Esquire correspondent Matt Miller has compiled his ranking of the Star Wars films, from worst to best. Each fan of the franchise will definitely have their own point of view on this matter, and although opinions may differ radically, it is a fun experience to compare such lists.
9. Star Wars. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Lucasfilm
Okay, the second prequel cut back a lot on Jar Jar Binks' presence, but that terrible dialogue completely ruined the key romantic arc. Hayden Christensen's performance doesn't alleviate this situation at all. The love that drove Anakin Skywalker to defect to dark side, which destroyed the balance of power - in this film it looks like an awkward theatrical adaptation of another best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks.
8. Star Wars. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Lucasfilm
Despite the abundance of annoying scenes with Jar Jar Binks, The Phantom Menace has enough characteristics that make it a better film than Attack of the Clones. While Darth Maul may not have been fully exploited, he is arguably the coolest Star Wars villain. Only the final battle with Maul and the racing sequence are memorable: these two scenes make The Phantom Menace not such a lousy movie.
7. Star Wars. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Lucasfilm
Several failures in Return of the Jedi put the entire franchise in a difficult position. Firstly, Ewoks are soft creatures, similar to teddy bears. Apparently, George Lucas created them to expand merchandising opportunities (same with Jar Jar Binks). Secondly, there is a repetitive narrative in which we see another Death Star. Plus, it's hard to stop thinking about all these deaths of innocent contractors who were building the Death Star, and that underneath the mask of the greatest villain in movie history was a slightly stocky white dude.
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Lucasfilm
In Waking Life, JJ Abrams did the impossible. It rebooted the Star Wars universe and still managed not to completely destroy the integrity of the franchise. More importantly, he got to the heart of Star Wars by making the narrative more inclusive, creating a strong foundation for the new trilogy, and outlining new circle stable characters. But there's a problem: it sticks to the same old Star Wars tropes so blatantly that it looks like a reboot of 1977's A New Hope. Any more and such unoriginality would be unforgivable.
5. Rogue One. Star Wars Tales
Lucasfilm
Plot holes aside, Rogue One should get a huge amount of credit for finally allowing the franchise to break out of the cycle of repetitive storytelling. Has anyone seen Disney kill off the main characters? Hell no! Besides, final scene, which ties in perfectly with the first scene of A New Hope, is extremely exciting.
4. Star Wars. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Lucasfilm
After two films, someone finally taught Hayden how to act. Not to say that he is good, but in any case he is not as bad as before. Surely he was chosen for this role only for his ability to scowl and kill children. But Lucas really deserves credit here for tying together this uneven prequel trilogy quite satisfactorily. Anakin's betrayal, the rise of the Empire, the destruction of the Jedi - all this is executed ruthlessly and almost perfectly.
3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Lucasfilm
The Star Wars films are not particularly complex. They should not plunge the viewer into darkness or be ambiguous. Rian Johnson made a movie that has it all. Yes, there was a space cow and a casino planet bad moves, but this is forgivable for such a wonderful film. This is the first film in the franchise to present good and evil on a spectrum. Movie " The Last Jedi explores the nuances of morality and psychology in a far more thoughtful way than any previous Star Wars film. This is a visually beautiful chapter that successfully steers away from repetition.
2. Star Wars. Episode IV: A New Hope
Lucasfilm
This is the film that changed pop culture forever. If " star Wars" ended with it, it would still be one of the greatest films in cinema history. However, the creators of Star Wars launched a franchise that, four decades later, is stronger and bigger than ever.
1. Star Wars. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Lucasfilm
"The Empire Strikes Back" vividly depicts themes such as love, loss, pain and fear, explaining them even to a child who has not previously encountered these feelings and emotions closely (the quotes "I know" and "I am your father" are forever imprinted in memory). Characters like Han, Leia and Luke reflect the best in all of us. They were not just heroes, for millions of people they were living characters, real people who could feel grief, fear or uncertainty. This film forced these characters through incredibly difficult experiences, but at the same time, there is always hope.
