A New Hope

Starting with the first movie made, “Star Wars: A New Hope,” it became very clear to me while watching the movie that, although it was enjoyable to watch, it lacked elements that make a true classic movie. Sure, it has everything necessary to make a typical action movie. However, the movie lacked the depth necessary for creating a successful  movie franchise, especially one that would be memorable for generations to come. Thankfully, its sequel would provide just that.

The Empire Strikes Back

“Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” corrected everything “A New Hope” failed to do, including fleshing out its main characters while still keeping some of the humor of its predecessor. The greatest change was the change of tone between “A New Hope,” a more of a light-hearted movie, and the darker “The Empire Strikes Back.” With new characters and plot lines thickening, the movie was turning point of the whole series. Additionally, it provided one of the most famous plot twists in all of cinema history, making it an instant classic.

Return of the Jedi

The third movie “Return of the Jedi” continued the engaging plot and almost perfect blend of humor, drama and action that “The Empire Strikes Back” blended so well. Although many people would argue that the introduction of the Ewoks was a lower point in the original series, the rest of the movie–especially the ending–make up for this questionable slip-up. The end of the movie was not only extremely intense, but left viewers feeling content with how the series ended and tie up loose ends.

The Phantom Menace

Ten years later, George Lucas decided to make a prequel series to further flesh out the story of Anakin Skywalker. Fans of the original series were immediately disappointed in “The Phantom Menace” with the creation of Jar Jar Binks, quite easily the most annoying, useless, and hated character in the whole series. To add further insult to injury, the child that played the young Anakin was annoying; add to that questionable acting from lots of members of the cast, and this movie was a flop. The only redeeming qualities of this movie were the acting performance of Liam Neeson as Qui Gon Jinn and the creation of Darth Maul, a new Sith Lord who shocked all viewers with a double ended lightsaber.

The Clone Wars

In the second prequel “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” the most significant change from its predecessor was the quality of acting. Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu, and the legendary Christopher Lee as Count Dooku all delivered stellar performances. The fight scenes were better than “The Phantom Menace,” and the arena fight was arguably the best in the series with lots of Jedi, droids, and monsters fighting all in one place. Sadly, an extremely sub-par performance from actor Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker led to the character who would become the villainous Darth Vader a whiny teenager.

Revenge of the Sith

The final part of the prequel trilogy, “Revenge of the Sith,” was a quality conclusion to the series, although not as satisfying as the ending of “Return of the Jedi.” It had some of the darkest moments in the whole series, and the battle between Anakin and Obi-Wan in the conclusion viewed as the best duel in the whole series. The movie also wrapped up many plot holes that remained in the series.

The Force Unleashed

“The Force Unleashed” was announced on November 6th, 2014 after Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars Series. With impressive movies in this series, fans are eagerly awaiting the new movie to come out. Some fans are worried about the quality new movie, but many still hope that director J.J. Abrams can pull through and make a movie that will exceed the already extremely high expectations and provide another great experience for Star Wars Fans.