In deference to May 4th, also referred to as “Star Wars Day,” we’ll offer our subjective rankings of the all the Star Wars films that have been released by the franchise in theaters. Presently, all films are available for viewing on Disney Plus.
Star Wars is the rare franchise that functions as both pop-culture weather vane and emotional archive. Whether you grew up under a blanket watching the originals, discovered the prequels as a teenager, binged the sequels on a rainy weekend, or introduced the saga to a child, these films are milestones in film history.
Though opinions may vary, sometimes staunchly, we’ll navigate the often fraught landscape of a galaxy “far, far, away” to determine the relatively quality of each film. Whether you’re looking to indulge in the nearly-universal fanfare surrounding Lucas’ original release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977 or embroil yourself in the polarization revolving around the rancorous Last Jedi (2017) ; we’re here here to offer our own humble assessment of the quality of each film the original, prequel and sequel trilogies.
1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Director: George Lucas
Box Office Gross: $775.4 million (worldwide & re-releases)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
Description: Set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” the story follows Luke Skywalker, a farm boy on the desert planet Tatooine who dreams of adventure. His life changes when he discovers a hidden message inside a droid, R2-D2, sent by Princess Leia Organa, a leader of the Rebel Alliance.
Guided by the mysterious hermit Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke learns about the Force—an energy field that grants supernatural abilities—and his father’s legacy as a Jedi Knight. They hire the cynical smuggler Han Solo and his co-pilot Chewbacca to deliver the droids to the Rebels. The journey culminates in a desperate mission to destroy the Death Star, a planet-killing space station commanded by the villainous Grand Moff Tarkin and the dark enforcer Darth Vader.
A New Hope didn’t just change cinema; it fundamentally altered how we consume mythology in the modern age. George Lucas took the DNA of ancient legends and spliced it with cutting-edge technology to create a “space opera” that resonated across every cultural border.
Unlike later entries that became bogged down in political exposition or complex lore, the 1977 film is lean. Every scene serves to either build the world or move the characters forward. Moroever, A New Hope most compellingly indulges in the power of archetypes, notably the “Hero’s Journey,” clearly following Luke’s exploits in both saving the princess and destroying the Death Star, or mythical dragon. Like many of the iconic visuals the film revels in, most notably the “Binary Sunset,” it remains the touchstone for everything the franchise would become.
2. Episode II: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Director: Irvin Kershner
Box Office Gross: $550 million (worldwide & re-releases)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%
Description: While A New Hope provided the spark, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) provided the soul. The film intentionally subverts the “happily ever after” of the first film, choosing instead to explore the cost of rebellion and the complexity of the human spirit.
The film opens three years after the destruction of the Death Star. The Rebel Alliance has been driven into hiding on the ice planet Hoth. After a crushing defeat by the Imperial fleet, the heroes scatter.
Luke Skywalker travels to the swamp planet Dagobah to train under the diminutive, eccentric Jedi Master Yoda. Meanwhile, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Chewbacca are relentlessly pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader, eventually seeking refuge in Cloud City, governed by Han’s old friend Lando Calrissian. However, Vader arrives first, using the heroes as bait to lure Luke into a trap. The film concludes with the most famous twist in cinema: during a brutal lightsaber duel, Vader reveals that he is Luke’s father, leaving the Rebellion broken, Han frozen in carbonite, and the heroes defeated but defiant.
As monumental as the original Star Wars film is, the Empire Strikes Back reaches similar superlatives by redefining what a sequel could be. It established the template for a “dark second act,” profoundly challenging the anointed hero before he reaches his ordained resolution. The film also injected the previously Manichean figure of Darth Vader with additional complexity, as fans learned the truth of Luke’s familial heritage. Empire Strikes Back confirmed that Star Wars wasn’t a cultural fluke, it was a landmark saga.