The new film from the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi, fell just short of the world box office record of the previous series and divided viewers into two irreconcilable camps. Some curse the Disney company and the creators of the film, others lavish admiration and consider it almost the best part sagas Medialeaks figured out why this happens.
After the premiere of “The Last Jedi” on December 9 in the United States (in our country it took place five days later), the film’s box office receipts for the first weekend became known, and they speak for themselves: $450 million worldwide, not counting China (where the film will be released January only), according to Box Office Mojo. Thus, the eighth part of the Star Wars franchise took second place in the ranking of the highest-grossing first weekend. The seventh part, “The Force Awakens,” takes first place.
At the same time, “The Last Jedi,” on the one hand, collected many positive reviews in all the world’s media, and also reaped a storm of enthusiasm on social networks, and on the other hand, no less sharply negative reviews. Opinions about the film are polar: some consider it the worst in 40 years, others - if not the best, then at least one of the best.
Film critics are almost unanimous. The Roger Ebert website rated it 4 out of 4. Positive reviews were published in many major publications. The New York Times writes that The Last Jedi is "filled with magic and mystery."
Indeed, everything in the film acting heroes- women and men either do stupid things, are shown as scum, or hesitate and suffer, a separate episode of the film is devoted to criticism of capitalist exploitation, and racial diversity was enhanced by the fact that a woman with an Asian appearance was included among the main characters. This explains the hostility towards the film from the “alt-right”.
The picture is the same in Russia: critics love “The Last Jedi” and do not hesitate to write about it not only for money, but also for free, in in social networks. The film brought together people with completely different tastes: Vasily Stepanov from “Seance”, Anton Dolin from “Medusa” and Roman Volobuev, a former columnist for “Afisha”.
Vasiliy Stepanov
Anton Dolin
My Star Wars.The spoilers here are tiny, almost invisible. For me, these are not spoilers at all. But there may be other opinions.
Roman Volobuev
Fuck it, I'm sitting down to write a fan letter to Rian Johnson.The exception was Stanislav Zelvensky's review in Afisha, who wrote that being considered "one of the best" episodes, of which there are only eight, and three of which everyone hates, is "not a very great achievement."
However, in Russia the film was not accepted by sincere fans of the saga, who grew up on the old parts of the 70-80s. This can be clearly seen from Russian user reviews. The most popular review on Afisha describes the film this way:
I do not know what to say. Badly. Unspeakably bad. And no, it’s not a bad movie, but a bad feeling after watching it. It's like they spat in your soul.
To summarize, the evil corporation Disney has completely mutilated and finished off one of my favorite franchises. They destroyed almost everything for which this series of films received worldwide recognition. And it pains me to watch how this film is biasedly licked by critics, bloggers and corrupt media around the world.
Meduza editor Mikhail Zelensky formulates this position as briefly and clearly as possible.
0 December 9, 2015, 16:43Very soon, on December 14, the premiere of a new episode of the Star Wars film saga will take place - ( Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens). For those who are preparing to join Star fans Wars, we offer a guide to the universe.
Chronology
First of all, it’s worth figuring out in what order to watch the Star Wars film series. There is an original trilogy and a prequel. The original trilogy includes the films Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).
In 1999-2005, George Lucas directed a prequel trilogy consisting of the films: “Episode I: The Phantom Menace” (1999), “Episode II: Attack of the Clones” (2002), “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” (2005).
Thus, it would be logical to start watching with the 1999 film with the subtitle “The Phantom Menace”, then the episodes should be watched in the usual order: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The fact that films 4, 5 and 6 were shot in the distant 70s The -80s shouldn't bother you.
It's worth noting that the new film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is a continuation of the original trilogy - that is, it takes place after the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi.
Plot
In the Star Wars universe, the plot of the films is based on the confrontation between the light and dark sides of the force, political intrigue, and the struggle for power. All this here takes on galactic proportions.
