Saga Least Favorite Film of the Saga and Why (Locked-Use New Thread)

My least favourite used to be ANH. It's got the simplest story, the most black and white morality (which can be fine, but I usually prefer a bit more nuance), and has the weakest effects.

ANH was usurped as my least favourite by TFA, which was a redo of ANH, only much weaker (except effects I suppose. But when most of the effects are just attempts to do the effects of 1977 again, it makes it hard to see them as better). Rey had no character arc, Finn's arc had potential but didn't really deliver at all, and the villains were all mediocre.

 

I might actually be leaning toward R1 now. Tried to watch it a second time and I didn't make it through. The characters are just so bland, lacking both naturalistic range and any truly memorable stylized verve. Quite simply they feel like action movie characters from any random action movie. TFA at least had a great performance by Boyega even if I would've preferred the character to be a bit less comedy driven, and a bit more serous. Set piece wise R1 bored me on the second viewing, while TFA had the freighter scene (the one stretch of the film I love) and the arrival of the X-Wings, which were pretty cool. R1 still gets the edge for world design, although even then Jedha is the only highlight, and not exactly in a manner that screams instant classic SW location.

So yeah, probably have to go with Rogue One as my least favorite. Or to put a positive spin on it, I appreciate TFA a little bit more than I did previously.

 

Easily The Phantom Menace. I'm actually surprised Attack of the Clones is in the majority for the worst SW film. TPM is more of a standalone film, or a prelude to a trilogy, like Rogue One is to the OT. It's just not a story that needed to be part of the main narrative. I always felt AOTC felt more like the beginning of a trilogy and it could be with a few minor chances to some dialouge and maybe change the ending up a bit. TPM doesn't serve much purpose other than to introduce Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Padme. That's all it ultimately sets up. Then we have the problems with the film itself. Kid Anakin, Jar Jar Binks, and Anakin saving the day at the end.

 

It used to be Attack of the Clones, but after rewatching all seven Episodes, The Force Awakens takes this spot.

Some nice camera shots and lighting with good acting by Adam Driver, but VERY poorly written with grating attempts at humor. The protagonist also has zero flaws and is unrelatable.

 

For a long time it was Attack of the Clones but the older I get the more I realise that it is Revenge of the Sith. I find the huge tonal shifts (between comedy, adventure caper, space soap, war, dark tragedy, and 50s pulp serial) really jarring, and while the central flaw in my view is Anakin's unconvincing turn and apparent personality transplant, the last 15 minutes or so are mainly what do it for me. They're all the worst impulses of Lucas writ large: the excess of special effects driven storytelling, the rushed wrapping up of plot threads (including previously ignored elements), quite possibly the most disrespectful ending to a major character, and the full on nostalgia burn regardless of continuity or theme. McDiarmid's ludicrously over the top performance undercuts 3 movies' worth of careful menace (going back to the problem of tonal consistency) and it has some of the worst dialogue of all the films.

 

I think TPM is the worst by a long way. AotC is a clear step up IMO, so I'm also surprised to see the results here. Still, that the two films share about 60% of the votes is standard in these types of polls.

 

Return of the Jedi. I feel like everyone just hung up at this point. It has the slowest opening of any SW film, and I hate the designs, effects, paintings, etc. The choreography in all the action scenes is downright hilarious to me. I find the whole "Are the Ewoks gonna eat us?" part a waste of time. The Battle of Endor is just....wow. And I find the acting in the film to be consistently mediocre at best.

The last 10 minutes of the Special Edition version is nice tho. And I find more appreciation for it if I watch ROTS before it. If I go from Empire to Jedi, I don't find the emotional climax of Vader turning good all that real for me.

 

I will love ROTJ to no end. You sit on the throne of lies Del

 

Huh...??

 

Not to speak for the person you quoted but I can see where they might be coming from. Maybe not "overuse" to me, though, as opposed to misuse. Vader never felt so cartoonish to me as he did in R1.

