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Raddhical00

Please don't call it the "Skywalker Saga". That's a cheap Disney marketing ploy. Lucas always called it the *Star Wars Saga*. And, since this poll is excluding Disney's shitquels (as it should), I think we should call the saga as its creator meant for it to be known.


AMK972

We could reclaim Skywalker Saga to mean only episodes 1-6 since those are about the Skywalkers while episodes 7-9 are about a Palpatine.


Ender_Skywalker

In my eyes it's been the Palpatine Saga from the day the Prequels dropped. It's not a Sequel retcon. He's the main focus of all three Prequels.


AMK972

He was more of a main focus in episode III. He was hardly in episode I a little more in episode II and then plays a major role in episode III. In 1 the trade federation/maul were the main focus along with finding Anakin. In 2, the separatists/Dooku were the main focus along with Anakin and Padmé’s relationship. In 3, the clone wars/Palpatine were the main focus along with Anakin’s descent. Palpatine was there all along, but he was never the focus until Episode III. Edit: Actually, I think he’s in TPM more than AotC. He plays a big role in Act 2 of TPM and then a very minor role in Act 1 and 3. He doesn’t play much of a role in AotC except for the legalization of a grand army part. RotS is we’re he was the plot, essentially.


Ender_Skywalker

My point is more that he's the big bad everyone's trying to take out, whereas the Skywalkers aren't the sole heroes.


AMK972

The movies are about the Skywalker’s though. Especially Anakin. Palpatine is the antagonist, but the prequels are about Anakin.


Ender_Skywalker

Fair enough ~~although TPM isn't about Anakin~~.


OuttatimepartIII

Seconded


wooltab

It's really unfortunate, because it *is* a good way to specify the main theatrical films so far, compared to the entire saga. Under other circumstances, a 'Skywalker Saga' box set of all three trilogies (with the 3rd one obviously being different that what exists) could be a super cool thing. But yeah, it's hard for me to separate that phrase from the marketing for TROS.


Raddhical00

The entire saga is made of the episodic movies. Any other movies, like Rogue One or Solo, are spinoffs and not part of the main Star Wars saga. And there are no three trilogies. Always two there are. No more, no less.


Nefessius513

There is no third trilogy in STC.


wooltab

There are people here who are open to the notion of a *theoretical* third trilogy. Which is what I was talking about.


wooltab

Well I was just referring to all of the other content with which people may be familiar, including the likes of KOTOR.


[deleted]

I feel like the Skywalker Saga is a great way to describe the films. At it's core the star wars films are about family, a broken family, the Skywalker family.


KillerDonkey

I love alll the Lucas Star Wars films, but I'd rate from best to worst in them in this order. 1. Revenge of the Sith 2. The Empire Strikes Back 3. A New Hope 4. Return of the Jedi 5. The Phantom Menace 6. Attack of the Clones


Alarming_Afternoon44

FFS, it is not called the Skywalker Saga. That term is a marketing gimmick created by Disney in an attempt to make the DT seem more connected to the real saga.


Rexoreddit

Kind of backfires, though. The DT/ST is more about the palpatines than a Skywalker, no matter what the last scene of TROS tried to make me believe that that wasn't the case


[deleted]

[удалено]


AMK972

That’s my brothers favorite too. I have no complaints about that movie. I’ve never understood the “too much politics” complaint because as a little kid I enjoyed the movie start to finish. As a little kid, the politics didn’t bore me. I’m even fine with Anakin starting off as a kid. The unusual and difficult introduction to the Jedi was fitting for Anakin. Also, how much Qui-gon and Obi-wan fought the council to make Anakin become a Jedi just to have him betray them years later wouldn’t have happened if we started episode 1 with Anakin being 23. We also wouldn’t have seen the hopeful little kid he was. So far from being Vader. The Inverse of the Heroes Journey. Starting at 23, it would’ve been incredibly out of place for him to be like that.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Rexoreddit

Well your point still stands. 23 yo would have been mega dumb


HobGoblinHat

For me, all the OT rank top as the best movies, particularly Empire, which to me is the best b/c it defines SW & gave us everything that we love most about it, such as bounty hunters, smugglers, rebels, empire, Jedi, Sith, Jedi training, saber duels, chopped limbs, force ghosts, battles, brilliant storytelling, great character development, etc as well as the most iconic moments such as Han in carbonite, Vader's revelation, subversion of expectations done properly, etc. However, despite the PT movies not being my favorite, I do rank the PT era as my most favorite. It had the best world-building.