To enjoy the film, you don't need to be an expert and meticulously understand all the nuances of the series. If you watch the movie carefully, everything becomes clear as the plot progresses.
Each character pursues his own goal. The intrigues of the Empire and the Council are far from the center of the story. The film also describes the personal experiences of the heroes: Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala, Obi Wan-Kenobi, Han Solo, Princess Leia. Their feelings and sympathies. In addition, various adventures await the heroes. Lucas is not afraid of realism, "Star Wars" is not a fairy tale with happy ending. Be prepared for the fact that the light side of the force will also suffer losses, and you will have to say goodbye to some of your favorite heroes.
Characters
One of the main characters in the film is Anakin Skywalker. He served the Galactic Republic as a Jedi Knight. Anakin is very force sensitive, at a certain point in his life the Jedi turned to the dark side. After Anakin makes his choice, he becomes Darth Vader - Lord of the hostile Sith. In the second and third episodes, the role of Anakin was played by Canadian actor Hayden Christensen.
Anakin Skywalker on bright side strength
Anakin or Darth Vader on the dark side of the force
Young Anakin became the secret husband of the Naboo senator, Padmé Amidala Naberry. He then becomes the father of Grand Master Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.
Queen of the planet Naboo, secret wife of Anakin Skywalker. Defended rights and freedoms local residents, making her the most respected politician in the Galaxy. She played an important role in the political events leading up to the Clone Wars. She was played by actress Natalie Portman.
Luke Skywalker- son of Senator Padmé Amidala and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker. Older twin brother of Leia Organa Solo. When his mother died after giving birth, Luke was sent to the planet Tatooine, where he spent his childhood under the care of guardians and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Mark Hamill played the adult Luke.
When his family acquired two droids - C-3PO and R2-D2- The life of young Skywalker changed dramatically. The droid R2-D2 carried important information for the rebels. After meeting the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke was forced to leave his old life.
Obi-Wan Kenobi- legendary Jedi master. He was Anakin Skywalker's teacher. After Anakin's fall to the dark side, he became the teacher of his son, Luke. Young Obi-Wan was played by Ewan McGregor.
Obi-Wan was played by actor Alex Guinness in the original trilogy.
Yoda- one of the most powerful and wise Jedi. Possessing longevity, he achieved the title of Grand Master at the age of approximately 600 years. After his duel with Darth Sidious, Yoda went into self-imposed exile on the planet Dagobah. Master Yoda was one of the strongest Jedi of his time and the wisest of them all. Only the strongest Jedi could compare with Yoda in wielding a lightsaber.
Han Solo became famous throughout the galaxy as a participant in the Rebellion. In his youth, Khan managed to enlist in the Empire. Solo put an end to his career when he stood up for his slave, the Wookiee Chewbacca. Together they escaped and eventually became partners. Han later acquired the Millennium Falcon and became a smuggler. He played the role of Han Solo in the film; the character turned out to be bright, charismatic and with a sense of humor.
Leia Organa Solo- daughter of Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala, twin sister of Luke Skywalker. Organa - Steadfast leader during the Galactic Civil War and other subsequent galactic conflicts, became one of the greatest heroes Galaxies. She later married Han Solo and became the mother of three children. She was played by Carey Fisher in the film.
"Star Wars" in Russia
Episode four world premiere which took place back in 1977, was released in our country only in 1990. It is noteworthy that the premiere of the fifth episode took place two years earlier - in 1988, the film was shown for the first time at the Horizon and Zaryadye cinemas as part of the USA Cinema Days in the USSR.
In the summer of 1990, the Ostankino TV channel (now called Channel One - editor's note) tried to organize the television premiere of Star Wars and show Episode IV. A New Hope. However, after a warning from Sovexportfilm and subsequent demands from the film company 20th Century Fox, the premiere is cancelled. The claim was based on copyright infringement: the TV channel acquired the rights to show it from a company that only had the rights to broadcast the film in cinemas.