3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Director: George Lucas
Box Office Gross: $900 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Description: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is the third and final film in George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, comprehensively chronicling the tragic fall of Anakin Skywalker and the Republic. Three years into the Clone Wars, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker lead a daring rescue mission to save Supreme Chancellor Palpatine from the Separatist leader General Grievous. The mission succeeds, but victory comes at a cost. Anakin, now a war hero and a powerful Jedi, reunites with his secret wife, Senator Padmé Amidala, who reveals she is pregnant.
As the war reaches its climax, hidden truths emerge, alliances shatter, and Anakin faces an impossible choice between loyalty to the Jedi Order and the desperate hope of saving the woman he loves. The story culminates in devastating betrayals, lightsaber duels across lava-drenched worlds, and the birth of Darth Vader, setting the stage for the Empire’s rise and the events of the original trilogy.
Largely considered the strongest of Lucas’ prequel entries, Revenge of the Sith fully commits to the Shakespearean tragedy of Anakin’s transformation into the insidious Darth Vader. Though, like its predecessors in the prequel trilogy, stifled by wooden dialogue and superfluous political exposition; the exploration of Anakin’s internal dynamics as his moral compass deteriorates remains a critical devolution with lasting repercussions for the Star Wars saga. In a peculiar inverse, one of Anakin’s characteristic strengths – love – becomes his fatal undoing.
4. Rogue One (2016)
Director: Gareth Edwards
Box Office Gross: $1.056 billion (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Description: Perhaps Rogue One’s ranking is slightly inflated due to the enormous critical reception of its predecessor Andor, but it remains a stellar installment in the Star Wars franchise, definitively proving additional Star Wars stories could be crafted outside of the Skywalker legacy.
Rogue One functions as a gritty war/heist movie set in the Star Wars universe. It adopts a grounded, documentary-like visual style with practical effects influences, darker cinematography, and a focus on ordinary people rather than Jedi or chosen-one heroes. The tone is tense and mature, emphasizing moral ambiguity, sacrifice, and the brutal realities of rebellion against an overwhelming empire. Rogue One seamlessly and logically connects to existing canon, while expanding the depth of the Star Wars universe.
5. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Director: Richard Marquand
Box Office Gross: $482 million (worldwide & re-releases)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 83%
Description: Return of the Jedi, directed by Richard Marquand, is the original trilogy’s conclusion. The story picks up with Luke Skywalker, now a more confident Jedi, rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt’s palace on Tatooine. With his friends reunited, the Rebels learn that the Empire is building a new Death Star above the forest moon of Endor. The Emperor himself is overseeing its construction, protected by an energy shield generated from the moon’s surface.
Above all else, Return of the Jedi delivers emotional closure to the original series. The opening sequence at Jabba’s palace is one of the most visually inventive in the saga—rich with practical creature effects, diverse alien designs, and a gritty, lived-in underworld feel that contrasts sharply with the clean Imperial technology. The speeder bike chase through Endor’s redwood forests remains exhilarating, blending practical effects, miniatures, and early motion control photography masterfully.
Still, many viewers find the tone shift jarring after Empire’s darkness. The Ewoks are polarizing—adorable and commercially effective for younger audiences, yet they can feel tonally mismatched in a story about galactic tyranny and patricide. While Return of the Jedi may not be as perfectly bleak or innovative as The Empire Strikes Back, it succeeds on its own terms by giving fans the grand victory and personal redemption they craved. Regardless of the film’s deficiencies, it remains a worthy end to one of cinema’s most storied trilogies.
6. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Director: Rian Johnson
Box Office Gross: $1.33 billion (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Description: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) is the middle chapter of the sequel trilogy, directed and written by Rian Johnson.
The Last Jedi stands as one of the most polarizing Star Wars films—critics largely praised it, while a large proportion of the viewing audience absolutely loathed it, creating one of the franchise’s biggest divides. It is an atypical Star Wars film, for myriad reasons. For one, one of its primary themes, or motifs, is abject failure. Almost every major character fails in significant ways. Luke fails Ben Solo and the Jedi. Poe’s heroism causes needless losses. Rey’s assumptions about her destiny and Kylo’s redemption are challenged. The overall tone of the film is not hopeful in any sense, contrasting sharply with the saga’s origins.
