Ranking: 4 Pips = Great | 3 Pips = Good | 2 Pips = Okay | 1 Pip = Bad
Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Anika: 4 pips + 4 pips
[Disclaimer: Star Wars is my most formative fandom and the Skywalker family define love for me. I’m not objective, I’m barely rational. 4 pips base for the saga.] I’m struck by how lyrical this film is. It’s so pretty, so quiet, so complex in its simplicity. And here’s as good a place as any to say John Williams’ score is transcendent.
Sam: 3 1/2 pips
I dunno, how do you not love A New Hope? I still feel the sense of wonder I felt when I was a kid watching for the first time. I recently rewatched it between viewings of The Force Awakens, and I kind of appreciate it more now because of the parallels. It’s rough in some places and I will probably never understand the draw of Han Solo, but there’s still magic there. Er. There’s still the Force there.
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Anika: 4 pips + 3 pips
I adore Han and Leia’s love story. As a kid I cast myself as their daughter — Force-sensitive but a pilot because even then I wasn’t into the whole Jedi thing. Related: Yoda is wrong, there is a try. But Vader’s desperation to get to his son, and despair at how it falls out, is my favorite part of this film. And my precious star-crossed twins, Luke and Leia.
Sam: 2 pips
I don’t hate it? But I don’t love it. Luke’s training scenes always felt weird to me (though I’ve always appreciated the “Luke behind the Vader mask” thing, probably my first time experiencing that trope) and while Cloud City was cool I never much cared what happened in the movie. Maybe I was too young to appreciate the stakes, but even as an adult I don’t think I feel the tension I should feel while watching it.
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Anika: 4 pips + 3 pips
Jedi is my favorite of the films because it made me love Star Wars when I was seven years old. The scenes on the Death Star, and on the bridge in the Ewok village, are my everything. I love my Skywalker twins forever. I love that Anakin is still trying to win against Obi-Wan. I love that Vader threatening Leia is what pushes Luke to the edge. But I love most that Luke and Anakin prove attachment is fundamental.
Sam: 2 1/2 pips
I remember being really excited to find out that Leia was Luke’s sister, and Force sensitive, and I hoped that meant she’d get to be a Jedi, too. But she did not. But I loved the Ewoks, and the woodsy feel of the scenes on Endor, and I think Vader coming back into being Anakin was very well done.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Anika: 4 pips + 2 pips
I love at least 60% of this movie, and only really dislike maybe 10%, which is not that different a ratio from what I describe above with Return of the Jedi. It would be improved if Darth Maul had more of Sidious’s role, Anakin’s success was more deliberate, and there was a tighter edit. Padmé is perfect.
Sam: 3 pips
It’s possible I have fonder memories of this because of the bajillion hours I spent playing the N64 podracing game… actually, no. I do like this movie. Qui-Gon is my favorite Jedi from the all of the movies so far, I really like the stuff on Tatooine (except for Watto), and I actually think young Anakin was pretty great. Also Natalie Portman. Like Anika, I wish Darth Maul had a little more of a role, but that fight between him, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan at the end is still one of my all time favorite movie fights.
Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Anika: 4 pips + 2 pips
This movie contains some of my favorite moments in the entire series (Bail Organa, love of my life). From costumes to cinematography it’s beautiful, and Anakin and Padmé’s love theme “Across the Stars” is my favourite song of all songs that exist. Like The Phantom Menace it needs better editing. Cutting the scenes with Padmé’s family was a terrible choice, they add so much to the relationship. Cut parts of the droid factory and Threepio’s battle subplot instead. I also get upset that poor reactions to Episode I drove Lucas to cut the political stuff out of Episodes II and III. Someday I want to make my own prequels cut where I replace the comic relief and Yoda’s lightsaber battles with Padmé’s home and politics.
Sam: 2 pips
I like when all the Jedi fight. I also like what little political stuff is there. But literally everything Anakin does makes me want to smack him. He came off as a creepy stalker dude who whined if he didn’t get what he wanted, and just needed a woman to take care of him waaah. But I haven’t watched it since I first saw it in the theaters, so maybe I’d like it better now.
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Anika: 4 pips + 4 pips
If I had to choose only one Star Wars film to watch for the rest of my life, I’d choose this one. The first time I saw it I started crying 90 seconds in and didn’t stop until I left the theater. I’ve seen it at least 100 times and every time I yell at everyone to make better choices, and I still cry when they don’t. I am invested in every character, even the ones I want to punch in the face (Yoda and Mace Windu). It’s not perfect, but I’m not interested in perfect films. I’m drawn to messes and this is the biggest and best mess of all and I love every minute.
Sam: 3 pips
MAKE BETTER CHOICES. As much as I couldn’t really stand Anakin until he gave in to the Dark Side, when that transition happened this felt like a completely new movie, one I enjoyed watching and that put the pieces exactly where I wanted them to be for the original trilogy. That scene with him and the Younglings at the Temple… woo boy. I’ve come to appreciate Hayden Christensen more in the years since I saw him as Anakin, and this is probably the prequel movie I’m most likely to revisit to experience again.
Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Anika: 4 pips + 4 pips
I love this movie so much! It’s the wonder of A New Hope welded with the sorrow of Revenge of the Sith and a dash of the hope of Return of the Jedi. Also known as all my favorite things. It’s beautiful to see the original trio and I fell in love with the new characters immediately. Poe is adorable. Finn makes me cry. Ben breaks my heart. And Rey is everything I ever wanted from a Star Wars film.
Sam: Infinite pips
Okay, The Force Awakens has its issues, but I love it love it love it. Cried in the theater love it. Went to see it 7 times love it. It reinvigorated my love for the Star Wars universe (something I had mostly enjoyed via video games and the EU books, as you can probably tell by my pip counts for the other movies), set the bar for what updates of old franchises should be, and introduced me to my future girlfriend, Daisy Ridley, who is amazing and perfect and I’m so mad jerks drove her off social media. And I still cry when she gets that lightsaber, even 15 views in.