Later it turned out that Russian distributors refused to purchase the Star Wars trilogy for wide theatrical release. For this reason, the acquaintance of Russian moviegoers with the films of George Lucas was delayed.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a sequel to the 1986 film Return of the Jedi. The action takes place thirty years after the death of Darth Vader. The galaxy is still in danger. Public education New order led by the mysterious Supreme Leader Snoke and his right hand Kylo Ren is trying to seize all power.
Unexpectedly, fate brings the girl Rey and the former New Order stormtrooper Finn together with the heroes of the war with the Empire - Han Solo, Chewbacca and Queen Leia. Together, the team prepares to confront the New Order.
Stills from the movie "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"
The sequel was directed by JJ Abrams. Star Trek"). Actors Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher returned to their roles. The viewer can also expect new characters, modern special effects and unexpected plot twists. The fantastic film "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" will be released in Russian theaters on December 17.
Is it possible to find anyone today who has never heard or seen anything from the Star Wars universe? What is the secret of the popularity of the famous franchise? Who is he - George Lucas - a brilliant demiurge or just a lucky man?
About all this, about the uniqueness of “Star Wars” and about their mediocrity, about the great achievements of the saga and the terrible mistakes of its creators, about how this multimedia project has penetrated into every sphere modern life says Chris Taylor in his research. His book is not an attempt to chronologically outline the history of Star Wars, not a biography of George Lucas, not a collection of scattered outstanding facts and curiosities that fill the history of this universe. Rather, Chris Taylor's book is an attempt to analyze what Star Wars is for modern culture. It is also an attempt to understand the reasons for the phenomenal love that fans experience for this saga around the world. So what's the secret why we love Star Wars?
Most recently, the film “Rogue One” was released. Star Wars. Stories", which has already collected a good box office around the world, despite disapproving reviews from critics. The fans, apparently, liked this picture after all. Let's try to understand the Star Wars phenomenon with Chris Taylor.
1. Star Wars is not science fiction. As the history of the saga shows, scientific reliability and verified details are not at all what Star Wars fans need.
Chris Taylor writes: “Since the first film was released in 1977, fans and critics have done their best to explain the popularity of Star Wars and classify the film into a dozen different genres. No one succeeded in this more than George Lucas himself, who compared the picture with spaghetti westerns, stories of sword and sorcery, the films "", "Lawrence of Arabia", "Captain Blood", the James Bond series - and this is even before the original film was finished. Circle the asteroid field various influences̆, and at the center of Star Wars you'll find a distinct, if quirky, subgenre: space fantasy.
Similar to the genre of science fiction that gave birth to it, much like Luke Skywalker is to Darth Vader. Science fiction looks at the future through the prism of the present. The main topic is the development of technology and its consequences. When working in this genre, it is necessary to take into account the laws of physics. These are stories about science, while space fantasy is fantasy where the action takes place in space. Science fiction is an echo of our world; space fantasy - goes far beyond the boundaries of our world. It's nostalgic and romantic, it has more of a pure spirit of adventure, and the technology is just the starting point. The laws of physics are thrown aside in favor of spectacular events. "I was afraid that SF fans would say things like, 'You know sound doesn't travel in space,'" Lucas said in 1977. “I just wanted to forget science.” In space everyone will hear yours Pew Pew».
2. The Star Wars universe is governed by simple, universal patterns.
“Lucas's goal in the films was to squeeze existing religions out of them, not create a new one. “Knowing that the film was aimed at a young audience, I tried to convey to the audience that there is a God, and there is a good side and a bad side,” Lucas told his biographer Dale Pollock. “You are given a choice between them, but the world is a better place if you choose the good side.”
Power is such a simple concept that it applies to everyone: religion is convenient for a secular age these days because it is not burdened with details.”
3. Jedi have really cool lightsabers
Here is what the author of the book writes: “Lightsabers, apparently, have become a worldwide hobby. There is an international competition for The best video with the Sabercomp lightsaber on YouTube (the results are impressive and worth watching). In Germany, I met with representatives from Project Saber, a large and serious group that makes fluorescent lightsabers, which staged a large sword battle before a special screening of Return of the Jedi in honor of the film's 30th anniversary. In 2013, scientists from Harvard and MIT were able to bind together two microscopic molecules made of photons. "Scientists have created technology lightsaber", screamed the headlines."
