Your post TLJ ranking of Star Wars movies

I guess I'm a bit late, but might as well. I'll give comparison to my pre-TLJ rankings.

pre-TLJ:
1. ESB
2. R1, ANH, TFA tied
5. RotJ
6. TPM
7. RotS
8. AotC

post-TLJ:
1. R1
2. ESB
3. ANH
4. RotJ
5. TFA
6. TPM
7. RotS
8. AotC
9. TLJ

On first viewing TLJ started out in the middle around RotJ's position but subsequent viewings made it drop further and further. I'll give it that the acting is consistently better than in the prequels and CGI tech has advanced 20 years... but the storytelling problems dwarf even AotC and it probably does more damage to the universe than any single prequel movie did.

TFA dropped similarly just because TLJ emphasises all its weaknesses and builds on none of the strengths. It's absolutely mind-boggling. Worst of all, for me personally, must be Rey. After TFA I spent countless hours and tens of thousands of words in the cantina and elsewhere defending Rey against the (often highly misogynistic) Mary Sue allegations and then TLJ comes along and completely justifies every single complaint against the character.

On the other hand, TLJ made me appreciate R1 so much more. It just has everything. Action, emotion, humour, new characters, old characters, just looks and feels Star Wars through and through. Frankly, all 6 R1 members get better character development than Rey, Finn and Poe in TLJ.

 

I always thought it was a shame that the Rogue One Prequel Comic got cancelled, because to my mind, it felt like Rogue One suffered from the rushed introduction of the characters.

However compared to the character development we got for Finn, Poe in TLJ, I must say, what Rogue One achieved with a runtime of 2h 13minutes was indeed remarkable.

 

I ranked TLJ a few months ago... and now that I've seen it again on blu-ray, my TLJ ranking is only reaffirmed.

1. TLJ
2. ANH
3. TESB
4. RotJ
5. TFA
6. R1

...50+ parsec gap...

7. TPM
8. RotS
9. AotC

 

1. ESB
2. RotJ
3. ANH
4. TFA
5. Rogue One
6. TLJ
7. TPM
8. RotS
9. AotC

I am optimistic that Solo might end up above Rogue One or TLJ.

 

1. Empire Strikes Back
2. A New Hope
3. Revenge of the Sith
4. Return of the Jedi
5. Rogue One
6. Force Awakens
7. Phantom Menace
8. Attack of the Clones
9. The Last Jedi

I'm optimistic that Solo will fall anywhere from 4-6 on my rankings. Though I was optimistic for TLJ too.

What prequel comic got cancelled?

 

I've noticed that people who have TLJ in their lowest spots tend to have RoTS in a very high place...I find that quite interesting.

 

As someone who fits that description I'll try to answer.

Me personally it all comes down to storytelling. Despite some of the very valid criticisms of Revenge of the Sith and the Prequels as a whole I think they did succeed in one definitive thing: telling a good story. RotS especially succeeded in what should have been a difficult task, it bridged the new movies to the very original. And it did so in my opinion extremely well. TLJ on the other hand was bad storytelling pure and simple. The story of TLJ seemed nonexistent for much of the movie and shallow for the times there was one. That aside RotS simply featured better characters and a better use of its vast cast where as TLJ wasted the majority of its cast. Finally RotS felt like Star Wars where as TLJ had large segments that were jarring, off-putting and felt completely un-Star Wars (to some that may be a positive to me its a sign of ultimate failure). Obviously this is all subjective.

 

RotS is my favorite prequel film, but those films are way below The Last Jedi for story and execution. For all the "bad storytelling" criticisms of TLJ there's nothing in the film as dumb as Padme dying of a broken heart.

Lucas even botched canon with the whole "Leia remembers her mother" for some reason. There's any number of ways Lucas could have made that work on screen, but he didn't and it's not a perfect bridge.

I don't mean to beat up on RofS because it's a film I love, but it's strange to me that people applaud a film with serious flaws while complain that TLJ had "bad storytelling."

I've also noticed that some people really loved Rogue One who didn't love The Last Jedi. I liked RO, but it's not holding up well over time. The first 2/3rds of the movie are pretty boring. The entire film is saved by an amazing last act.

 

I'd say the same goes for TLJ - the story of Poe's mutiny/ Finn Rose sidesplot is pretty boring.

 

1. TFA
:
2. TLJ
.
3. ESB
:
:
4. The rest. (Not counting anthology movies)

 

To say the same goes for TLJ would mean that the first 2/3rds of TLJ are boring. This falls apart in the first 5 minutes. The opening sequence is super exciting. Even if you don't like the Canto Bight/DJ stuff it's not a huge part of the film. There's a lot exciting moments throughout the film.

 

Say what? Sorry, but the opening of the TLJ is boring. Really, really boring. You know why? Because it's way too long! It's about 12 minutes of non stop space battles. I would have made it about 5 minutes.

 

There's no accounting for taste, but it seems most people (whatever they think of the film) like the opening sequence, Poe's attack, the bombers run, and Paige's sacrifice. Right after I posted that I knew someone was gonna say "I didn't like it." Sigh

The main point is exciting stuff happens in the first 2/3rds of the film where RO is saved by an amazing third act.

 

I really had to remember who Paige actually is... So much for Paige's sacrifice. Don't get me wrong this opening was good during my first viewing but after the second one I noticed this opening drags.

Now I need to compare R1 with TPM. A lot of people were satisified after their viewing just because of the awesome last 10 minutes. Same goes for R1. The awesome space battle, Scarif and then Vader. All this makes you forget the "bad" stuff of this movie.

 

it's not boring or long if you think Poe is dreamy. (or...so i'm told). XD

more seriously, though, i do have a low tolerance for lengthy action sequences, but i feel like there are sufficient character stakes in TLJ's opening fight to keep it engaging.

 

Stating that TLJ is worse than Episodes I and II is pure insanity. Nothing in The Last Jedi comes close to some of the cringe-inducing stupidness in those movies. Nothing approaches their level of ineptitude in execution, dialogue and acting by any stretch of the imagination.

 

Too much space battling....in a movie called Star Wars?

 

There were no character stakes though. Maybe for Poe...

*cough* The Force Awakens *cough*

I have nothing against too much space battles. The space battle of ROTJ is one of my favorite scenes in the whole Star Wars saga. But this battle was actually good.

 

You're right, the opening battle of TLJ was actually good.
The Force Awakens NEEDED space battles.

 

i'm inclined to agree that all of Canto Bight is ho hummy (fortunately it's pretty short).
i would have sacrificed all of that for more time and danger on the Supremacy.

Poe, BB-8, Leia, the whole of the Resistance, Paige (though i know you weren't into her).
not to mention Hux: it's his head on the chopping block if this goes cockeyed. and if you like Canady, well, he's dead as a result.

i like the characters ~ all of them ~ so for me there was plenty of stakes. : D