Nerduary Star Wars Saga poll

I know there hasn't been a showdown in a while. In lieu of its absence, I was thinking about doing something a tad different this week. Since the Star Wars saga is now complete, I thought it would be interesting to see how The Nerduary ranks the movies. What's the best (although I probably know the answer) and what's the worst (again, probably know the answer).

So I ask you, fellow Nerduary members, to put the movies in your favorite order. I will rank these by giving six points to the movie you rank as first and one to the movie as last. When completed, I will tally them up. I do want to say that I love Star Wars and it really doesn't matter what is the best. The saga is great and I like all of these movies, even with their flaws, because they are in that great universe I knew and loved as a kid. Still, it's fun to do polls.

I won't count my own rankings, but I thought I would include them along with my reasons just for fun. Hell, I just got out of class and I want to celebrate. So without further delay, here we go.

1. The Empire Strikes Back (Episode 5) -- What is there to say about this movie? It really is perfect in every way. There's not really anything about this movie, including the special editions, that I cringe when I watch it. Luke versus Vader, AT-ATs, Boba Fett hunting down Han, Asteroid chase with exploding TIES--everything. I could go on and on. When this is set against others in the saga, it just stands out.










2. Revenge of the Sith (Episode 3) -- Now I know many out there would gasp at any of the prequels being in the top three. With that said, I think this movie is very important to Star Wars. It really saved the prequel trilogy for me. The lightsaber fights are a plenty and they surpass any others in the saga. After a shaky start, I really think the last hour is some of the best Star Wars you can find. It also bridges the two trilogies together well. While it probably could have been better, I think this is a great movie.











3. A New Hope (Episode 4) -- This is where it all started. I really like this movie and Episode Three made it better. I can't wait to watch this with someone who has never seen any of Star Wars and they are watching it in order. Han is great in this one (when he shoots Greedo first ... let's not go there). The dogfighting in the Death Star Battle is ultra cool. Even though the lightsaber fight is a little slow, it's still cool to see Obi-Wan and Darth Vader go at it. I still like this movie.











4. Return of the Jedi (Episode 6) -- This movie has one of my favorite scenes in the saga: Vader versus Luke. When Luke goes all Jedi rage at the end of the movie, John Williams soundtrack still gives chills. What a cool ending. The Ewok factor, as much as I try, is still a little hard to swallow. The best troops of the Empire are whipped by teddy bears. Oh well, still a great movie and a nice end to the saga. The space battles in this are the best, still better than anything in the prequel trilogy with technology twenty years old. The showdown with the Emperor, Luke, and Vader is still the highlight of the movie for me.











5. Attack of the Clones (Episode 2) -- With so much that could have been done in this entry, it's amazing how little happens in the two hour plus time frame. Seeing the beginning of the Clone Wars is really the best part of the movie for me. I do like the space skirmish between Obi-Wan and Jango. Seeing Yoda fight was okay. Seeing the Emperor, who gives one of the best performances in the saga, continue his plot is really cool. The ho-hum romance between Anakin and Padme is a little taxing. The lightsaber fights are no where near as cool as the rest of the prequel trilogy. Overall, I still think it was a bit of missed opportunity, though.











6. The Phantom Menace (Episode 1) -- I know, you're shocked. I have tried again and again to like this movie. Every now and then, I still slide it into the DVD player to see if age has improved it. There are some very cool parts to it. Jar-Jar doesn't piss me off quite as much, but his over abundance of screen time still bothers me. When you look at this episode, nothing really happens. Palpatine is elected Supreme Chancellor. And Qui-Gon dies (you suck Qui-Gon). Anyway, it was Star Wars after nearly a twenty year hiatus so that has to count for something. And it had really cool lightsaber battles with the most underused cool villian in movie screen history (in my opinion).

So there you have my little list. I cannot wait to read yours. I will start tallying the results next Wednesday night.