Something big happened in 1977. Smallpox was officially eradicated, specifically in late October. Oh, and also, arguably more relevant here,Star Warswas released a few months before that, and it was not small, nor an infectious disease. It was first known asStar Wars, but later became known asStar Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. And that sounds a bit confusing, or maybe it did some years ago, but the firstStar Warswas actually the fourth entry in the series, chronologically speaking.George Lucas, who createdStar Warsand directed the first movie, had the original trilogy play out first (it was continued withThe Empire Strikes Backin 1980 andReturn of the Jediin 1983), and then helmed the prequel trilogy between 1999 and 2005. Those movies were a little controversial at the time, but have become more appreciated in recent years, with the third movie (and final prequel),Revenge of the Sith(2005), being particularly well-liked now, on account of that being the one where things happen. Also, it connects things very directly withEpisode IV, and in turn makesThe Phantom MenaceandAttack of the Clonesfeel a little more meaningful in hindsight.
That’s a bit of preamble, and probably common knowledge to most people, but it sets the stage to talk about an even more divisive collection ofStar Warsmovies: the sequel trilogy, which was released between 2015 and 2019. These films were made with George Lucas’s direct involvement, ashe sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, and that certainly changed things. The prequel trilogy wasn’t always great, but it did have a consistent vision throughout, and Lucas being behind all three movies (directing as well as writing) probably helped in that regard. Less planned out and a bit more cynically made, the sequel trilogy takes place afterReturn of the Jediand has mostly new characters with the key ones (who were still alive) from the original trilogy returning in largely supporting roles.And they’re not consistent, but they’re also not all bad. You will disagree, probably, with some of the negative and positive things said below, but that’s justStar Warsat this point. There’s no consensus, and this is just another opinion, in the end, from someone who wanted to whip up about 1500 words about three very divisive movies in one of cinema’s most enduring (and long-running) franchises.
3’Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker' (2019)
Well, it’s all up from here, even though this did bring an end to the sequel trilogy and, seemingly, theatrically releasedStar Warsmovies for a while.Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalkerwas the fifthStar Warsfilm released in the span of four years, with the first Disney-produced film coming out near the end of 2015, and then there was one a year untilEpisode IXat the end of 2019. And, as of 2025, this has been the most recent one.Star Warshas continued to exist on television, with there being an almost overwhelming number of Disney+ shows, but people got a bit burned out on the movies. AndThe Rise of Skywalkerwas the worst offender, in this regard, and probably would’ve been somewhat responsible for fatigue if it had been kind of good, or even just okay. But it was neither, instead being pretty awful, and so the fatigue intensified. This is probably the worst of all theStar Warsmovies, because at leastAttack of the Clones(for all its flaws) sets up Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side and has “Across the Stars,” a piece ofmusic that representsJohn Williamsat his best.
What doesThe Rise of Skywalkerhave? Well,technically, it has John Williams music as well, but it’s theleast compelling score he’s composedfor anyStar Warsmovie. Outside the music,The Rise of Skywalkerstrains to please everyone, in turn pleasing very few. Divisive points fromEpisode VIIIare either commented on or dialed back, theoverarching villain from both the prequel trilogyand the original trilogy is brought back in an underwhelming and lazy way (“Somehow, Palpatine returned” is a line actually deliveredhere), and the whole film just rushes throughout, hoping that if it’s flashy, fast, and loud enough, you won’t be able to fully comprehend just how nonsensical it is.The Rise of Skywalkerisan absolute face-plant of a movie, and it feels like the kind of thing everyone involved just wanted to get over and done with. It’s the inverse of what happened withRevenge of the Sith. That movie made the preceding two films in the prequel trilogy look better in hindsight, while the unfocused and incoherent nature ofThe Rise of Skywalkermakes the preceding two films in the sequel trilogy look worse in hindsight, because everything set up in those for future movies didn’t go anywhere. But,judging them on their own as best as possible, they are better than this one. It’s just harder to watch them now, knowing where the trilogy they belonged to would ultimately end up.