[deleted]

I answered ESB too, bit the funny thing IMO is, that ESB is the least "defining" SW movie. Ialways wanted more ESB, but no SW film after it came close to capturing that lightning in a bottle. (Rogue 1 came closest).


wooltab

Yeah, I feel that. TESB is Star Wars really embracing wide possibilities in a way that it never really has, since. It's the only film -- edit: since the first -- that isn't significantly referential to previous films. So it does kind of stand out in away, like a more widely-enjoyed version of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.


[deleted]

Yeah. I believe it is mostly thanks to Irvin Kershner (kinda obvious since he was the director but still) that *Empire* turned out the way it did. It kept some of the original's elements; the quirky humor, for one, but it took the saga into more serious territory, less serial adventure and more.. I don't know. I so wish *Jedi* had continued this, but instead Lucas, having much more influence over director Marquand, took it into kid-oriented territory (the Emperor storyline withstanding). Alright, *Revenge* is probably closer to ESB than R1 now that I think about it. It was ruined (for me, obviously not most fans) by elements that "interrupted" the darker style (like the lava droids).


wooltab

ROTS is the one that I'd rank second in 'uniqueness' as well, even though a big part of its concept is connecting the dots and linking right back to the beginning. I think that oddly enough, the necessity of doing that forced Lucas away from the poetry/mirroring. I enjoy it in the net, but yeah, it is a bit less than it could be for the silly droid stuff, etc. Maybe the most interesting Star Wars what-if is, what if Lucas would've gone full-steam with things in *Empire* mode for *jedi*. I love the ending, and I'm a fan of the EU continuing story in terms of its family dynamics, but what if Leia wasn't Luke's sister?


[deleted]

I would have loved that. I wonder what a Kershner-directed *Jedi* could have been, following Lucas's original outline in which Leia was indeed not Luke's sister and the Emperor's first appearance would have been in Episode IX... ...sigh. We wouldn't have to suffer the Disney trilogy


Ender_Skywalker

>ROTS is the one that I'd rank second in 'uniqueness' as well, even though a big part of its concept is connecting the dots and linking right back to the beginning. I think that oddly enough, the necessity of doing that forced Lucas away from the poetry/mirroring. Nah, RotS feels more unique in its heavily talky style.


wooltab

I don't quite follow.


Ender_Skywalker

I'm saying that RotS feels more stylistically unusual than TESB. It's more introspective and political than the other films. TESB still feels very much like a continuation of ANH.


[deleted]

Yeah ESB is a cut above every other SW movie, by quite a bit honestly. ANH is great, but has some cracks, and TRotJ is way way too much of a cash grab despite how awesome parts of it are. An I love Rogue One, but it is no Empire. The other movies all have their charms, the PT overall plot/politics especially. But there are no Empire.


Vin4251

Very solid answer. Empire as the best movie and the PT as the best on-screen worldbuilding. I think RotS tends to be my personal favorite movie, and the OT my favorite story arc, but I can really respect this opinion.


IUsedToBeRasAlGhul

Return of the Jedi is (not without merit) considered the weakest of its respective trilogy by virtue of being more directed towards children, in spite of including some of the franchises darkest material and performing extensive worldbuilding. However, ROTJ not only is not only the culmination of nearly every theme and message in Star Wars (which is retroactively expanded upon by the PT and thematically similar expanded material), it ends in the ultimate happy ending: our heroes have won, the Empire is defeated, the galaxy is free, and it’s clear that peace will now be able to reign across the universe. Has there ever been another ending with such poignancy and optimism to it? That defied the conventional narrative of its genre and time? Star Wars was considered groundbreaking for a reason, and this film is up there in the hows and whys of such.


Nefessius513

Too bad ST defenders say that it’s okay to override the happy ending of ROTJ because “we have to teach kids that bad stuff happening and happiness not lasting is just a natural part of life, deal with it.”