4. All these stories remind us of something very familiar.
Chris Taylor writes: “Tolkien died in 1973, just as Lucas was starting to work on the first draft of the script, and the Middle-earth books were at the height of their popularity. You can find surprising similarities between the third version of the script. Both are full of strange creatures that speak carefully crafted languages. R2 and 3PO are Frodo and Sam, innocent creatures caught up in a great adventure, whether they carry the blueprints or the One Ring. Both pairs are accompanied and guarded by a group of heroes. Death Star, that hell war machine- Mordor. Stormtroopers are orcs. Grandmoff Tarkin - this time on the side of evil - is an exact copy of Saruman. Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith, is similar to Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor. Gandalf - Kenobi - carries a magic sword and sacrifices himself to return in a slightly changed and more magical form.
There was another book that Lucas thought about often at the time and later mentioned in interviews: Tales of Power by Carlos Castaneda, part of Castaneda's supposedly autobiographical series about the philosophical trials he went through to gain almost magical powers. The relationship between Luke and Ben largely mirrors the relationship between Castaneda and the Yaqui shaman Don Juan. We've come a long way from Flash Gordon. We mixed space fantasy with classic fantasy, added a layer of mysticism and sprinkled it with jokes and comic characters."
5. The Star Wars universe is endless
"We have great amount and ideas, and characters, and books and a bunch of other things,” said the Creator (that’s what George Lucas calls himself - ed.). “We can make Star Wars for another hundred years.” “There will always be people who are unhappy, no matter what you do. So the best thing you can do is go ahead and try to tell the most best story"whatever you can."
Let's say this immediately and categorically: The Last Jedi is the kind of movie you'll argue about with your friends for a long time. This is the most experimental episode, unlike any other, contrary to expectations. Director Rian Johnson, who had previously directed arthouse films and who for some reason was hired by Disney to make the main blockbuster of the year, did not care about any canon, offended all the feelings of believers in the Jedi, and trampled on half a century of traditions.
Star Wars has long been talked about as a kind of religion, followed by fanatical fans of the franchise. It is logical to assume that the original trilogy is the Old Testament for them, the three prequels are the New, and Disney films are, accordingly, the Newest.
So, the Old Believers, without a doubt, will deny the new chapter of the sacred franchise and will go underground to review the good old, naive film of George Lucas about a boy with superpowers who almost single-handedly saved the entire Galaxy from an infernal tyrant.
The new film is not like that at all. This is a strange movie, sometimes almost brilliant, sometimes dead boring, as if marketers were finishing it. It seems to be divided in half, like the Force - into dark and light sides.
Let's start with the light one. Ever since the last part, everyone was expecting the appearance of Luke Skywalker, who appeared at the very end, where the new main character Rey hands him a lightsaber, and did not even have time to say a single word. Well, as it turned out, he reacted just as silently to the offer to help the forces of good: he takes the weapon, throws it to the ground and walks away.
All story line, which takes place on a rocky island, in a Jedi village, is a symbolic discarded lightsaber, a trampled outdated canon that can no longer be remade again and again. After The Force Awakens, a thoroughly nostalgic film that recreated the very first Star Wars by George Lucas, Rian Johnson began to undermine the foundations.
Moreover, there is one scene in the film (we won’t describe it in detail due to general spoiler phobia), where all the traditions of the series literally fly into the air and are destroyed forever. Such zeal for innovation in the most conservative franchise in the world cannot but impress.
"YouTube/Star Wars"
In general, historically, Star Wars borrowed a lot from the very conservative, almost folkloric samurai cinema. Even the word "Jedi", as everyone knows, comes from the Japanese "jidaigeki", the name of the costume-historical national genre cinema.