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
2’Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens' (2015)
The dust has settled onStar Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakensnow, but that also means there’s a weird kind of almost nostalgia forming for it. Whether that remains or strengthens as it genuinely becomes old enough to be nostalgic, one can’t say at this point, but it was nice to think back to a time when most people seemed excited aboutStar Wars, andpeople were relativelyunited about one of theStar Warsmoviesbeing good.The Force Awakenswas like a cinematic sugar rush, and a good deal of fun upon release. It’s crumbled a little in the years since, partly due to it being the sort of thing that’s more fun the first time around, and partly because its director,J.J. Abrams, went on to make a mess of things when he directedEpisode IX. But in 2015,The Force Awakenswas a good blockbuster, and if you can just approach it on its own terms now, there are still things to enjoy here, much as munching through an entire bag of potato chips – though not satisfying in the long run – can feel great while the munching is afoot.
The bag of potato chips is also one you’ve eaten many times before, sinceThe Force Awakenshas an overwhelming number of similarities to the firstStar Warsmovie:A New Hope.There’s another planet-destroying machine, new characters and their arcsmirror those found in the 1977 film, a key death sequence happens around the same point in both stories, and one character discovers they have some kind of link to the Force, for starters. Much has been written about how this feels like something of a reboot, but it does still satisfy, though perhaps a little less once you’re aware of how similar it is to something you liked before. But the intent was to reground and reestablish theStar Warsthat everyone liked, and even if it did that perhaps a little too effectively, it’s something that nonetheless works as a crowd-pleaser. There was also a certain amount of promise here for more interesting sequels, which was fulfilled – for better or worse, depending on your outlook – withthe next movie in theSkywalker Saga, while such promise was not fulfilled or delivered upon with that aforementioned ninth movie,The Rise of Skywalker.
1’Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi' (2017)
Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jeditakes a big swing, and some people consider it a swing and a miss, sure. It picks up right after the end ofThe Force Awakens, which saw Luke Skywalker’s location finally being discovered, and Rey handing him his lightsaber. How will he react to that? That was the big old questionThe Force Awakensleft off on.The Last Jedianswers it by saying: “Lol he just yeets that thing over his shoulder.” And that’s maybe the point where you either say, “Hey, nice, I wasn’t expecting that; that’s interesting,” or you say, “Oh my god,Star Warsis dead.” AndThe Last Jediis placed #1 here, so the person typing away right now is in the former camp, but if you’re in the latter, that’s okay. That’s honestly understandable. Different people want different things out ofStar Wars, and more specifically, the character of Luke, who hadn’t really been seen on screen since 1983 (he’s there as an infant inRevenge of the Sith, and was seen at the very end ofThe Force Awakens, but otherwise, this is how he comes back).
There’s something to The Last Jedi visually, narratively, emotionally, and thematically that’s admirably bold and fresh.
If you’re willing to go with Luke being a bitter old man and having to slowly reignite his passion for doing good, and then ultimately being a hero at the film’s end in an unconventional way, you’ll probably likeThe Last Jedi. He’s old, grumpy, and more flawed than ever before. It makes for drama that’s strong but divisive, and then there are other narrative beats on offer here that aren’t quite as controversial, but still prove challenging and far from liked by all. It’s the best of the sequel trilogy movies, which might not be saying a great deal according to some, but for others,The Last Jediis admirably risk-takingand adventurous in terms of what it’s going for, and what it represents for asince-stalled cinematic series.It’s not perfect, because if it were, it probably wouldn’t be so divisive. But there’s something to it visually, narratively, emotionally, and thematically that’s admirably bold and fresh, and it’s a shame thatThe Rise of Skywalkerbacktracking on some of its creative decisions ultimately hinders parts ofThe Last Jedi, in hindsight.
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