Other problems include Rose and Finn’s subplot on Canto Bight, an ultimately frivolous endeavor that is largely used as a societal critique of war profiteering and the darker underbelly of capitalism. Plot logic holes in the hyperspace tracking and fleet pursuit frustrate others. The overall tonal shift of the film clearly didn’t engender unanimous approval from the audience.
Still, Johnson’s direction shines in visuals and intimate character work, especially Luke’s arc from bitterness to quiet wisdom; and the growing dynamic between Kyle Ren and Rey. The story feels cinematic and bold, audaciously unafraid to make the audience uncomfortable. Overall, it succeeds as a standalone artistic statement within the Star Wars universe but creates continuity challenges for the trilogy’s conclusion.
7. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Director: JJ Abrams
Box Office Gross: $2.068 (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Description: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) was released on December 18, 2015, marking the start of the sequel trilogy after a long hiatus.
Thirty years after the Battle of Endor and the fall of the Empire, the galaxy faces a new threat: the First Order, a militaristic regime risen from the Empire’s ashes. The Resistance, led by General Leia Organa, fights back while searching for the vanished Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi.
The Force Awakens functions as both a soft reboot and a deliberate homage, often described as a thematic remix or “variation” on A New Hope. It mirrors key structures—desert orphan, droid with secrets, ragtag crew on a desperate mission, a new superweapon threat eerily similar to the Death Star. Upon seeing the film, George Lucas remarked: “there’s nothing new.”
Lucas’ statement generally encapsules the sentiment around Force Awakens: It’s fun, but you can view an elevated version of the story by returning to 1977.
8. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Director: George Lucas
Box Office Gross: $1.027 billion (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 54%
Description: The Phantom Menace (1999) is the first film in George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, directed and written by Lucas himself—his return to the director’s chair after over two decades.
Set 32 years before the events of A New Hope, the story unfolds in a seemingly stable Galactic Republic that is already rotting from within due to bureaucracy, corruption, and hidden manipulation. The film blends grand political intrigue, coming-of-age elements, ancient mythology (the “chosen one” prophecy), and high-stakes action.
Critics and some fans at release lambasted the dense political plotting, wooden dialogue in places, Jar Jar Binks’ comic relief (seen as grating or stereotypical), and young Anakin’s performance. The heavy reliance on CGI drew accusations of prioritizing technology over heart. Over time, reevaluations have grown kinder, viewing it as a deliberate stylistic choice for a more formal, mythic tone and praising its ambition amid sky-high expectations.
9. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Director: George Lucas
Box Office Gross: $656 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 62%
Description: Attack of the Clones (2002) is the second film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, directed by George Lucas. It bridges The Phantom Menace and Revenge of the Sith, shifting from political intrigue to a darker tale of romance, conspiracy, and the Republic’s slide toward war.
Ten years after the events of The Phantom Menace, the Galactic Republic faces growing separatist tensions led by Count Dooku. Senator Padmé Amidala survives an assassination attempt, prompting the Jedi Council to assign Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice Anakin Skywalker as her protectors. As the story unfolds, it reveals a vast clone army being prepared for the Republic, hidden Sith machinations, and Anakin’s deepening personal struggles.
Generally regarded as the worst of the prequel films, Attack of the Clones has numerous valid criticisms. The Anakin-Padmé romance is notoriously wooden and fantastically awkward. Lines like “I don’t like sand” and overly formal declarations feel stilted. Natalie Portman and Christensen do what they can with the material, but Lucas’s scripting here prioritizes mythic tone over natural chemistry. There are notable pacing issues, most conspicuously in Padme and Anakin’s sojourn to Naboo, ostensibly for the Senator’s protection. Many fans additionally complain of CGI overuse, as the film relies heavily on digital sets and characters, lending the visuals an artificial look.