Such films are characterized by a storyline with the hero's training as a samurai by all these evil teachers with mustaches who beat careless students with a stick. This is probably best known to Western audiences from the scenes with the mustachioed sensei in Tarantino's Kill Bill 2.
So, the line with the training of the new main Jedi of the series, the girl Rey with a mysterious past, turned out to be unexpectedly... erotic. Let's say a padawan is sitting on a stone, meditating, looking for the Force within herself. Skywalker stands over her and asks if she feels something inside. Daisy Ridley almost languidly answers in an exciting whisper that, yes, there is something inside.
The Last Jedi could have focused solely on the last Jedi, and the viewer could have witnessed the fall of a great movement of good. Such pathos would sound good if the action were focused on it, but, unfortunately, we are constantly distracted by something
We can only add to this that Rey, as an orphan, is looking for a new father in Luke, and then the situation becomes Freudian tense.
Further more. Rey begins to arrange peculiar spiritualistic Skype sessions with Kylo Ren, her sworn enemy, the new Darth Vader, and throughout them she conducts no less ambiguous dialogues with him, in which hatred, it seems, is about to turn into physical love. Of course, Disney managers are not yet so liberal-minded as to allow this, but how elegant this attempt by Rian Johnson looks.
No less impressive is Adam Driver himself, who plays the antagonist, perhaps best actor of all those who are for long history franchise starred in it. When he first appeared in The Force Awakens, surprised audiences laughed at the scene where the new Darth Vader took off his mask to reveal a lop-eared, gangly young man looking all embarrassed.
The duality of his character, a doubting, restless villain, was only allowed to be revealed by Driver in this film. He plays heroically, simply bursts with emotions, in a second he manages to change, it seems, even his appearance in order to demonstrate an old childhood resentment towards his mentor, and dreams of an unrealizable bright future, and a sudden outbreak of love for someone who will never reciprocate.
But this aesthetic storyline is constantly interrupted by inserts that seem to be from another film. The fact is that, in addition to Rey, in the pool of main characters there is also the adventurer pilot Poe Dameron and the stormtrooper deserter Finn. Of course, it was necessary to somehow focus on them.
As a result, the characters spend the entire film simply flying away at the same speed from the enemy ship, unfortunate Finn is looking for Benicio Del Toro in a luxurious casino, who plays a stuttering lockpicker, and Poe Dameron at this time is simply walking on the deck and pretending to experience half of the film.
The Last Jedi could have focused solely on the last Jedi, and the viewer could have witnessed the fall of a great movement of good. Such pathos would sound good if the action were focused on it, but, unfortunately, we are constantly distracted by something.
However, most likely, most viewers will have a problem with the technical features of the film. In those very insert scenes, there is some disturbingly poorly written stilted dialogue. Even for Star Wars, inexplicable physical miracles occur (for example, a bomb bay is discovered on a space fighter, from which shells spill into weightlessness).
There is also a character specially added to the plot, an introverted Asian woman, who pronounces out loud very leftist conclusions in the spirit of “all evil comes from the rich,” which, of course, is very funny to hear in a film produced by the most commercialized company in the world, Disney.
Finally, what is especially annoying, they inserted as many as three into the film different types new cute creatures created solely to later become material for fan GIFs. They are all equally wet-eyed and unnecessary.
It’s probably wrong to split “The Last Jedi” into parts; nevertheless, it is conceived as a whole work that should both shake those thirsty for change and satisfy conformists who expect from the picture only ships to fly beautifully to the immortal music of John Williams.
But on the other hand, one of the key themes of both this episode and all the others was hope. The good Resistance will not completely lose to the evil Empire as long as at least someone still has faith in victory.
This is probably how we should treat the franchise itself: there is still hope that the established order will change and the director will be allowed to speak out without self-restraint within the framework of such a regulated work as Star Wars. Rian Johnson partially succeeded in this, which means there is still hope, now renewed, that such a completely original, unexpected, author’s movie will someday come out. But not this Thursday yet.
Egor Belikov