Hello there *insert Obi-Wan meme* my name is Nir and I am the frontman and producer of a band called ‘Jack The Envious’ and our new EP “Bleeding Honesty” just dropped (woop woop!) But today is all about Star Wars so I’m going to breakdown my list of Star Wars movies in order from best to last.

Just to clarify: I’m a huge SW fan and I love all the films with all my nerdy heart, but this is just an opinion based breakdown and is definitely not set in stone, be warned muhahahaha. Let’s begin, and may the force be with us:

V - Empire Strikes Back:

I think most fans may agree this is one of the best films in the franchise, and it’s definitely timeless in its own right. Everything was epic to me as a kid watching it (on cassettes with dutch subtitles!) from the battle of Hoth at the beginning, to Luke’s journey to become a Jedi, and of course the fight at the end with the evident realization that Vader is actually is his father. There’s just something really special about this part of the saga and it was such a great story overall. 10/10

III - Revenge of the Sith

Not everyone would agree with me on this, but I really liked Hayden Christensen’s Anakin. I think that anyone that can get over all the petty remarks about the prequels there was a really amazing story that unfolded in a movie like no other. First of all, best lightsaber scenes of the saga, period. But overall I loved how the story progressed, the epic battles in and out of space and just how much content this movie conveyed. The birth of Darth Vader! I mean, to me going back to this movie today is just as thrilling as watching him back in 2005. And the scene at the end between Obi-Wan and Anakin is heartbreaking, just saying.

IV - A New Hope

You have to respect the fact that this movie kind of started it all, I mean it set the bar so high when it comes to every aspect for Fantasy/Sci-Fi films, from visuals, to sound design and effects, from costumes and story, this is just an epic adventure told by an amazing storyteller and everything about it is just a really fun to watch experience. Obviously, today this movie can be considered a bit outdated, but to anyone that grew up on these films knows this movie is the milestone when it comes to the world of SW.

I - The Phantom Menace

Now I know, some of you would go “what the f**k is this guy talking about..” but hear me out for a second. When this movie came out I was 6, and after seeing all the original trilogy a million times this movie was like a dream come true for a kid at the time. I was just hypnotized by everything and to be fair I didn’t care much for the CGI or Jar Jar cause kids don’t think about these sort of things (at least I didn’t). I just immersed myself in a chapter that was full of color, action, and when coming back to it year later a lot of politics apparently (maybe just a tad to much), but over all this movie (and of course the battle with Maul at the end) will forever be an iconic part of my childhood.

VI - Return of the Jedi

This movie has a really cool tone to it. I remember it felt different than the others, and it was also kind of cool to see Luke after a time jump kind of being a badass. There’s so many awesome bits in this movie, like the Sarlac pit, or the battle of Endor and of course the huge confrontation at the end. The story here wasn’t as flowing for me as the others with parts like the captivity by the Ewoks that felt a bit too much, but these are just small bits in a really awesome finisher to a great trilogy.

VII - The Force Awakens

This one was a really big deal for me, It’s hard to top the legendary trilogies that came before you, especially when it was no longer in George Lucas’ hands. But I think it has a place in our beloved saga beside our all time favourites. This movie played it safe, yet delivered a familiar and almost magical Star Wars experience that a lot of fans were craving for. I was a bit disappointed that the lightsaber action was kept to a minimum, but with that aside I think it laid out the foundations to a great new adventure.

II - Attack of the Clones

This movie unfortunately sits close to the bottom, but it doesn’t make it a bad movie at all… but a perfect movie, it was definitely not. I think the love story was handled a bit poorly along with some over the top scenes here and there. Nevertheless, this movie still brought us a really good continuation to the story packed with action, and memorable parts in my opinion. My favorite part in this movie has to be the arena part and all the events that happened around it.

VIII - The Last Jedi

I’m not gonna say this movie wasn’t good, I enjoyed it to a great length. But in retrospect I think it was a waste of a saga story and went on a more “stand-alone” route.. Ryan Johnson took a lot of risky moves and defied a lot of pillars that JJ laid in the previous movie and I think that inconsistency and need to break from the old ended with an unaccomplished feeling for the audience in general.. (with pointless parts like the Canto Bight arc with Fin and Rose etc). With that being said, I still had a lot of fun watching the movie and it doesn’t fall from being a great movie in its own right.

*PS - Notable Mentions*

These are not part of the Saga so I’m just gonna give a quick shout out to “Rogue One” and “Solo” for great storytelling. I love the one offs because they had less pressure on them in a sense that they are bringing a story from beginning to end without thinking too much of an ark to fill.

And last but not least “The Clone Wars”!! One of the best things I’ve watched in my existence on this planet. That was such an interesting period of the galaxy at war and I think that they took advantage of it perfectly with boundaries being broken, and risks being taken as the stories kept unfolding with this amazing TV show. I can’t wait for the last season!

With that I complete my nerdy rant, if you read this far thank you but you have too much free time on your hands! Go do some work or write some music will ya?! Thank you for sticking around, and feel free to catch my band’s new EP when you have a few spare minutes again ;)