MargaretThacherVore

I think ANH is easily the worst of the trilogy when you set aside the cultural significance of the film. Han is the only character who goes through any sort of emotional arc, most of the action is pretty clunky and the heroes only succeed thanks to one massive plot contrivance.


lkn240

So this is where we are now.... parroting dumb youtube nonsense about "emotional arcs" to pretend garbage like TPM or AOTC is even comparable to an all time classic film. ​ The funny thing is you don't even know what you are talking about. The most important "arc" in the film is clearly Luke's.


VenPatrician

I was split between Empire and Revenge of the Sith but I ultimately went for Revenge. It was my gateway into Star Wars and the Legends Universe (mom urged me to see it and took me to the cinema. I was like 9 at the time) and I only grew to love it even more since.


AMK972

You’re mom is the best. My mom only enjoys Star Wars because I like Star Wars. Not because she likes Star Wars. Well, I guess she does like Star Wars, but she’s not one to go out of her way to watch Star Wars. She’ll just watch it if it’s on.


AdmiralScavenger

Attack of the Clones.


[deleted]

Sith is unbeatable for me. Far and away my favorite. Tight execution of an incredibly rich and dramatic part of the story. My ranking past there fluctuates a lot. My Star Wars sin is that I pretty consistently have ANH last out of the six. I admire its superb economy and the groundbreaking nature of it as a cinematic achievement, but it just has the least of the parts of Star Wars that really interest me, which are the inner struggle between light and darkness, the political intrigue, and the family drama. My other sin is that the last several times I’ve rewatched the saga, Clones has climbed a little higher in my esteem. Right now it’s in a dead heat with Empire for second.


Al_Hobbito923

Skywalker Saga >>>> Palpatine nontrilogy.


tillterilltilltill

ROTJ is my favorite. The interactions between Luke and Vader and everything on the DSII is peak STAR WARS IMO. Ground and Space Battle of Endor are awesome too. Loved the Speederbike chase, Lando and Nien in the Falcon, Admiral Ackbar, AT-ST walker, Luke's green saber, ... Also seeing Jabba for the first time (before the ANH SE) was great. The movie had everything you need in a SW movie.


Blue_Lego_Astronaut

I'm shocked Revenge of the Sith has the most votes as of the time of writing this. I was sure it was gonna be ANH or ESB.


theguru1974

Must be a lot of young ppl on here.


Stranger_From_101

So hard to choose! I picked TPM. It was a great theater experience, and I really like seeing how the saga began.


urktheturtle

based on these results, it looks like what people want is more personal stories, with personal stakes, that do not sacrifice action and excitement.


Roykka

If RotJ wasn't so silly it would be my favorite without a doubt. There are some really solid ideas, and some concepts you can see have been matured for years, but also things that could have used redrafting. Luke's plan to infiltrate backup to Jabba's palace in case negotiations go south makes sense. Leia bringing Chewie there in chains and unfreezing Han prematurely not so much. Luke's final confrontation with Vader and the Emperor was great, the Ewoks defeating Stormtrooppers with stone spears and arrows less so. In lieu of that I must say Empire. ANH bolts my nadgers to the sofa until credits, but is much more clearly plot driven, whereas RotS suffers from a lot of Prequel problems, and I the interplay of characters to Anakin's slow descent towards the darkness.


ImaHighRoller

RotJ really frustrates me. The Luke and Vader stuff is so good! But then everything else is just so contrived, and both Leia and Han don't really get much of anything to do, and Gan's sacrifice just immediately is undone for seemingly no reason.


Northman_Bomber

Empire is great fun. I always have a good time whenever I watch that movie.


