ST Rank The Last Jedi's movie poster

I thought this might be fun. Curious to see how people compare The Last Jedi's poster to the others. Here they all are for reference, sorry for the sloppiness of the collage:


I guess my own rankings go like this:

Spoiler

1st) SW(1977) – I can’t remember when I first saw this poster, but it has always mystified me and induced goosebumps. From a certain point of view, it imagines a version of Star Wars more primordial and closer to McQuarrie’s original concepts than what actually appears in the film. Vader towers over the image like in many other posters, but here he has a more physical presence, like a Sphinx rather than a phantom. You could say that Luke and Leia’s sexualized posing is untrue to the film, but I think it speaks to the underlying psychology of the heroes’ journey that Lucas drew inspiration from. I love this poster because I feel that somewhere in its depths lies the answer to the mystery of how Star Wars captured the world’s imagination.

2nd) ROTJ – There’s a lot of goofiness here, and its comical dichotomy reflects the weirdness of the film’s competing tones. However I think that the image of Luke is so striking, so dominating of the whole canvas that it elevates the poster to another level. It is the iconic portrayal of Hamill imo, and the way Vader’s chest caves into the Throne Room, ready so suck him into void of space is chilling.

3rd) TFA – You could poo-poo this one as an over-the-top love letter to Hollywood popcorn epics, but I see it as a perfection of the form. Its composition is precisely elegant, and full of details like an entire toy store’s worth of imagination. It’s not unfair to say that it is among the most deceptive of the SW posters. Phasma is a total decoy, and Finn’s zen-like warrior doesn't really show up in the film. But its sheer scale, its epic joining of past and present is exactly what I love about SW.

4th & 5th) ESB & AOTC – It’s hard for me to choose one over the other here because I appreciate them both as the “romance” posters. Each is dominated by a lovers’ embrace, and both filled with a kind of desperate tragedy. Han and Leia are trapped in a prison of ice, while Anakin and Padme are gazing into an imagined future we know they will never enjoy. I like that AOTC makes the effort to show a galactic explosion of underlying characters, that bigness, but ESB’s twinkling icicles are magical, foreshadowing the mists of Dagobah and dreamy clouds of Bespin. Both are great, but for different reasons.

6th) TPM – While I don’t think this poster is as formally accomplished as others – actually, it feels a bit sparse – the way it focuses on Anakin, merely a child, is epic. Even though we know how his story ends, the way he channels Luke’s gazing into the Binary Sunset convinces us that Qui-gon’s optimism was not unfounded. This is the beginning of a story that could have ended many ways. It reminds us that Star Wars is a universe of possibilities.

7th) Solo - Although this poster seems to suggest a more spaghetti-western film than we actually got, and more of an ensemble-focused one as well, I don’t think that cheapens it because at least you can argue that Solo was trying to be those things. And its slick presentation is just plain cool.

8th) R1 – The problem with this one is that even though it basically understands how to emulate a Star Wars poster, it runs up against the problem that Rogue One is not a typical Star Wars movie. It doesn’t really channel the film’s bleakness, its dirty-war aesthetic. The Death Star’s looming terror is correctly placed, but underutilized. Its color palette is going for the singular “hope” theme which comes together at the very end, but that isn’t really the story’s overall tone. Instead of showing the tranquil oceans of Scarrif it should have had the dust of Jakku or the imposing void of space, from whence the Death Star emerges. Overall it feels workmanlike and professional, it gets the job done and that’s about it. Not my favorite, even though I love the film.

9th) ROTS – I’ve always been bothered by this one. For starters, the Vader helmet is misused, and Palpatine’s placement is feeble. The clashing of Anakin and Obi-wan feels redundant, and Padme’s presence is almost inert. Idk, I could go on, but at the end of the day I still love the film so I don’t want to be too harsh. It’s just not a good poster imho.

