Saga In your opinion, which Star Wars movie is the most underrated or most overrated movie? And why?

I've changed my mind here. On the very first post, I said that TESB was overrated. But now, it seems clear to me that TFA is the most overrated Star Wars movie, with some fans claiming that "it's the return to the true Star Wars".... while Star Wars has never disappeared...

 

The most underrated is TPM. The older I get the more I enjoy this movie. The pod racing was enjoyable, Liam Neeson was great, and I like the political aspect. I love the introduction of the senate and it's floor . Plus, it's the last time we see puppet Yoda! Most overrated is indisputable, TFA. Complete rehash of New Hope. The more I have watched TFA the less entertaining it has become. The acting was above average which did help the flick, IMHO

 

Totally agree! Though, ROTS wasn't a bad movie.

 

I think that the PT is general is underrated (actually, its still rather hated) in the sense that there has been considerable nit picking of the 3 films. There is much to like (e.g. the visuals, art direction, world building, story, and so forth) about the PT and its a shame that so many are willing to completely ignore it. TFA has glaring flaws, yet these were largely ignored by the critics and general movie audience. BTW, I firmly believe that if George was the director of TFA, it would not have received the glowing reviews, especially from specific elements of the fan base.

So for me I guess that TPM is the most underrated and TFA is the most overrated. I also think that Rogue One deserves all the praise it gets and then some.

I love TPM, and I can't really explain why. Its really a goofy movie in a lot of ways, but I don't care. The PT in general has a very 1930s or 40s sci fi cheesiness that I can appreciate.

 

Revenge of the Sith is the best franchise film this century. Lucas at his peak as a visual storyteller.

 

Underrated - Return Of The Jedi

Overrated - Most of Revenge Of The Sith

 

Underrated films:

The Phantom Menace - It's often derided as the worst of the prequels, but in some ways it's the best of the prequels. It's the only one where I character I actually cared about died (Qui Gonn) for starters. It's also pretty visually interesting and in some ways has held up the best appearance wise when you look at the PT. I also think there were some potential story threads in the film that Lucas abandoned that had a ton of potential. In particular Anakin's dream about returning to free the slaves. I think that could have been really good if they followed up on it. Anakin acting against the Jedi council to free slaves would have made for a really interesting story arc.

Rogue One - Yeah it's way too early for me to call it underrated probably, but I think it's either the best or 2nd best SW film pretty easily. I have a strong feeling that Rogue One is going to climb the rankings like TESB has over the years (granted in Ep 8/9 are insanely good then who knows what we'll think )

Overrated films:

ROTS - I find it to be probably the most watchable of the prequels, but in some ways it's the worst. The characterization is awful and ridiculous (characters continually do things that make no sense simply to drive the plot) and Anakin's turn was just silly... I mean he becomes Darth Vader because of bad dreams? Come on. Padme is also completely ruined as a character in this film. For me it's easily the most frustrating Star Wars flim to watch because you can see that there was so much potential.... the execution just wasn't there. I will say ROTS has one of the best William's scores... fantastic work there.

TFA - Don't get me wrong, I like TFA... and place it somewhere near ROTJ. But it's not anywhere close to TESB/RO or ANH for that matter. The characters are well done, but the SKB stuff is ewoks level stupid.

ANH - Blashphemy!!!! Yeah so I'm only saying ANH is slightly overrated; being the first film it definitely gets a pass on some things. However, watching Rogue One reminded me that there's really some ridiculous/stupid things that happen in ANH that don't make a lot of sense. Still, the film is very well executed and doesn't have glaring flaws like ROTJ/TFA/PT. I do think it's clearly inferior to TESB and probably Rogue One also.


I think the general consensus on TESB (yeah it's really that good), AOTC (yeah it's really that bad) and ROTJ (good flim, but the worst of the OT. Highest highs, lowest lows, Ewoks, inconsistent, etc)

 

Disclaimer: I genuinely enjoy watching all the Star Wars movies though I acknowledge that some have deep flaws and none are perfect. Ok, maybe The Empire Strikes Back is perfect.

