The First—and Last—Time We Rank the Star Wars Movies

Do you think it is? George Lucas did more than tell the tale of Vader. The legacy of the Jedi was revised as well. The Jedi Council was found to be flawed, corrupt and capable of manipulation and deception. It's a huge failure. Both Obi-Wan and Yoda failed Dooku.

At its best, this was world-building. To get a deeper appreciation of Lightness, his goodness, was to watch the originals again. It was now clear that he would have become an agent of evil if he hadn't saved his friends. The failure of the Jedi, their recourse to dogmatism and arrogant all-knowingness, and the desire to break the pattern were some of the things thatLuke perceived. Attack of the Clones is near the top of the list. It can plausibly be considered better if a new story in a franchise deepens or expands rather than limits or undermines.

J.J.Abrams didn't understand this. He didn't look to the prequels for inspiration when he directed the first and third of the trilogy. The man looked at the originals.

The result was loving reconstructions that introduced the story of Star Wars to a new generation. This isn't good. The implication that having a female lead in Rey was all it took to legitimate the effort was shameful. His films have to appear dead last in this one. The trilogy threatens to destroy the legacy of the entire franchise because of the mappable characters and plot points.

This list hates lists again. As much asAbrams is to blame for the general worthlessness of Rey's journey to Jedi-dom,lists, especially those that serve only to recapitulate norms, are equally responsible. Such lists aren't good. They poison audiences with a conservatism that is at odds with the emancipatory art of storytellers when they prop up the glory of the old. Fans, far from welcoming radical change, demand loyalty.

Some of the Star Wars fans have shown themselves to be backwards-bound in the extreme, and thus unwelcoming of change. Failures of men are not wise, noble or true. How big is this sodality? It is clear that they are out there and holding us back.

Many of you are likely to be the audience for an article like this. Do you know why you're here? If it is to argue and show off and police and hate, it is an agent of evil. To seek out rankings of Star Wars films is to justify your obsession with and nostalgia for a dying franchise. It would be better if you had friends to flee to. It would be better if you had people to save.