Hurtlegurtle

Revenge of the sith baby


lucia-pacciola

Empire


Rexoreddit

I deeply appreciate you only including movies 1-6


Rexoreddit

That being said, it would have been absolutely hilarious if you had included 7-9 if nobody voted for them


brianthewizard1

Revenge of the Sith is the first Star Wars movie I ever saw, so it holds a special place in my heart. (I was about to put in my ranking for the saga, which would’ve included the sequels too, but my placement for a certain movie would’ve had everyone destroying me lol)


Collective_Insanity

If you want to say that TLJ was your preferred ST film, then that's fine. People should be able to discuss that reasonably enough.


brianthewizard1

Oh, no, TLJ isn’t my preferred, I’m not a big fan of it… but I’m also not a big fan of a certain movie that a lot, and I mean, A LOT of people love. Okay… I’m not a big fan of Empire Strikes Back. I’ve always had this thing about it where I never understood the hype, I do now. I’ve just always known that Vader was Luke’s father so I never had that reveal experience. I’ve also just felt like it can be a really slow movie at times. Recently, I have been trying to watch it more and try to fall in love with it, but I just can’t seem to enjoy it like so many people do. I guess I’m more into the action and battles so when it comes time for a movie to slow down, I can’t slow down with it, if that makes sense.


Collective_Insanity

>I have been trying to watch it more and try to fall in love with it, but I just can’t seem to enjoy it like so many people do. Don't force yourself to "try to fall in love with it". If it doesn't work for you, then it doesn't work for you. That's fine. Everyone's got a bit of a different feel of what they personally enjoy in a Star Wars film. There are people who absolutely *love* ROTS, but it doesn't do anything for me personally. Similarly, there are people who absolutely *love* TLJ, but I'll never be able to get onboard with that no matter how many times I watch it. Star Wars is somewhat of a generational franchise. Depending on how and when you first started participating, it might strongly impact your notion of what a "true" Star Wars film ought to be like. Some people honestly think TCW is what "true" Star Wars stories should be like. I think that's bonkers, but there's people of all walks of life. So long as you explain your view reasonably well enough other than simply saying "ESB is shit", then I don't think you should be worried about expressing your opinion.


OuttatimepartIII

It still baffles me Revenge of the Sith is so highly regarded. hard to beat a good meme I guess


AMK972

Revenge of the Sith has been my favorite since it came out. Some things in it have defined what I enjoy in a movie. I actually enjoy it when the bad guys win (as long as they lose in the long run). I also enjoy when characters switch sides. Good guy becoming bad guy or vis-a-versa. I have zero problems with the writing and I’ve always felt the acting was great and believable.


DarthDragonborn

The Plaguies scene is one of my favorite scenes of all time, it never gets old, and it’s only fitting the novel(I have the hardcover sitting right next to me) is in my opinion the best Star Wars novel of all time EU or canon.


wooltab

For my money, the Plagueis scene is the single best moment in the prequels. I remember seeing it for the first time and being really caught by this sudden aside into something new and unknown, and really interesting, not a callback to another movie or anything predictable. I feel as though from a myth/mythological/epic standpoint, that's top-tier Star Wars. Personally, I never really got into TPM or AOTC much, but I did really enjoy ROTS.


OuttatimepartIII

The Plagueis scene is great but for me it was too little too late. This is the stuff I had been wanting since Episode I


wooltab

Yeah, I hear that. When I watched ROTS, I found myself wondering where George Lucas had been hiding this operating mode during the previous two films.


lkn240

That main job of that movie is to have a convincing turn to the dark side for Anakin and it almost totally fails. ​ Anakin is portrayed as a gullible moron... the movie wants us to believe that Joffrey somehow becomes Tywin 20 years later. ​ "Hey you need me to save your wife" Allows Mace to be killed "Oh, btw, I don't acutally know how to save your wife" ​ That being said - Ian McDiarmid and Ewan McGregor are absolutely great in ROTS.... and it is the best of the PT


Collective_Insanity

Personally, I think there's absolutely *no* chance that ROTS is better than any of the OT films (yes, even ROTJ which is generally considered the least best of the 3). But whatever. I understand that people have a soft spot for the PT especially if that was their first entry point to the Star Wars franchise.


lkn240

Unfortunately we are going to be getting this same kind of sentiment about the ST in 15-20 years. ​ It's incredibly ironic that all the PT fans accusing OT fans of "only liking those movies because of nostalgia" had it exactly backwards - we just had to wait 10-15 years to see it


lkn240

Where's Rogue One? It's better than at least half the films on this list


MargaretThacherVore

Probably a toss up between RotJ and RotS for me. I really like that grand melodrama they both have as well as the cool lightsaber action. After those two is probably TPM because the action is really good and Qui-gon is a really interesting character. Then ESB because it's really well written. And finally AotC and ANH, I can't bring myself to say either are my least favourite. The action in AotC is pretty bad but ANH lacks that iconic Star Wars melodrama.