Upon rewatch, the viewing experience is more forgiving. There are tangential delights, like Yoda’s duel with Count Dooku, or Mace Windu’s decapitation of Jengo Fett. Palpatine’s chess moves become more deliberate and calculating upon second viewing, as he unerringly navigates the Byzantine bureaucracy of the Old Republic to achieve the comprehensive political power of a wartime dictator. It also deepens Anakin’s tragedy: we see the exact moments where attachment, fear, and anger begin to corrupt him.
All in all, it’s a flawed film nevertheless replete with several delights.
10. Solo (2018)
Director: Ron Howard
Box Office Gross: $393 million (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 69%
Description: Released in 2018 and directed by Ron Howard, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a “space western” that serves as an origin story for the galaxy’s most infamous smuggler, Han Solo. Stepping away from the grand “Skywalker Saga” and the conflict between Jedi and Sith, this standalone film focuses on the criminal underworld, high-stakes heists, and the formative experiences that shaped Han into the cynical yet heroic pilot first introduced in A New Hope.
Solo isn’t terrible. Perhaps the entire endeavor was doomed from its inception, as hallowed as Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the space buccaneer has become. Alden Ehrenreich, who stepped into Ford’s shoes, faced an assuredly impossible task. While many critics eventually praised his ability to capture Han’s “lovable rogue” essence, the initial backlash was intense. Some viewers found it difficult to separate the character from Ford’s specific charisma, leading to a sense of “uncanny valley” regarding the performance.
The film also famously swapped directors mid-production, moving from the improvisational style of Phil Lord and Chris Miller to the traditional craftsmanship of Ron Howard. The result, according to some, was a film that felt “safe.” Critics often describe Solo as “competent but uninspired.” Perhaps that is the ultimate verdict on Solo: Fine, but nothing spectacular.
Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Director: JJ Abrams
Box Office Gross: $1.07 billion (worldwide)
Rotten Tomatoes: 51%
Description: Released in 2019 and directed by J.J. Abrams, The Rise of Skywalker (Episode IX) serves as the concluding chapter of both the Sequel Trilogy and the nine-film “Skywalker Saga.”
The film reveals that the deceased Emperor Palpatine has returned, pulling strings from the hidden Sith world of Exegol. He has constructed a massive “Final Order” fleet and tasks Supreme Leader Kylo Ren with finding and killing Rey.
Rey, meanwhile, is finishing her Jedi training under General Leia Organa. Alongside Finn, Poe Dameron, Chewbacca, and C-3PO, she embarks on a galaxy-hopping quest to find a “Sith Wayfinder”—a device capable of navigating the treacherous Unknown Regions to reach Exegol, where she expects to confront her (apparently alive) grandfather (Rey is a Palpatine) and check his ambitions.
Rise of Skywalker was neither popular among fans, or critics. To critics, it appeared Abrams was laboring to undo the developments articulated in the film’s predecessor, The Last Jedi. After the previous film established that Rey’s parents were “nobodies,” the pivot to her being a Palpatine felt like a regression to some, favoring bloodline importance over the idea that “anyone can be a hero.” The film was also criticized for its “Macguffin-like” plot structure, dependent as it is upon innocuous objects for forward movement and plot progression. This left little room for character moments or emotional breathing room, making the film feel more like a video game progression than a cinematic narrative.
Moreover, the decision to have Palpatine mysteriously return (no, Vader did not kill him) with a comically brief explanation as to how, further unmoored viewers. Not only is his return inexplicable, it undermined the heroism, redemption and sacrifice of Anakin in the original trilogy and raised unnecessary questions about his place as “The Chosen One” within the Star Wars canon.
While attempting to tie everything together, The Rise of Skywalker instead ties itself into a Gordian knot of its own making, too onerously recanting on the perceived missteps of The Last Jedi to create a satisfying ending for anyone. It has few redeeming qualities.