So I've seen Rogue One twice now and I feel pretty confident about where it ranks on my personal list of All-Time Star Wars movies. First some thoughts though; I liked it, I really liked. It was well paced, tight, fun, and it accomplished something that most "expanded universe"(in any form) entries failed to do; it carved out a nice little story within the Star Wars universe without trying to rewrite any of the mythos or character personalities. About the worse you could accuse it of was explaining why the Death Star had such an exploitable weakness that could cause it's full destruction. And seriously, nobody is going to complain about that are they? It was heavy in the cliches and I felt whatever was happening between Jyn and Cassian was a little forced but over all it was what I hope all other stand alone* Star Wars movies will be, an exciting yet unobtrusive ride through a galaxy far, far away.
And thank you Rogue One for not wasting Wen Jiang and the great Donnie Yen like another movie further down on the list wasted Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian. Again, thank you!
So here is my updated list:
1. Star Wars(It was called Star Wars when I first saw it and I'm not changing now). The original is still the best and is the only one of the films that can stand out both independently and within the series proper.
2. The Empire Strikes Back. Considered by many to be the best it is a close second for me. It has the classic lines, the dark atmosphere, the greatest WTF?!? moment in cinema history, and Darth Vader turning the bad-assery up to 11! Beautiful, simply beautiful.
3. The Revenge of the Sith. What the what? A prequel? Yes, yes it is. I feel Revenge of the Sith gets an unfair reputation due the halo effect of the other two prequels. But if you strip away stench of the severe suckiness of EP. 1 and the general mehness of Ep. 2 there lies a really good movie.
4. The Return of the Jedi. Ewoks. Ewoks just about ruined this whole movie for me. How am I supposed to take the Empire serious when a bunch of Teddy Ruxpin's with stone weapons and sharpened sticks can take out an entire squadron? But it does have one my favorite scenes from any of the movies: the duel in the throne room. That whole sequence with Luke, Vader, and the Emperor almost makes up for the Ewoks...almost. No Ewoks, we cannot be friends.
5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The feels about right although several subsequent home viewings might jump it past Jedi.
6. The Force Awakens. The movie was heavy in nostalgia and promise but at the end of the day it was just a retelling of Star Wars. I need more than that. Hopefully we'll get to see Phasma, Finn, Kylo, Poe, and especially Rey in something original because they are some fascinating characters who deserve something better than a rehash. And oh yeah, if you are going to have bad-ass Asian action stars in your movie they better be doing something bad-ass. Comic fodder for the Black Beast of Argh just doesn't cut it.
7. Attack of the Clones. Meh. That's really the only way you can describe it. It had it's moments(almost all involving Obi-Wan) but the Anakin/Padme romance never kindled for us and the future Vader seemed like a future...nobody. Meh.
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100. The Phantom Menace. One word, 5 syllables: midichlorians. Thanks for ruining the magic for us George! The film went downhill from there.
*stand alone- I guess technically it was also a prequel.
