Saga Best and Worst of each film

I do enjoy the speeder chase scene at the beginning of AOTC, not for the CGI, obviously, but for the amusing banter between Obi-Wan and Anakin. I especially love Anakin's "If you'll excuse me!"

I agree with everything you said about the OT bests and worsts.

 

TPM- BEST: Opening segment(it's the beginning of the saga,c'mon!) and the Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan vs. Maul duel
WORST: Queen Amidala bland character(not Natalie Portman's fault)
AOTC- BEST: The bounty hunter chase and the club scene in Coruscant, Obi-Wan vs Jango, the battle of Geonosis and the ending wedding
WORST: Naboo romance
ROTS- BEST: All the saber duels and Order 66, the soundtrack was killer. How the Emperor killed Padme(i believe he killed Padme using his powers because how else would he know that Padme died at the end of the movie when he told Vader?)
WORST: How the Obi-Wan vs Vader duel ended. Seemed very illogical for Vader to jump over Obi-Wan,EVEN if he believed Obi-Wan underestimated his powers
ANH- Best: Practically everything. My favorite is Han Solo's character throughout the whole movie.
WORST: Battle of Yavin was a tad long, but understandable
ESB- Best: Everything that happened on Bespin and the ending as Leia and Luke look out at the galaxy with C-3PO and R2-D2 beside them.
WORST: How Luke cut off the Wampa's arm and left him to suffer. I know this is stupid and very minor but I felt that he would've just fled or straight up killed the Wampa instead of leaving the poor guy there to suffer in pain with no right arm.
ROTJ- Best: THRONE ROOM SCENE!!!!!!! and the opening of the movie with Jabba's Palace and a badass Luke Skywalker in all black and a full mature Jedi.
Worst: Endor battle was a little unbelievable. Seemed like Solo or Leia should've been killed. How they survived all that on Endor is far-fetched.

 

TFA:

Best: existing
Worst: existing

According to the fanbase

 

Time for somebody to do this thing in the right order:

ANH
Best: Sense of fun and high adventure! in almost the whole movie
Worst: Scenes of droids on Tatooine dragged a little.

ESB
Best: Luke vs Vader with the Dark Lord of the Sith at his most terrifying.
Worst: 3P0's whining, especially while escaping Cloud City.

RotJ
Best: Throne room scenes, and honorable mention for the space battle.
Worst: The freak show that was supposed to be Jabba's court.

TPM
Best: 3-way duel.
Worst: 3-way tie for toilet humor, Boss Nass, and Jar Jar.

AotC
Best: Coolest new spaceship maybe ever, before it blew up in the first minute of the movie.
Worst: Just about everything after that, especially the diner, li'l boba, droid factory video game, painfully unfunny 3P0 jokes, muddled plot, pinball Yoda, and of course the cringingly awful A P scenes which made me

RotS
Best: ...I'm thinking, I'm thinking... OK, the dreadnought crash was impressive, I guess...
Worst: The "climactic" duel was ridiculously over-choreographed and over the top.

 

1.
+Visuals in general, it's the most beautiful SW film to date. Naboo is beautiful, Padme's costumes are great, the Gungan city is great for the short screen time it gets.
-Bring balance to the force

2.
+The love scenes. Yes, I think those are awesome. Christensen is creepy, bizarre, unstable, and makes my skin crawl... exactly what a boy who would grow into Vader would be.
-When all the Jedi show up in the coliseum, all those lightsabers going off at once, all that green and blue looks like pieces of candy.

3.
+The ending - teenage Beru and Lars looking at the twin sunset just like in IV. A powerful, perfect ending, and a great lead into the OT.
-Palp convinces Anakin in all of 5 minutes

4.
+The opening scenes of the droids lost in the desert and captured by Jawas, my favorite scenes in the saga.
-Overdubbing of Beru doesn't match exactly, and I don't like Ben calling him "Darth" for short. But really, it's my favorite movie by far.

5.
+Dagobah.
-I can't take Han and Leia's romance seriously because I know it was only done in order to "allow" Luke and Leia to be siblings.

6.
+Funeral pyre
-When Leia thaws Han out and then Jabba and his minions are waiting behind a curtain... it's so ridiculous and childish, the worst part of the saga.

 

Interesting Topic

Episode I:
Best Part - Either the final lightsaber duel as a whole, or simply Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as characters. Liam just made a convincing Jedi Master, and Obi-Wan was written better in this than episode II in my honest opinion. The Final lightsaber duel was just epic, though I found Darth Maul himself an incredibly weak character. Basically nothing to him but the double bladed lightsaber shocker.
Worst Part - Either Jar Jar and the Gungans in general, along with their entire battle scene, which somehow managed to top ewoks in terms of incredibly dumb low-brow humor antics for the kiddies. OR all the corny lines they just had to give little Anakin. I actually liked his character on paper, but all those unconvincing "Yippee!" and "Now this is podracing!" and "Are you an angel?" remarks were pretty unbearable. Granted, Less unbearable than Anakin in Episode II, but still fairly unforgivable.

