor made the omniscient prime to absorption much connected caller characters portion allowing for cameos of franchise favorites, Solo took the other route, casting Alden Ehrenreich arsenic 1 of the series’ astir beloved protagonists, Han Solo, and asking audiences to bargain in. Spoiler: they did not.
Drawing escaped inspiration from the AC Crispin novels of the Legends era, Ehrenreich’s earnest instrumentality connected the galaxy’s scruffiest nerf-herder isn’t bad, but betwixt the uninspired crippled and the ho-hum stakes, the movie arsenic a full decidedly has country for improvement. Ultimately, Solo feels similar it was trying to reply a batch of questions that cipher asked, and the ones that had been were astir apt amended near unanswered, anyways.
As with each Star Wars movies, determination are things to bask astir it. If you person to recast Lando Calrissian, putting Donald Glover nether the cape is an inspired choice, and the levitating bid heist is simply a bully time, but yet Solo proves to beryllium a “one and done” benignant of Star Wars story.
7. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith retains galore of the hallmark flaws of the prequels: goofy dialogue, pacing issues, an overreliance connected CGI–but it does find acold much occurrence successful making the assemblage feel something. The execution of Order 66 brings existent melodramatic value to the decision of the Clone Wars, arsenic we spot firsthand the calamity that changed the destiny of the postulation forever. Watching mediocre Master Yoda clutch his small frog bosom gets america each time.
Even though Episode 3 has immoderate undeniable strengths, it’s often undermined by its weaknesses. Anakin’s downfall doesn’t consciousness arsenic convincing arsenic it should, mostly acknowledgment to the muted romance with Padme. The Jedi Order’s precocious find of Palpatine’s treachery–when it’s truthful blatantly obvious–make them look incompetent astatine the worst time. And portion Ewan McGregor sells Obi-Wan’s devastating heartbreak during his fiery duel with Anakin, 1 large show isn’t rather capable to lavation retired the sensation of the others. Still, Revenge of the Sith is the strongest of the prequel trilogy, successful ample portion acknowledgment to its galore memorable moments, and we person to recognition it for that.
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was Disney’s archetypal effort to rekindle the magic of the archetypal trilogy, and it did… but possibly a small excessively much. The Force Awakens is often criticized for a crippled that borrows excessively heavy from A New Hope, and portion that whitethorn beryllium true, the movie uses those acquainted elements–a Chosen One from a godforsaken planet, an service of abstraction fascists, a satellite that is besides a large laser canon–as a instauration to physique thing new.
But portion it does present caller planets, caller aliens, and caller lightsaber designs, Episode VII’s caller characters are its top publication to the series. Its heroes Rey, Finn, Poe, and BB-8 springiness the movie overmuch of its charm, and the acheronian and mysterious narration betwixt Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke that gives it its menace. While you tin nitpick the particulars of the plot, the movie yet achieved its goal: it made Star Wars amusive and breathtaking again.
5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story proves that stories successful the Star Wars beingness don’t request to revolve astir the Jedi Order oregon Skywalker household play to beryllium a hit. Jyn Erso and her ragtag radical of improbable rebels marque a beardown content connected the assemblage earlier gathering a noble end, and their theft of the archetypal Death Star plans is not lone an engaging escapade from commencement to decorativeness but a beardown displacement successful code for the franchise–one that truly enactment the “war” into Star Wars.
However, adjacent if you didn’t cognize that the movie had rather a batch of behind-the-scenes originative issues, you've astir apt noticed them. The communicative has respective deadends and contradictions, nary much egregious than the plotline involving Saw Gerrera–what is his relation successful the movie expected to be, exactly? Yet contempt these evident flaws, Rogue One comes unneurotic successful the end, delivering 1 of the champion 3rd enactment battles successful a franchise afloat of perfectly astonishing 3rd enactment battles. Darth Vader has ne'er been much badass than successful those last moments–even if it does muddy the waters of the opening to A New Hope if you deliberation astir it for much than a second.
4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
As Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s sole credited writer and manager - a cinematic favoritism shared lone by George Lucas - Rian Johnson enactment an authorial stamp connected the postulation far, acold distant that fewer successful the Star Wars satellite ever get to attempt, and the effect was the champion - and astir hotly debated - Star Wars movie since the archetypal trilogy.
The ways Johnson moved the pieces JJ Abrams acceptable successful play challenged galore pillars of the mythology: the Chosen One archetype, Luke’s heroic reputation, the wide delineation of acheronian and light. Though it suffers from a meandering espionage subplot and a ticking timepiece dilemma that could beryllium solved with a small spot of communication, The Last Jedi besides boasts dazzling enactment sequences and an particularly affluent and affectional storyline betwixt Luke Skywalker, Rey, and Kylo Ren.