Underrated

- The Phantom Menace

I quite like this film. There are glaring flaws which are well-known to everyone, but I think TPM is a successful movie on many levels. It's satisfyingly self-contained but also sets up the shadow of the Sith very well (although this is largely squandered by its two sequels). Qui-Gon was a good new character, a young Obi-Wan was convincing, and Darth Maul was a suitably intimidating villain if lacking in substance (although I'd argue he didn't really need to be particularly substantial). There's also some really solid design work which is far superior to the often messy aesthetics of AOTC and ROTS.

Overrated

- Revenge of the Sith

The film manages to function reasonably well in the third act, but everything that went before it seems wasted. I didn't find Anakin's fall believable. Even AOTC was better at this with the genuinely very good Tusken village scene. Additionally, the acting and writing is no real improvement over the justly-maligned AOTC.

ROTS is also probably the worst offender in the saga in terms of CGI misuse. Great score though.


All the other films are rated about right I reckon.

 

Most Overrated: TESB
Honorable Mention: TFA

Most Underrated: TPM
Honorable Mention: ROTJ

First to address the overrated movies. I know most people have TESB as their #1, but for me it's never even been #1 for the OT, let alone all the movies. I understand the reasons people love it, but I view the movies from different standpoints. Having the big action sequence early, and then not a lot of action the rest of the movie is not ideal for me, and the middle really slogs on repeat viewings. As for TFA, it's the only SW movie I possibly don't love, but just like. It's a lazy copycat of ANH and basically just a lovefest for the OT.

As for the underrated movies. TPM isn't nearly as bad as many would have you think. It's got a fun lighthearted atmosphere, some cool action scenes, and the best duel in the saga, not to mention possibly the best music score of the saga. ROTJ is my favorite OT movie which for most people is usually their least favorite. While it has some faults in the first half, the second half is just amazing between the epic space battle, decent endor battle, and the emotional string of events on the death star.

 

Most underrated: AOTC
Most overrated: ESB to some extent but definitely TFA
I won't go into details because most have already been mentioned. PT lovers usually pick either ROTS (far fewer TPM) as favorite, but rarely AOTC, for whatever reason. That's why it gets my vote as "most underrated".
I never got all the recent ESB hype. Sure, it's "darker", but that for me doesn't make it better than ANH, which for me will always be THE #1 OT movie.
No comments on TFA at this point. I truly have no idea if it's "overrated" or "underrated". Anyway I just feel that it fails miserably as the introduction to a new trilogy, period.
I have yet to see Rogue One.

 

Most overrated: Definitely The Empire Strikes Back. After the Battle of Hoth the movie really slows down.

Most Underrated: Attack of the Clones. Anakin and Padme are an adorable couple, and there are some good fight scenes.

 

Most underrated: TPM. There's really nothing that terrible about it besides Jar Jar and Anakin. It does a great job of adding so much to SW while still feeling like the same universe. Darth Maul was cool. The Podracing scene was great. I just assume the haters dislike CG and new things. But whatever; I don't feel like ranting.
I feel like adding: ROTJ is also fairly underrated. Besides the Ewoks I'd say it did a great job.

Most overrated: TFA: Duh. The film makes me want to vomit. Every aspect of it is a psychological scheme to induce a sense of nostalgia. The movie makes no attempt to add anything original or ever try to be creative. The whole show is just a cheap, plastic remake of the OT. I can't believe it's gotten so much praise.

 

Underrated - Attack of the Clones

This movie is one of the most underrated movies of the last 15 years.The relationship of Anakin/Padme, the Jedi kicking butt at Geonosis, the Clone Wars beginning, Obi-Wan's investigation field trip, the incredible Sir Christopher Lee as Count Dooku. I really don't see why it gets hated on.