Episode II:
Best Part - This is easily the hands-down WORST overall entry in the saga in my honest opinion, but if I had to pick a BEST part...hmmm...I guess it would have to be the actual storyline(on paper....in practice it went terribly) and interesting locations that formed the rather intriguing backstory to the until-that-point ominous "clone wars" and the clones themselves. I guess I have to say they also did a fairly decent job showing Anakin as a prodigy of a Jedi in terms of his action sequences as well, though they were 'a bit much' (Although every scene in which he opens his mouth in this movie easily falls decisively into the negative category).
Worst Part - This will be the hardest paragraph to write in this whole post because it's IMPOSSIBLE to pick only one. The most obvious response would be the *Cough*"Love" story*Ahem* between Anakin and Padme. It is one of the few things that I physically actually cringe when watching, rather than just being 'metaphorically' cringeworthy. Padme's performance was much drier than Episode I and Anakin was easily far and away the worst performance in this entry of the series. It is probably more the fault of the script and therefore Lucas than it was the actors, as almost every scene they have together seems to be written BY ten year olds FOR ten year olds. I also found most of the action scenes to be needlessly over the top and poorly scripted. The Bounty Hunter chase, Obi Vs. Jango, Droid Factory, and even the Jedi Vs. Droid battle, were all pretty unsatisfying. In the end, I guess the worst parts of Episode II was they it was just plainly and simply a poorly written script on all accounts. In addition to Anakin being outrageously annoying and angsty, his story was further crippled by poor writing for the characters around him as well. The bickering between him and Obi-Wan was all pretty bad throughout the movie, and I believe it is Obi-Wan's worst delivery in the series as well as Anakin. Everything Obi-Wan said made him seem like a pretentious, condescending 'expletive deleted' and every response Anakin had made him seem like a whinny angsty 'harsher expletive deleted' and led to me not giving half a crap when we were supposed to when his mother died. All this was accentuated by the movies insistence on sacrificing story for cheesy action, which led to a rather underwhelming final duel with the not-so-interesting or threatening villain Dooku as well(Don't get this, he basically played the EXACT same character in LOTR and was much, much, much better at it).

Episode III:
Best Part - Well the best part would have to be that they corrected many issues that plagued Episode 2. There was still some 'a little too over the top action' but was ultimately much more bearable. More importantly, all the acting as more bearable. I really liked Obi-Wan again in this, and even Hayden did a MUCH better job as Anakin this time around. Even the love scenes between him an Padme(while still on the weak side) were MUCH better than Episode II by miles. Nothing incredibly specific jumps out at me with this episode as 'amazing' but its biggest credit is that it was SO much better than the movie that preceded it(Though still not great, mustafaar was still pretty lame dialog) . Story felt much more relevant as well with the fall of the Jedi and rise of Vader/Emporer as well.
Worst Part - Pacing. The biggest problem with Episode III was the fact that they tried to cram WAY too many things into one movie, which led to the entire overall experience feeling very rushed throughout the whole duration. The overly fast pace of the movie led to weaker characters. Random unemotional death of a Jedi we don't know or care about in the first 5 minutes. Dooku was basically useless and anticlimactic, and the fast pacing served to make Anakin seem dumb for switching sides so quickly and the Jedi seem useless for not finding Sidious out sooner and being 99.9% wiped out by clones with seemingly no effort. The climax between Anakin, Padme and Obi-Wan seemed way too fast as well. In the end, 'still' too much time devoted to the cheesy action CGI.

Episode IV:
Best Part - While I'd like to say it was the duel between Obi-Wan and Darth Vader, that really wasn't as special as it should have been. Where the movie really shines is the final assault on the Death Star. Just handled perfectly. Suspenseful but not 'too' cheesy. I should also note this is one of those rare sequences that was actually improved dramatically with the newer special editions of the OT. The old X-Wings and TIEs on strings really took me out of the scene way too much.
Worst Part - Hard to pick a worst part really. Some of the dialog was weak, to be sure, and Tarkin seemed out of place and unnecessary but played his part well regardless. To this day I still don't understand how he outranked Vader, lol. It may be nostalgia, but I'm having a hard time finding a worst part. The ineptitude of the Stormtroopers was a little too glaring, and the Death Star infiltration seemed a little rushed, but I suppose that was the point. I still think Luke should have used his lightsaber SOMEWHERE along the line for SOMETHING in the movie. With all the promotional art with his holding it, it seemed underutilized in the film. I'm not saying he should have had a duel with Vader or anything, WAY to inexperienced at that point. But he DID have it with him, would it have been so bad if used it to deflect a few blaster bolts? or maybe used it to cut something down to make a bridge, or even cut a whole in a wall to aid escape? He just should have done SOMETHING with it is all i'm saying.