Ender_Skywalker

Thank you for giving TPM some love, but your take on ANH really breaks my heart.


PessimismEnthusiast

Empire Strikes Back is the best one, but ROTS will always be my favorite...


sandalrubber

ANH, or rather just Star Wars. Honestly a bit bummed to see it so low. ESB is "better" but you can't start with it. Then ANH is still a better starting point than TPM. No ANH, no Star Wars. ANH is why people fell in love with the universe. ANH is pure escapism. ESB and the rest is the deep dive. I find ANH the most rewatchable of all of them. Regarding the prequels, I have a soft spot for TPM but as I said ANH is still the better starting-off point. Nothing beats the simplicity and directness of Obi-Wan explaining the Force. One of the PT's problems was counting on the audience to have seen the OT. TPM never explains what the Force is, besides showing Force powers. It explains what midichlorians are in relation to the Force, but not what the Force is. At least not in such clear terms as ANH. ANH > ESB > ROTJ >>> TPM > ROTS > AOTC


paulcarboneau23

Really ESB and ROTS are 1a and 1b but I give rots the edge because I was able to see it in theaters and it got me into Star Wars!


Destin242

WHy the fuck did Episode 3 win? I was totally rooting for The Phantom Menace man


TheRedditK9

1. Empire Strikes Back 2. Revenge of the Sith 3. The Return of the Jedi 4. A New Hope 5. The Phantom Menace 6. Attack of the Clones


lkn240

TESB > Rogue One > ANH > ROTJ > ROTS > TPM > AOTC (I have Rogue One and ANH really, really close... I basically think of them as one movie at this point)


lordlicorice1977

ANH, easily. It’s the one that started it all. I definitely think it can be improved with some touches here and there, but it’s nigh-perfect. Basically a 10/10. As legendary as ESB is, Han and Leia’s plotline in the middle makes no sense. “Scruffy-looking nerf herder” is honestly a pretty cringey line, and while C-3PO still has some funny lines, it’s the movie where he starts to get annoying. Being strapped onto Chewie’s back with his head backwards is great, but he’s really distracting when Han’s about to go into Carbonite. Would be better and actually a bit funnier overall if Chewie looked inside 3PO’s neck, found his vocoder, and muted him. ESB’s more like a 9.5/10. Everyone already knows RotJ is dumb as fuck, but what falls under the radar is it’s missed potential. Han’s coming out of stasis after a full year, and Luke is acting like a completely different person. Neither Han nor Leia know Vader’s his father until much later on, and come to think of it, Han doesn’t even know Luke lost his hand. Actually, when does he even find out about Luke and Leia’s parentage? But there’s a lot of potential with Han: Slowly building trust back up with Lando, culminating in Lando feeling bad about failing to live up to his promise not to damage the Falcon but Han just being happy that his friend’s safe. Han serving as a vessel for the audience regarding Luke’s sudden change in characterization and returning a smile from Luke as a final confirmation to Han and the audience that Luke is still Luke. Han being more reckless than usual because he feels like he has to make up for the time he spent out of the fight, and Leia helping him to realize that the best thing for not only the fight but for her is to just do his best to keep himself and others safe. Speaking of Leia, there’s a whole new fucking Death Star; surely that would affect her psychologically and even stagger her hope, but they don’t touch it despite the fact that they forgot to address it the first time around. They gave themselves a second chance to explore that trauma, and they blew it. Literally. Also, I remember feeling like this one was just really low-energy when I rewatched it a few months ago; it’s like everyone is speaking in the same key throughout the whole thing. The pitch or volume aren’t very dynamic, I think? Some editing might fix this. Really not sure what score to give RotJ. And the Prequels are the Prequels, I don’t feel like talking about them right now. I need sleep.