Overrated - The Force Awakens
This was the first Star Wars movie since ROTS, and as such expectations were sky-high, and many peoples' reactions were amazingly positive. When I first saw the film, I was a bit swept up in the hype, but ever since then my relationship with this films has been rocky. One thing I have pretty much always thought though - the praise this movie received was baffling. As a piece of popcorn entertainment, I find it enjoyable. But if you look at it through a Star Wars lens, it is, frankly, a horrible movie (I really hate to go on a rant like this, but this thread asked for my opinion and it's not like I go around complaining every day). It took the characters of the Original Trilogy in completely illogical directions - it was pretty clear to me at least that George was setting up Luke to lead the new Jedi successfully where Yoda failed, for Leia to become a Jedi (and maybe Chancellor), and for Han to take an active role in the New Republic. Instead it gives a Luke who failed just like Obi-Wan and Yoda, a Leia who is pretty much General Dodanna from ANH, and a Han Solo who reverted back to his pre-ANH characterization. The Luke I know would not run, the Leia I know would have navigated the political situation skillfully, and the Han I know would not have given up on the New Republic.

Also, many of the situations way too conveniently mirror those of A New Hope. Why is the Empire still a thing? Why are the good guys a small band of Rebels again? Why is our hero raised on a desert planet, but not Tatooine? Where is Coruscant, which was shown to be the center of the galaxy? Why would the Empire try another attempt at a Death Star after the first two failed so spectacularly? Why are the Jedi extinct again?

The galactic storyline and characters were reset for an ANH reboot. Star Wars is about being creative! Taking risks! I really don't get why this movie is held in such high regard when it is just a blatant copy of what came before that ignores the lore and spirit of Star Wars. It's a fun popcorn movie with good acting and a good score, but I can't see it being anything more than that.

 

Underrated - AOTC
Overrated - ROTS

 

This is one of those times were I strongly disagree with you, but I also absolutely see where you're coming from. Very well written reasoning, regardless. I'm really hoping The Last Jedi works for you.

 

Like I said, I try not to dwell on what I don't like most of the time. But that was the point of this thread.

 

Underrated: The Phantom Menace

Not a great film, but I feel people look far too much into this films negatives and not enough of the positives. The score is great, the casting is good, it has the best action scenes of any of the prequels, and it felt the most like an actual Star Wars film out of any of the prequels. I even think Jake Lloyd played a decent child Anakin. A definitely flawed movie, but it was still a fine jumping off point for the trilogy.

Overrated: Revenge of the Sith

Honestly, I don't understand the hype behind this one. Yes it's the best Prequel, but that was hardly a difficult goal considering the quality of the previous two. The film suffers from having to tell 80% of the backstory told to us in the OT, General Grievous acts like he came out of an 80's action cartoon, and the CGI has aged to the point where it's on par with TCW. Palpatine essentially became a caricature of himself, Vader utters the most hilarious "No!" ever on film, and everything all of a sudden looks like it does in ANH within the last 10 minutes, for some reason. Honestly the only reason I see people like this movie is because it's dark, which is pretty much irrelevant now since Rogue One is just as dark.

 

Underrated: Attack of the Clones

While definitely not one of my favorites in the series this movie seems to have gradually garnered more and more hate over the years, surpassing TPM as the least popular Star Wars movie of the saga, at least from what I see on the internet. Many of the criticisms of this movie seem fair but it does some things exceedingly well. Despite the fact that most people tend to focus on some of the clunkier lines (I don't like sand...) Anakin had some very good scenes in this movie. I liked the scene where he talked to Padme about how the government could be better run with a single strong leader. This sentiment was only growing more with the later rise of the Clone Wars. It was these feelings of frustration and powerlessness that Palpatine fed on to grow more powerful within the Republic and gain influence over Anakin. I'll also say that the Jango Fett battle on Kamino was one of my favorites in the saga as it was short and well cherographed with suspense and even a bit of humor thrown in. The arena battle with the beasts felt like a call back to old Flash Gordon serials and Dooku made for a more interesting (though still somewhat lacking) villain than either Maul or Grievous from the other two movies. It's a fun movie in a lot of ways, maybe a bit uneven but still full of memorable moments and good character insights. While I don't think it's one of the best Star Wars movies, I don't think it deserves quite as much hate as it often gets.

Overrated: Revenge of the Sith

I like this movie. It's grown a lot on me over the years. That being said I think it's rather silly when I hear some people act like it's a perfect masterpiece. It has a lot of things going for it but still suffers from uneven acting, flat dialogue, unnatural character progression, and an obsession with tying everything up in a neat little bow at the end. I really do like this movie and think it's the strongest of the prequels, but it seems that people give it too much credit for being the best prequel and in doing so ignore some problems. To be honest it was tough picking the most overrated since I don't think any of the Star Wars movies is really that overrated among the general public. This one was more a process of elimination really.

