From 2015 until 2019, the Star Wars saga returned with the third trilogy in the series; the sequel trilogy. Continuing the story of the first six movies, the sequel trilogy saw the return of old characters, as well as the arrival of several new faces. With evil afoot once more in the galaxy, can heroism prevail once more, or will everything fall for good? Although it’s tempting to say that every Star Wars movie is of equal quality, not only does not everyone agree, but that goes against the title of the article. So without further ado, here are the Star Wars sequel trilogy movies from worst to best, ranked!
3. The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Qn_spdM5Zg
The third and final installment of the trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker sees the Resistance team up for one final confrontation against the First Order. As several misadventures ensure, the group discovers secrets and familiar old faces emerge to exact revenge. Can the ragtag protagonists save the day or will the world be plunged into darkness?
The Rise of Skywalker is more than just a poor Star Wars film. It’s a poor film overall, with haphazard pacing, half-baked storylines and a lack of proper buildup to the action. For these reasons, it will be the worst Star Wars film of all time to me.
2. The Last Jedi (2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY
After the success of The Force Awakens, it was clear that the sequel would be greenlit without issue. The next step was to create a compelling story to go along with it. Did they succeed on this front? It depends on who you ask.
After their victory in the last film, the First Order is still split off into various subgroups. Trilogy protagonist Rey (Daisy Ridley) begins to learn to be a Jedi with legendary Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Meanwhile, heroes such as Finn (John Boyega) and Poe (Oscar Isaac) deal with unrelated issues. As the different subplots begin to converge, will the heroes save the day?
The Last Jedi greatly plays around with established Star Wars tropes and conventions…to mixed results. While there are intriguing ideas presented to the audience, they never are made to feel as if they are consistent with the ideals of the Star Wars universe. While alterations to an established formula can be a good thing, they never should be enacted for the sake of change. As such, The Last Jedi gives a worthy effort but doesn’t go the full distance.
1. The Force Awakens (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE
The first Star Wars installment since 2005’s Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens resumes the classic story. After the nefarious First Order has risen to create tyranny, a plucky group of heroes takes charge in order to put a stop to their nefarious intentions. These heroes include desert-scavenger Rey, former Stormtrooper Finn and pilot Poe, who are joined by Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford) to defeat Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). Will this combination of old and new be enough to bring back peace to the galaxy?
The Force Awakens is a solid start to the trilogy, if a little bit derivative. The scenarios are similar, but there’s enough fun to be had to make the experience worthwhile. Overall, it’s hardly the worst way to begin the series once more.
