Which Star Wars movie is the best? Jack

Him:

Let the process of elimination begin.

First to go, my two least favorite films in the franchise; The Phantom Menace and Attack of The Clones. Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills, and Ewan Mcgregor is a kick-ass Obi Wan, but even their force powers couldn’t save these films. Enough said.

Next to go - Return of the Jedi. It just doesn’t do it for me. I appreciate the completion of Anakin’s arc and the movie's importance in the franchise, but for me, not great. I give it three lightsabers out of five.

Revenge of the Sith closed the prequels on a high(ish) note. The final scene with Obi Wan and Anakin got me in the feels, and Yoda’s, “if so powerful you are, why leave?” is classic. Not great, but solid.

Forgive the timeline jumping, but we’re traveling through hyperspace to The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi (last jedi, ha!). Both solid movies that my entire family enjoyed. In fact, they might be my wife’s favorites. Rey, Poe, and Finn do a nice job taking over for Luke, Leia and Han. They seem ready, and full of the energy and force they’ll need to topple the First Order. And that’s the problem for me; The First Order isn’t nearly as ominous as THE EMPIRE. Emperor Palpatine and his red right hand, your royal lord of sending it, Darth Vader, would cut through Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren without breaking a force sweat. (rewatch the last scene of Rouge One for a refresher on Vader’s tank mode).

And then there were two - A New Hope vs. The Empire Strikes Back. The Sophie’s Choice of Intergalactic drama. The Empire Strikes Back is a classic. The jedi are scattered, impulsive Luke skips out on Jedi training to confront Vader / dad, Han is double-crossed by Lando (again) and the rebellion is collapsing. It’s dark, moody and full of action. And the good guys are losing…WTF. It was almost too much for six year old me to handle, but I couldn’t get enough! Close, so close.

For me though, A New Hope takes the prize. I’m not a critic and I’m not unbiased or clinical about it. After I saw A New Hope, I was certain I would A) own a landspeeder and B) grapple hook swing across a bridge with a hottie. (l didn’t know it was his sister when I was five) It doesn’t matter that neither of these has happened (yet). A New Hope sent my imagination into warp drive (cap tip to you Trekkies). I didn’t like this movie, I loved it. The way five-year-olds love things - without question or reservation. The version of me that walked out of that movie is still one of my favorite versions.

Her:

Which star wars movie was the best?

**mom takes out paper and pencil and starts trying to name them all**…was 4th, 5th and 6th actually 1,2 and 3 or the other way around or with a few new ones in the middle?  Dammit…so many lightsabers and men in robes.  Never mind- I'm answering this in the form of a letter to Star Wars.  Here you go:

Dear Star Wars Makers (aka George someone and a few other guys)

I was not a Star Wars kid.  Flash forward a few decades. With 2,4 and 6-year-old boys I had to catch up…really quick.   So from a Star Wars boy-filled home, I am writing to say thank you. Thanks, Star Wars, for giving my sons HOURS of imagination inspiration over the past 18 years.  For bringing countless (and seriously in-depth) conversations to our dinner table about who would win vs. who in lightsaber match ups. Thank you for creating Star Wars Lego for the Wii, which produced 3 little boys, covered in sweat in a cold basement, battling until the end and leaving only scratch marks and scuffs on my basement wall from Wii controller mishaps.  Thank you for STILL giving us movies we can not only all go to as a family without awkward movie scene moments, but movies we seriously can. not. wait. to see.  Thank you for making a movie SO GREAT, that my mother-in-law saved the bed sheets for from my husband's childhood bed, handed them off to me, and I had the joy of kissing my chubby little 6-year-old son’s cheek good night on, as he laid on the exact same sheets (…not losing one bit of their awesomeness.) Thank you for helping me teach my kids that when good and evil match up, good prevails- time after time.  Thank you for reminding us - in these past few years especially- that there is light in everyone's soul no matter how deep into the dark side they seem to have fallen.  And thank you ESPECIALLY for the force.  The force can totally open the automatic sliding doors at Target, as all of us with son’s know- but it also is in all of us.  And we have the ability to tap right in, should the occasion arise.  And the occasion will arise boys, trust me.

In short, thanks for making somewhere between 4-10 movies that honestly, all have blended together in this mom’s brain but have brought a ton of happiness into our home.

Grateful for you, we are.