More than anything, The Last Jedi is admirable successful its unwavering enthusiasm for Star Wars’ potential. With the taxable of moving connected from the past astatine the bosom of everything it does, the movie wraps up with a bid and intent that fewer different films successful the bid find. Echoing the lately-redeemed Luke Skywalker seeing the binary sunset of his isolated younker successful his last moments, a nameless womp rat of a kid connected Cantonica raises a defiant broom - yes, broom! - to a postulation which helium feels empowered to beryllium a portion of, whether oregon not helium has a celebrated past name.
3. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
After leaving fans connected a large cliffhanger successful Episode 5, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi had to present some a satisfying followup and a fitting ending for our beloved heroes and villains, and that’s precisely what it does.
There’s the self-contained rescue ngo wherever 2 robots and a wizard spell to a transgression lord’s palace and effort to bargain a portion of partition creation (that conscionable truthful happens to person a definite scoundrel trapped successful it). There’s the exhilarating speeder motorcycle pursuit done a dense and deadly forest. And sure, determination are immoderate questionable bits. The revelation that Luke and Leia are siblings adjacent though they smooched before. The gigantic abstraction conflict and demolition of yet different ball-shaped ace weapon. And past there’s the Ewoks, who whitethorn person been shoehorned successful to entreaty to kids, but successful the extremity benignant of triumph you implicit due to the fact that they are an adorable-on-the-surface-but-ultimately-murderous pack of histrion bears who play drums connected the skulls of their enemies.
It each culminates successful 1 of the champion and astir important lightsaber fights successful the series, betwixt begetter and lad and overseen by a seething Emperor trying to teardrop them apart, adjacent though it’s helium who unites them. Yeah, it’s campy, but underneath it each are immoderate superior conflicts and yet bittersweet goodbyes to immoderate of the astir iconic characters successful movie history.
2. Star Wars: A New Hope
Engrossing, moving, endlessly rewatchable Star Wars: A New Hope is the 1 that started it all. Set successful a postulation wherever the evil Empire has already won and the heroic Jedi Knights are lone a memory, George Lucas started gathering his expansive sci-fi saga from the mediate out. The hermit Ben Kenobi wistfully recalls the days of the Clone Wars to farmboy Luke Skywalker, and bemoans the incivility of blasters successful examination to the much elegant lightsaber. It gives the satellite of the communicative a lived-in consciousness and the seemingly inescapable grip of the Empire casts an aerial of despair implicit the A New Hope, 1 personified by the villain to extremity each villains: Darth Vader.
A New Hope blends elements of sci-fi, fantasy, Western, Samurai, and warfare films with pioneering ocular effects that laid the groundwork for blockbusters arsenic we cognize them today. It’s arsenic overmuch a ocular accomplishment arsenic it is simply a communicative one, and brought unneurotic with John Williams’ legendary score, Episode 4 is 1 of the champion films ever made, yet it’s lone fig 2 connected this list. That’s right, determination is another…
1. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back remains the golden modular of Star Wars movies. With A New Hope having planted the seeds for the franchise, Empire blossoms successful thrilling and amazingly acheronian fashion. As a relentless Darth Vader hunts the heroes of the Rebel Alliance, we’re treated to Han and Leia’s screwball romance, arsenic good arsenic Luke’s grooming nether the out-of-his-mind-just-kidding-Jedi-Master Yoda. And Empire deepens our consciousness of what the Force is: not conscionable a telekinetic propulsion oregon a instrumentality of the mind, but a spiritual powerfulness that connects each life.
Episode 5 expands the Star Wars beingness successful galore ways: caller planets, caller aliens, Imperial walkers, bounty hunters – each the portion telling an exciting, multilayered story. And the stakes of that communicative don’t hinge connected a planet-destroying limb oregon the destiny of the galaxy, but connected much idiosyncratic conflicts, similar however overmuch its characters are consenting to sacrifice for the greater good, oregon being called to a task they whitethorn not beryllium prepared for. That second constituent is sorted retired successful a tense, drawn-out lightsaber duel done the bowels of Cloud City, resulting successful a one-two punch of dismemberment and revelation that inactive ranks among the astir memorable cinematic moments of each time. Star Wars conscionable doesn’t get amended than this, which is wherefore it's 1 of the champion Harrison Ford movies.
And that’s IGN’s ranking of each the Star Wars movies. Do you agree? Or bash you person a atrocious feeling astir this ranking? Let america cognize however you would fertile them successful the comments.
For much Star Wars, cheque retired our usher to Star Wars movies successful bid and each upcoming Star Wars movies and shows.
Note: This nonfiction was primitively published successful May 2022 and updated successful May 2026 to see The Mandalorian and Grogu.
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