Episode V:
Best Part - Come on. Do I really even need to? The Vader duel on bespin is obviously the best part, and the I am your father reveal/defeat of Luke was the best climax in the series. There were a few other great parts though. People hate on the carbonite scene way too much. While Han's line WAS cheesy, I actually thought it was a really powerful scene.
Worst Part - Hmmm...HMMMMMMM.... tough one. I guess I can refer to my problem with Episode IV again. The dialog was a little weak at parts. Especially Leia really seemed to lose her edge from the first movie, though she did at least still get to blast some troopers. One other thing I didn't like was how much Yoda was used for comic relief. They really went overboard with that. They already had the droids for that, they didn't need to make Yoda seem like a crazy idiot for his whole introduction just for comic relief. He's already a Muppet talking about very serious issues with Luke. Isn't that in itself funny enough without making him seem silly/stupid?

Episode VI:
Best Part - Let's see. I really liked the opening sequence, rescuing Han actually. It's really underrated. Everyone hates on it because its cool to disapprove of Leia's bikini these days, but the whole sequence (besides Fett dying too comically) was pretty badass. Even Leia was a badass when she waltzes in there posing as a bounty hunter. And don't forget she was the individual to give Jabba his just rewards for objectifying her in the end. Han being blind and comically taking out Fett was really the only dumb part in this sequence. And let's not forget Luke, the only Jedi in the series to force choke some fools and still be the good guy, lol. I will say that Jabba's Palace was really negatively impacted by the special edition CGI and stuff though. Everything they added to it was just dumb. With all that said, I still think Luke's final face off with Vader and Palpatine is truly the best part in the whole movie, even if the action as a bit choppy. Having seen Sidious fighting in the PT does make his death seem a little lame in retrospect. But when there was no PT this scene worked perfectly. Great climax to the series.
Worst Part - Come on. This is just as obvious as the best part of Episode 5. Ewoks. Easily the worst idea Lucas had prior to the PT. They were just so annoying. I wasn't around in the 80s when this first came out, but even wathing this movie when I was a little kid I hated the Ewoks. As a matter of fact, everything on Endor's surface in general was bad. Easily the low point of the original trilogy. Han and Leia seem useless for the vast majority of it, and even the speeder bike scene was poorly executed. And even despite the fact that the stormtroopers have been pretty useless throughout the whole OT, having them get massacred by these silly little fools is insulting, even for them. The whole entirety of shutting down the Death Star II shield was really poorly done in my honest opinion. Ewoks were the worst part, but even without them this whole sequence kinda sucks. Its really about Luke vs Vader, the rest just felt like useless filler to give the other characters something to do with the whole space battle and ground 'battle' thrown in to break up the focus on Luke.


Yes I know most of you hate me after expressing these opinions. But I'm just being honest.

 

TPM

Best: Qui-Gon and Shmi. I love their scenes together. Those are some wonderful but subdued moments. Palpatine's manipulation of Padmé is also a highlight.
Worst: I love the podrace, but it drags on a tad too long. Though, overall, it's great (especially the sound effects).

AOTC

Best: Anakin's search for his mother. So many great scenes and little character moments. A lot of really underrated acting by Hayden here too. When he looks up with rage in his eyes...
Worst: The droid factory scene. It's just too much for such an action heavy finale.

ROTS

Best: The opera scene. Everything about it. I get chills whenever Palpatine says "It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself." Every. Damn. Time.
Worst: "From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!" George, NO.

ANH

Best: Luke staring out at the duel suns. The music. How iconic it is. But mostly because that scene perfectly encapsulates the sense of longing and desire for adventure. It's perfect. When people try to say that George Lucas is a hack, I just point at that scene. It says so much without anything being said.
Worst: The trash compactor. I get impatient watching it nowadays. It just doesn't maintain tension very well.

ESB

Best: Luke and Anakin speaking to each other telepathically before the Falcon gets away. Luke's confusion, his hurt and desperation. While you contrast that with Anakin trying to get his son back. And the way he looks back out at the window once the Falcon is gone before quietly leaving is such a great character moment.
Worst: Some parts of the Han/Leia romance. Let's just say that they're a bit too childish in some scenes and I've never been too fond of "Slap-Slap-Kiss" romance. I also don't like Han's response of "I know." I honestly don't mind cheese when it comes to romance so I really do prefer the original reply of "I love you too."

