My Star Wars picks…

Since and I were discussing it last night, here is my ratings for the Star Wars films:

1. Empire Strikes Back – This one’s on top for me because of some really artistic moments, Luke’s bravery and struggle to become someone that he may not actually be, and the ending to beat all endings. That’s just good film.

2. A New Hope – The classic, the original. Obi-Wan Kenobi makes this movie for me. The Death Star fight at the end always left me a little bit flat, but the journey to that point was the good part of this movie for me.

3. Revenge of the Sith – The action and the no holds barred lightsaber fights really made this one for me. The acting could’ve been a lot better and there was the Emporer’s unnecessary burp-talking. The ending made this for me… got my nostalgia circuits in an uproar.

4. Return of the Jedi – I liked this one alot… if not for the Ewoks this would’ve been higher on my list as well. I just don’t buy that logs and rocks will beat the same technology that destroyed the Jedi. Sorry.

5. The Phantom Menace – This is a story that had to be told, the lightsaber kickass at the end was the only redeeming quality. The wooden acting by almost everyone (save Liam Neeson) made this one hard to enjoy and I wanted to kill Anakin and Jar Jar at the same time.

6. Attack of the Clones – This movie fell flat in almost every regard… too much CG made the battle scenes seem disconnected for me. The lightsaber scenes didn’t even make this one better and I have to say that Yoda’s interesting development of Mary Lou Rettonism was a little misplaced for me. I learned to like it, but it just seemed not right in the moment. Anakin and Padme’s chemistry was so labored that it was hard to watch.

Honorable Mention goes to The Clone Wars cartoon series… if not for them, I probably would’ve waited to see Revenge of the Jedi for a few weeks. I said it before and I’ll say it again… Lucas should write Genndy Tartikovsky a thank you letter for saving his franchise.