 

Yes, mostly this. While seeing Vader's castle on Mustafar gave me the biggest fangasm I've ever had, the scene is perfunctory at best and ultimately unnecessary, and though I've made peace with the Vader massacre scene at the end of the film, it's still too gratuitous in my opinion.

 

For me it’s almost a three way tie with all three prequels. The stinted love story and all the Trade Federation political garbage. Boring as all heck. But Phantom Menace is the worst of the worst because of Jake Lloyd’s hollow acting and any time Jar Jar Banks appears. Watching Binks is like being tied to a chair and forced to listen to country music - loudly.

 

ESB, as I feel it's mostly filler.

I find the Hoth scenes the most boring in the saga and don't much care about the falcon scenes.

 

AOTC, because of the poorly written and acted love story, largely unlikable protagonist, cartoonly looking visuals, plot threads that aren't resolved, and another revolving door villain.

 

For me it's between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Attack of the Clones "wins" as my second least liked because of Count Dooku's story and character, but the movie was still dragged down by the romance and random nonsense like the majority of the arena scene (particularly C-3PO). Then with Phantom Menace I like Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, and I'm fine with the Midi-Chlorians because I think, with other material involved later, it's fine. However, I thought the podrace was boring, the space battle at the end was underwhelming and goofy, and the whole movie just felt SLOW. My wife and I watched all the movies (aside from the Clone Wars animated movie) and the first movie was just painful and, at the end, my wife just said "That didn't even feel like Star Wars to me." She's not a mega fan or anything so she couldn't articulate why, but everything about it to her felt off.

So yeah. Episode I for me.

 

Hmm, I can see this even though ESB sits at the middle of my rankings. The film is heavily carried by the Luke on Dagobah and Cloud City sections. The rest has not aged well at all for me.

 

yup, Agreed 100%

 

Going to have to agree there. While the love story was nice and added more character, it did feel a little like the factory scene in AOTC(even that was more justifiable). With the movie being slower and methodical, not to mention the cut/necessary training scenes that was taken out, I wasn't to impressed with it when I was a kid. It was the most boring movie I had ever seen. Thankfully I have come to appreciate its design choices. Although ESB to me broke too much of the flow that ANH had. During those times, a lot of cynical and dark movies were popular so seeing ESB in that context, sorta disappoints me they went that route.

ANH and ROTJ had a sense of momentum going on. I'd even say the prequels were the same too.

ESB started like the rest but kept being slow throughly until Vader vs Luke.

yup, Agreed 100%

 

Funny how we all see these things differently. My favourite part of ESB is Hoth, and the Millenium Falcon has never looked better than during the chase, and the scenes or dialogue onboard are some of the most memorable of the entire saga.

 

Has to be AOTC. I enjoy it, as I enjoy all the Star Wars filma, but the Portman/Christensen scenes are almost unbearable, and the CGI is out of control. It's also extremely slow for most of its runtime.

Still love aspects of it - Obi-Wan's noirish Kamino adventure and the Tusken village scene, which I think is the only time that the prequels really nail Anakin as a character.

 

Yup. The character interplay during the asteroid sequences is essential to the development of the romance. In repeat viewings I'm never thinking "This is just an elaborate car chase. I can just skip this."

 

Although TFA is, by far, the least good/favorite SW film of mine, TESB has also aged badly and lost a lot of points in my last viewing. While I do like the Hoth part, Dagobah and Cloud City, I feel that the romance part wasn't handled as good as the rest. It's like, lets cram them together in an asteroid and they fall in love. It lacks that factor that binds them, that makes their love more natural and human. There are some other bits too that I don't like much, but I'll leave them for now.

 

It's not just because they cram inside an asteroid. It's because they are constantly about five seconds from being blasted to bits from the moment they escape from Echo Base, and by the skin of their teeth.. And it's a romance that only begins to be honestly reciprocated when it seems that death or capture is imminent or when it appears that they have put themselves out of danger.