- One last note: One this site at least I don't think TFA could be considered close to overrated as it's probably the third least popular film in the saga around here. As for the general public- from what I've seen in reviews and from friends I think most people were pretty fair with this movie. There was almost unanimous agreement that it borrowed too heavily from ANH and that some of the plot elements were less than satisfying. However the movie was generally well received thanks to its good acting, nice visuals, and having a sense of charisma that felt lacking from much of the prequels. I wouldn't really call that overrated.

 

Giving this question a re-evaluation, I'd say:

Most Overrated: Easily TFA. Again, not horrible by any means, but it's a fairly vapid retread that many still tend to elevate to the OT status.

Most Underrated: Easily ROTJ. I don't really get the objections to the film. The Ewoks (being a "taste" issue, I suppose?) Jabba's Palace being "unnecessary" (um, did you not want Han rescued?) and the 2nd Death Star (which many of the same people tend to welcome Starkiller base) are hardly valid complaints and seem more an attempt of acting the part of a "highbrow" critic rather than a saga fan.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

Seems I've posted here before, but why not update?

Underrated: This handily goes to The Phantom Menace. Without this movie, the Star Wars universe would be so much smaller. The soundtrack, characters (Qui-Gon, specifically), and locations are some of the best in the saga. I don't get the immense hate for Jar Jar or Jake Lloyd. I can't believe some would say The Phantom Menace "ruined their childhood." Very exaggeratory.

Overrated: I don't know what I posted for this one last time, but it's going to have to be TFA for me. Completely undermines the victory in ROTJ and sets the galaxy to almost exactly where it was in ANH. Additionally, there is little to no explanation for why everything is the way it is in this film. The 30 year time gap really hurt this movie. And of course, the plot is 90% identical to ANH (TPM is not even on the same level), but what it does to ROTJ and the OT characters is worse in my opinion.

 

I need to update my overrated vote to TFA as well. Definitely the worst of the bunch for me.

 

Most overrated: Definitely TFA. It's just not a good movie, in my opinion. The plot is nonsensical at times, the characters are not very well drawn, the dialogue is poor, and overall it feels like an inept imitation of ANH (and a little bit of ESB).

Runner up: ESB. I mean, I love this movie; I think it's brilliant, well-written, well-shot, and even profound. But the dogma that it is the undisputed best Star Wars movie is tiresome.

Most underrated: TPM. It's not perfect, sure, and I dislike Jar-Jar as much as the next person. But people seem to get hung up on what are really some fairly superficial flaws and miss the fact that there's a really solid, intelligent movie underneath. It's darn hard to write a script that does all the things TPM does: the ostensible main plot of the Trade Federation's blockade, the beginning of Anakin's story, the re-emergence of the Sith, and behind everything Palpatine's quiet rise to power. The fact that so many people can mistake TPM for a simplistic kids' movie is a testament to how smoothly all those threads were worked together.

Runner up: AotC. The love story is much maligned, but if you ask me the awkward and somewhat stilted nature of it is a feature rather than a bug. There are a few lines of dialogue I wish had been re-written one more time, but I think Hayden Christensen is severely underrated as Anakin in this.

 

Revenge of the Sith. I used to say TPM or AOTC, but I find that ROTS is probably the more misunderstood/underrated, not fully aware of its potential.

Just my opinion..

 

Overrated: ESB. It doesnt stand alone as a coherent movie, and is a bit slow, and the pacing is a little weird.
That said, it's still usually my favorite.

Under: ROTJ. Great space battle, great effects, best lightsaber battle, and I really don't mind the Ewoks.
Its a close second favorite for me.

 

This is an easy one.

Underrated: Attack of the Clones - This movie didn't dazzle me as much as TPM the first time I saw it, but I eventually saw it ten times in the theater and it just kept getting better and better and better.

Overrated: The Force Awakens - My expectations werent all that high and I was honestly shocked at just how bad it was.