ROTJ

Best: Luke's final conversation with Anakin. It's really wonderful - I love how everything Anakin says is about Luke, what Luke has done, how Luke saved him, how Luke was right, in the end.
Worst: The schizophrenic tone. Jumping from Han's shenanigans on Endor to Luke confronting his father is really jarring.

 

I didn't get it the first time, but on second viewing I sort of liked it. (I'm a new SW fan, have only seen the saga twice)
I think what Marquand and Kazanjian were going for was to make the emotional scenes on the new Death Star stronger through juxtaposition with the silliness of the rest of the movie - the Hutt's den and Endor both have this low-brow "family movie" feel, but that sort of makes the serious scenes... more serious, if that makes sense. Same with Yoda's death - to me it's more somber because we just saw a bunch of almost naked women dancing and singing and now we've switched gears.

I know not a lot of people like it and it's not regarded very well compared to IV and V (so if that's what they were going for, it didn't necessarily work) but I think that was the intention.

 

I definitely agree that the silliness on Endor can highlight the seriousness of what's happening aboard the Death Star. This is, in my opinion, one of Star Wars' most under-appreciated components. It's not afraid to be silly or childish or immature while also having those moments of depth, of trauma, of darkness, and despair. And they definitely reinforce one another and reflect the reality that life itself is a mix of all these things.

Where I think ROTJ suffers a tad is that it's just too abrupt for me. It's almost like mood whiplash. There's one moment in particular I can think of in ROTJ where Han makes this "aw shucks" pose and then we immediately cut to Anakin, in the darkness stalking Luke and threatening to turn Leia. It's just too harsh for me. It wrings my emotions too hard and makes it difficult to settle back into the film. Though, of course, this will vary person to person.

 

TPM's best -- Podrace, Liam Neeson, Darth Maul vs Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
worst-- Dull moments in the senate.

AOTC's best -- Speeder chase, Jango Fett, Kamino and Geonosis as a whole.
worst -- The romance

ROTS's best -- Coruscant battle, Order 66, Anakin vs Obi-Wan, Binary sunset ending.
worst -- Still some bad romance, Padmes death.

ANH's best -- Tantive Four beginning, Death Star rescue and attack.
worst -- Some less then perfect acting.

ESB's best -- Everything
worst -- Not really anything

ROTJ's best -- Speeder chase, Endor battle, final duel, Vaders sacrifice, victory celebration.
worst -- Jabbas palace does go on a bit too long.

 

TMP
Best - The final duel between Maul and Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon.
Worst - The rest of the movie lol

AotC
Best - The final duel between Dooku and Yoda
Worst - The rest of the film lol.

RotS
Best - The final duels between Obi-Wan and Anakin, and Yoda vs Sidious.
Worst - The entire film was awesome, 2nd best of the saga, no real weak points imo.

ANH
Best - Hard to say, the entire film was awesome.
Worst - No real weak points to speak of, great film.

ESB
Best - The entire film, best of the saga! Film was perfect and flawless.
Worst - None

RotJ
Best - The final scenes/duel with Luke, Vader and Sidious.
Worst - No real complaints really, Ewoks maybe lol

 

TPM - Best: It's a toss up between the opening segment to when the jedi land on Naboo, or all the scenes set on Corsucant.
Worst: Either the Podrace, which is a tad overlong. I wouldn't mid if it was a bit shorter, we do see the same race basically 3 times, with the 3 laps.

AOTC - Best: The interleaved sections where Obi-Wan investigates Kamino and Anakin and Padme are on Naboo.
Worst: It's a hard choice, but I guess the pointlessness of making Zam a changeling, only to never have her change into anyone.

ROTS - Best: The scene where Anakin has to decide between Mace and Palpatine.
Worst: The high-pitched Super Battle droids are rather annoying, and I'm not overly keen on the lift shaft scenes.

ANH - Best: The trench run was a surprisingly tense sequence the last time I watched it. It does tread a thin line between tense and dull though.
Worst: The trash compactor, and the Death Star escape scenes in general.

ESB - Best: The Battle of Hoth, even just for the soundtrack, though the battle is interesting too.
Worst: A few too many scenes on Dagobah where Luke does basically the same thing. The arrival on Dagobah isn't great either.

ROTJ - Best: The space battle of Endor and the scenes with Palpatine.
Worst: The Speeder Bike chase has never managed to get me excited one bit.

 

TPM
Best: Darth Maul duel
Worst: Jar Jar

AOTC
Best: Felucia Battle
Worst: Hayden C. Is a TERRIBLE actor!

ROTS
Best: Yoda/Sidious Battle
Worst: Hayden C. Is a TERRIBLE actor!

ANH
Best: Leia rescue scene
Worst: No complaints its a classic!

TESB
Best: Luke & the Wampa on Hoth
Worst: Better training w/ Yoda

ROTJ
Best: Ewoks
Worst: Vader without his mask looks like a fat dude lol