Last) TLJ – The Last Jedi is a laughable and appropriately, so is its poster. It’s covered in red paint like many of the film’s anticlimactic set pieces and weirdly committed to a pointless symmetry (again, like many uninspired shots in the film). Luke’s spooky mug is cheaply positioned like a villain, a silly switcheroo that basically represents all the ex machina plotting behind the story. Why is the evil BB-8 droid there? Why is Snoke missing? Where’s Holdo? To be fair though, I’m not sure how you could make a good movie poster out of TLJ, it’s a bad film on almost every level.

 

Hmm. Original trilogy posters you posted are our only choices? I do like Drew's special edition posters and this:


That said, I ranked it 5th. Middle of the pack. I do love the red and Skywalker's hooded face looming large.

 

I also ranked it fifth, underneath the OT posters (all three of those are classics, and I interchange them on my wall) and the Solo poster, which has a gorgeous sleepy western vibe that I love. The red/white color scheme do a lot for it.

 

I went with that 1977 one because I thought it was the most iconic, but yeah the Drew special edition is awesome too. It reminds me of the old Marvel comics covers!

 

I ranked it 4th behind ANH, TFA, and RO.

I'm predicting that the people that didn't like TLJ will coincidentally not like the poster either. Just as they don't like the title. Purely coincidence, though.

 

1. Attack Of The Clones - Always a sucker for Portman's timeless beauty. I love how this poster looks like a classic movie from the 40s or 50s
2. Return Of The Jedi - Luke's stance and look are amazing. The poster encaptures the intensity of the saga's ending.
3. The Phantom Menace - Perhaps the best one visually, it only ranks lower than the top because of my soft spot for Luke and Amidala
4. Revenge Of The Sith - Again, perfect portrayal of the intensity of that trilogy's last chapter. Plus, lightsabers clashing.
5. The Empire Strikes Back - Han and Leia and a similar artistic style as Episodes 1-3 & 6 (which is my favorite style)
6. The Force Awakens - It could have gone all the way to maybe 2nd or 1st place, if it was a tad less bright. Too colorful. But great.
7. Rogue One - I know I am unfair with this, because it's a beautiful poster, but it kind of doesn't fit with the others.
8. Solo - Same as with Rogue One, but lower because it reminds of an Ocean's Eleven or a James Bond movie. And I don't like that.
9. A New Hope - I know it was 1977 and I know that the accompanying art for a movie was not how it is today, but it looks very 1977, not in a good way.
10. The Last Jedi - This is a gorgeous image, and if the art direction was consistent between the three sequel films and they all looked like that (perhaps with different main colors as themes), then it would have gained my approval, but since TFA's poster tried to replicate the exact same artistic style of the classic movies, the red letters in the title, the dominant red color, and the way that Luke retains the position of the bad guy, are very off putting to me. I did like it more prior to watching the movie, but the above description if 100% consistent with how I saw it before I saw the movie.

 

I like the way this TLJ poster emulates the iconic Luke pose from 1977 and how the lightsaber shines like a star. Also I think it uses red, white and blue better than the other TLJ poster, and it does a good job of highlighting Rey as a central protagonist who must choose between Luke and Kylo.

 

This is a great poster. Better than the TLJ poster in the OP.

I've used part of it as an avatar on a board I admin for the last year+.

 

1. AOTC - I really love the romantic pose against the backdrop of war. A former PT forum regular once described their appreciation of the film due to their love of both the romance and military SF genres. I really liked that take, and the poster captures that feeling really well.

2. ANH - Cheesy but in a really epic way.

3. TPM - The colors, the exotic menace of Maul, regal Padme, and the boy who becomes Vader. Just perfect.

4. ROTS - mainly for the Battle of the Heroes depiction. Makes the poster "move" compared to the others.

5. ROTJ - slug gangster, Leia in a, err, different type of outfit while some little teddy bear dude is chilling next to her. Doesn't really represent the overall film that well, but points for the weirdness.

6. Solo - I like the backdrop. Reminds me of an old SF paperback.

7. TFA - vibrant colors really aid a lack of interesting imagery.

8. ESB - kind of similar to AOTC theme wise, but with weaker execution. Not a fan of the Gone with the Wind pose, and the other elements lack dynamism.

