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Were republishing on the occasion of ournew ranking of everyStarWarsTV show,which you’re able to readhere.
It was before a film could make anywhere near a billion dollars.
It was and remains one of the great cinema-going experiences of my life.
Ive never felt so electric a response in a packed theater.
I wish youd been there.
Two years later, there were rumblings that George Lucas a pal of Spielbergs had something even more game-changing.
As a piece of filmmaking, it was noJaws.
But it was hard not to get caught up in the hype.
Yes, it was long ago and far away.
Which brings me to the ranking of everyStar Warsfilm.
11.Episode I: The Phantom Menace
11.
They were so pumped that they sat agog through a film that should have sent them into a coma.
From the opening titles Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic.
Young Anakin Skywalker is an angry lad.
Clouded this boys future is, said the Jedi master, Yoda.
(I do sense an unusual amount of fear for something as trivial as this trade dispute.)
Those are Medusa lines: They turn actors to stone.
while simpering and running away from battles.
Talk about a disruption in the Force.
10.Episode II: Attack of the Clones
10.
A step up fromThe Phantom Menace only 75 percent dead on the screen.
A fight on a Droid assembly line has a top this!
A battle in an arena features a scary, crablike creature with lethal stabbing pincers and a trapezoidal head.
The Galactic Senate is almost literally a circus with its floating platforms and freaky representatives.
(You are in my very soul, tormenting me.)
Only Temuera Morrison as Jango Fett and his cloned son, Boba, suggests an autonomous existence.
Too bad his clones didnt take over the movie.
Historical footnote:Attack of the Clonescame out at the summit ofnow-disgracedfanboy blogger Harry Knowless prestige.
9.Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
9.
The first tangentialStar Warsspinoffisnt terrible.
(Here theyre different genders and species theres even a blind warrior-monk.)
The action scenes are mostly noise, with Stormtroopers as casually mowed down as in any video game.
Rogue Onehas one nightmarish element.
Even Cushings best-known character, Dr. Victor Frankenstein, would blanch at that kind of grave robbing.
8.Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
8.
But this thing was lousy in 1983 and even with its conclusive action isborderline unwatchable now.
What can you say to that, really?
Its like a decadent episode ofSesame Street.
(James Cameron would do something similar albeit well inAvatar.)
7.Solo: A Star Wars Story
7.
6.Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
6.
A crowd-pleaser and a slog.
John Boyegas lovelorn Finn is reduced to screaming Rey!
in the middle of her lightsaber fights (Does he want to distract her?)
and Oscar Isaacs hotshot Poe Dameron is now a grinning doofus cheerleader.
Kelly Marie Trans Rose Pico a fanbrat unfavorite inThe Last Jedi is rudely returned to the chorus line.
At least Ridley finally comes into her own: Shes more confident, more centered, moreJedi.
The film has the kind of cornball inspirational spirit that must have elated the Disney Company.
Indeed, this is the firstStar Warsfilm that feels like it was hatched from the so-called Magic Kingdom.
5.Episode VII: The Force Awakens
5.
This is in contrast to past Star Wars characters, who had to speak the unspeakable.
(Carrie Fishers cracked, deepened, post-rehab voice gives Leianew depth.)
The one-liners are largely second-rate, butThe Force Awakensgives you thejoy of reunions and the tragedy of loss.
4.Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4.
Its the final movement ofThe Last Temptation of Ani, preparing the way for Luke and Leia.
Not that there arent howlers along the way.
But the last hour is stunning.
3.Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
3.
But itsmoving to hear her soulful croak for the last time.
It took 40 years, but she and Leia finally merged.
Told by the Supreme Leader that he looks like an idiot, he smashes the helmet to a pulp.
Good, since Drivers actual visage a Modigliani portrait come to life is more unnerving.
Its Vaders mask incarnate.
2.Episode IV: A New Hope
2.
1.Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
1.
(Have the effects dated?
The Empire Strikes Backisnt just the bestStar Warsfilm.
As a piece of filmmaking, its all by itself.
