4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (135 points)
It was just four points shy of beating one of the Original Trilogy entries, but J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens fell just short of third to take fourth.
The first Star Wars movie in the Disney era, Star Wars: The Force Awakens felt like an apology letter for the Prequel Trilogy. Abrams and his team went back to basics by making most of the movie with practical effects and real locations, while bringing back classic characters like Han Solo, Leia, Chewie and Admiral Ackbar. Like Jurassic World, which also came out in the same year, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a sequel that also acted as a reboot to the series. We had the continuation of the story that seemingly ended with Return of the Jedi, but it also introduced us to a whole set of new characters in Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, Hux, Snoke and the wonderful BB-8. Did it succeed on every level? Perhaps not. The clear cut-and-paste plot of A New Hope rubbed people up the wrong way and the new blockbuster mentality of ending scenes with a punchline was a bit annoying. Still, it was a heck of a lot better than Attack of the Clones.
Although, Anghus Houvouras really didn’t like it…
3. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (139 points)
The concluding episode of the Original Trilogy has been voted as the third best Star Wars movie by our writers, and it actually topped four of our writer’s lists.
So why don’t people like Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi more than the other two? One has to wonder whether the age-old ‘Ewok’ argument is still being held against it, despite the furry creatures barely doing anything annoying on screen. They’ve been criticised as nothing but ‘merchandise sellers’, but it’s Star Wars so why would that be a problem now? Then there are those who don’t like the Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader scenes, which they argue drag the film to a halt.
Personally, I think Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi rocks. The opening scenes in Jabba’s Palace are utterly gripping, Yoda’s death is heart-breaking and the final battle on Endor is fantastic. Luke battling Vader while trying not to give into hate is superb, as is the speeder bike chase with Leia and the Scout troopers. There is a lot to like about Return of the Jedi, but our writers decided that it was 33 points behind our second place…
2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (172 points)
Some people just call it Star Wars, but the re-titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope has been voted as the second best movie in our 2016 rankings. It’s a movie that everyone remembers seeing for the first time, whether it was in the theatres in 1977, on VHS in the 1980s, the special editions in 1997 or on Blu-Ray and DVD in the 21st Century. There has never been a film that has transcended generations quite like Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.
I have always argued that should I get stuck on a desert island with only one choice of Star Wars movie to take with me, I would pick A New Hope. It’s a self-contained story, a movie made before the Star Wars Saga was a multi billion dollar empire. We follow our heroes and we watch them do battle with the evil Empire, finally overcoming the odds to blow up the Death Star and go home (spoilers). It’s a wonderful movie, full of adventure and excitement even though a Jedi craves not these things.
Sadly, it wasn’t enough to unseat the best movie in the Star Wars Universe, according to the Flickering Myth writing staff.
1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (182 points)
Beating Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope by just 10 points, the team here at Flickering Myth have decided that Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is the king of Star Wars. Could it really have been anything else?
What’s funny is that when Flickering Myth voted for our favourite science fiction films of all-time in 2014, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back topped that list too. Clearly, this is a movie that Flickering Myth has a lot of love for and it will take quite the adventure to unseat it. Empire Magazine’s readers voted it as the greatest movie ever made, and it topped a whopping twelve of our writer’s lists. As our editor-in-chief wrote in 2014, “how do you follow-up a game-changing movie like Star Wars? With The Empire Strikes Back, that’s how.”
Almost everything you could want from a Star Wars space opera is here. You travel through the galaxy, see various planets and cities all while being chased down by a terrifying threat. And who can forget the most famous twist in cinema history? It’s a line that is often mis-quoted, but “I am your father” found itself in AFI’s “100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes” along with Yoda’s “Do or do not, there is no try.” That’s how much impact the film has had.
Simply put, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back is a masterpiece of cinema.
Here’s the final rankings for 2016:
1. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
3. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi
4. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
5. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
6. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
7. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
8. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones
9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars
And here’s our writer’s favourite movies:
Mark Bartlett – The Force Awakens
Gary Collinson – The Empire Strikes Back
Eric Bay-Anderson – A New Hope
AJ Black – The Empire Strikes Back
Tom Powter – A New Hope
Gav Logan – Return of the Jedi
Chris Cooper – Return of the Jedi
Ben Robins – A New Hope
Luke Owen – The Empire Strikes Back
Villordsutch – The Empire Strikes Back
Andrew Newton – Return of the Jedi
Thomas Harris – The Empire Strikes Back
Tom Roach – The Empire Strikes Back
Graeme Robertson – Return of the Jedi
Sean Wilson – The Empire Strikes Back
Liam Hoofe – The Empire Strikes Back
Anghus Houvouras – The Empire Strikes Back
James Garcia – Rogue One
Ricky Church – The Empire Strikes Back
Rob Kojder – The Empire Strikes Back
Mark Clark – The Empire Strikes Back
So there you have it, Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back has taken the top place in our 2016 list. Can next year’s Star Wars: Episode VIII finally de-throne it?
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the co-host of The Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @ThisisLukeOwen and read his weekly feature The Week in Star Wars.