9. TLJ - coloring ruins it for me. Looks more like a tie-in novel cover.

10. R1 - so boring, so blah

 

Is this a poster ranking or just a sneaky way of trying to slam movies at the same time outside of the criticism thread with film criticism?

MY POSTER RANKINGS BASED ON THE POSTERS EXCLUSIVELY

1) ANH

Even if I didn’t know anything about the movie and had never seen the trailer and it was 1977 I’d be intrigued.

2) TPM

Maul’s red, devilish face in the background contrasted with a young child would draw your eye in even if you had no idea what the film was about. Padme’s striking hair and makeup opposite the regal and rugged Jinn provides nice contrast.

3) ROTS.

The duel draws my eye in and I think the faces are all well positioned and work and there’s nothing too dorky about it. Vader in the back looks good.

4) TFA

Contrasting colors work well.

5) TLJ
Continuity is a lower priority for me. Especially when assessing posters! It’s symmetrical. The visual on the bottom looks cool. The color is very striking.

6) AOTC

Hayden and Natalie are both so good-looking that you start out way ahead just from that. Jango in the middle looks deadly. Like the saber on the right. Would be ranked higher if they had put Sidious in the background.

7) TESB

I’ll admit that I probably grade this one harder in part because it’s my favorite movie and it just never seemed to capture it for me. Luke on the Tauntaun centered and shrunken down feels strange and the Gone with the Wind attempt up top has always felt off to me. Yoda and the droids and Chewie all tiny and off to the left seems like an odd choice. Lots of negative space. I like the colors but I always imagine this poster being better.

PS - I’m seeing Empire in 2 days with a Symphony Orchestra and I’m looking forward to it.

8) ROTJ

I think everyone looks too goofy here and that the poster feels rushed with different techniques applied. Han looks less lifelife than Leia or Luke. Busy.

9) Rogue One

I actually like the color scheme. It’s fresh and unique. I like how Vader and Erso look. Death Star works for me. I just feel like everyone else cool gets so short-changed and also they look way too digital. There’s less blurring or blending effects. It looks more photoshopped there. That bothers me. A team up approach with Rey slightly larger and Krenic and Tarkin and Vader looming would have been better.

10) Solo

I don’t like looking at this poster. I don’t like the colors. I don’t like the faux silk screening look. Han’s pose feels like one that would be used in a supporting shot (like ROTJ) but as the lead I would have prefered something closer to his look here in the middle with the gang around him.

 

The bar for modern theatrical one-sheets is so, so low.

 

It's my favorite poster after the original six films. It feels well organized but still cluttered.

 

since they are movie posters designed as advertisements to suck a movie goer into seeing the movies, I'm going to base this as though I have no knowledge of SW movies, that said the ST posters are the ones that would more than likely get my butt in the seats so I will go with

1) TFA
2) TLJ
3) the others

 

I know they were not part of the poll but since @TCF-1138 brought them up I have to say the PT teasers are my absolute favorites. TPM has Vader's shadow behind little Ani and on the ROTS one I love how Anakin's robes transition into Darth Vader. They are so simple yet still tell a story.

I'd choose the PT poster art over the older OT ones- I really like Maul 's size and presence in the background. They do continue the tradition though of the previous two films where Vader was the sinister presence behind the heroes.

Rogue One and Solo would be next for me. I did like the alternate Solo poster better because although I like the western vibe, the orange seems too overpowering.

TFA is ok. Pretty much like the other layouts with the black background.

I dislike the TLJ poster most of all. The red is very gaudy and harsh. In both versions.

 

I like all of them and I've really never given much thought to how I'd rank them. That said this one will probably always be my favorite...



...not just because it's a damn good poster (which it is) but also because of how it made me feel seeing this for the first time as a kid. Star Wars has never been more magical than at that time. I think that's the kind of feeling movie posters should inspire in people.

 

My favourite ones:

 

They should have named that one : Gandalf, Elvira, Yubnub and Richard Lestrange vs. Ewok Undead

 

My favorite Empire poster is and will remain the Australian variant.



It better captures the total feel of Empire for me than the North American version while remaining suitably 1980s. I like the bold colors near the middle and the use of black top and bottom.