Here are our rankings for the Star Wars Skywalker saga movies - from worst to best. The Skywalker saga is a story over 40 years in the making, launched back in 1977 when eager audiences watched the first Star Wars movie. And it's gone in a direction even George Lucas couldn't have anticipated.

Lucas has always claimed he had a full nine-episode saga planned out from the beginning, but in truth the evidence is slim, and he's seemed to make a number of course-corrections while producing the original and prequel trilogies. And then, in 2012 he sold Lucasfilm over to Disney, trusting the House of Mouse to honor his legacy. Disney promptly abandoned Lucas' own plans for the sequel trilogy, and launched their own version instead.

Related: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's Ending Explained (& What Happens Next)

That trilogy is now complete, with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker serving as the final word in the story of Skywalker. Star Wars will continue, but in a very different way. As a result, this is the perfect time to look at the Skywalker saga itself, and consider how each individual chapter compares to the others.

9. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Rey Kylo Ren

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was always destined to be a problematic film. Lucasilm was attempting a course-correction after recent controversies, and their original plans featured Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa in a major role; and then, tragically, she passed away in December 2016. In the end, J.J. Abrams delivered a remarkably confused film absolutely jam-packed full of plot holes, never even attempting to explain the central concept of Palpatine's resurrection. Abrams pivots away from the idea of winning a new audience, instead focusing on appeasing the hardcore fanbase who had so vocally criticized the sequels. The actors do their best, with Adam Driver's portrayal of a redeemed Ben solo particularly commendable, but they're just not able to elevate such a confused script.

8. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Darth Maul

There is actually a good story at the heart of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace; in fact, there are probably three good stories there, they just aren't stitched together verywell. In theory, the conflict in Naboo, the politics of Coruscant, and the Chosen One of Tatooine are supposed to be woven together, but each element feels like a separate and distinct movie. Matters were made worse by Lucas' insistence that Star Wars was aimed at children, when the first wave of viewers were old-school fans who wanted to dine out on nostalgia. The best element of The Phantom Menace, Darth Maul, played a major part in marketing but was killed off surprisingly easily - which even Lucas later admitted was a mistake.

7. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala in Attack of the Clones.

George Lucas is a visionary director, but there's one thing he's not good at - dialogue. In fact, during production of the original trilogy he frequently had run-ins with Harrison Ford, who flatly refused to say the lines Lucas had written. When Lucas made the prequel trilogy, however, nobody was willing to stand up to him. As a result, the romance between Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker and Natalie Portman's Padmé Amidala - which lies at the heart of Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones - falls flat. This one had great potential, with the legendary Clone Wars finally beginning, but as with so many elements of the prequels, it failed to deliver.

Related: Star Wars Fandom Has Finally Got Over The Prequels - Thanks To Disney

6. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Revenge of the Sith

Still, the prequel trilogy did at least come to a strong ending, in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. There's an almost Shakespearean feel about this movie, with Anakin Skywalker transforming into Darth Vader. It was a hard sell for Lucas, given he'd insisted the prequels were aimed at children, but to his credit he didn't flinch from demonstrating the evil of the Sith; one of Anakin's first acts as a Sith is to slaughter the Jedi Younglings. The emotional confrontation between Anakin and his mentor, Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi, is superb. The film is really brought down by a barely relevant Yoda subplot, that was cut from Matt Stover's excellent novelization.

5. Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Kylo and Rey Fighting on Starkiller Base in Star Wars The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the first film released after Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney, and the House of Mouse pivoted hard into nostalgia in order to persuade fans they were a safe pair of hands. The movie does a fairly good job of introducing its new stars, and it delivers a heart-wrenching swan song for Harrison Ford's Han Solo. Unfortunately, this is one Star Wars blockbuster that hasn't aged well, simply because J.J. Abrams depended too much on "Mystery Box" storytelling, setting up questions to which he had no convincing answer. As a result, viewed in the context of the complete sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is enjoyable but sadly flawed.

4. Return of the Jedi

To be fair to Lucasfilm, even the original trilogy didn't succeed with the payoff, in part because Lucas himself changed gears partway through making it. As a result, Return of the Jedi was something of a disappointment, with a lot of plot elements coming out of the left field. The Luke-Leia-Han love triangle was resolved in an unsatisfying way, the Death Star plot was repetitive, and the Ewok subplot doesn't quite work. For all that's the case, though, Return of the Jedi has a great degree of charm to it. All the stars are on point, and the final confrontation between Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and the Emperor is - pardon the pun - electrifying.

3. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Luke vs Kylo Ren Last Jedi

Rian Johnson's Star Wars: The Last Jedi proved to be a lightning rod for divisions in the fandom, not least because Johnson was the first director of the sequel trilogy to dare to aim at a different audience. Where Star Wars: The Force Awakens venerated nostalgia, Johnson delivered a nuanced message that suggested nostalgia should be tempered with wisdom. It wasn't a perfect film by any means - it sat uncomfortably with the rest of the Skywalker saga, the fuel plot felt like it was dragged on for far too long, and some of the dramatic conflict between Poe and Holdo felt utterly artificial - but it's become far more controversial than it really deserves.

Related: Disney Changes Star Wars Timeline To Center On Their Movies (Not Lucas')

2. Star Wars

Star Wars A New Hope Luke Skywalker watching the suns set

This was where it all began. The first Star Wars film released in 1977, and proved a surprise hit, taking the world by storm. Oddly, there's a strange sense in which Star Wars still works best as a solo film, with some of its themes - such as the idea of Luke Skywalker as an "Everyman Hero" - resonating more effectively when it's viewed outside of the saga. Performances from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and the late, great Carrie Fisher are absolutely unforgettable, while Alec Guinness is impressive as the elderly Obi-Wan Kenobi. To watch Star Wars is to watch cinematic history.

1. The Empire Strikes Back

Vader reaching his hand out to Luke on Bespin in The Empire Strikes Back

But the number one slot simply has to go to The Empire Strikes Back, the film that showed the world how to do a sequel. Where most sequels are derivative, repeating all the best bits of the first movie, The Empire Strikes Back deepened and expanded the lore in fascinating ways. It all came to a head in an unforgettable confrontation between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, in which the themes and ideas of Star Wars were turned on their head when Luke learned he was Vader's son. The upbeat optimism of Star Wars was ditched in favor of a much more terse, dangerous tone, and the villains seemed to emerge triumphant by the close. This was Lucas' bravest film - and, as a result, it's his best.

Next: All Star Wars Movies, Ranked Worst To Best (Including Rise of Skywalker)