A recent study revealed the best and worst films out of the nine main entries in the Star Wars franchise, and the results suggest fans prefer the originals, and evidently carry a strong dislike for one recent film in particular.
A study by a broadband service provider U Switch combined metrics from the twenty highest grossing movie series and compared them against their sequels to discover the best and worst films in each franchise. The study used scores from IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic, along with box office revenue and profitability, to reveal the worst Star Wars film is the latest instalment, The Rise of Skywalker.
The Rise of Skywalker rated 3.28 out of 10 in a tight race to the bottom, with a slight edge over Attack of the Clones as the second-worst film, which rated 3.4. Episode IX might have been the worst entry in the franchise, but its immediate predecessors The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi fared better in third and fourth place respectively. The 1999-2005 prequel trilogy was considered the least appealing era overall, with its highest rated film, Revenge of the Sith, coming in sixth place.
The best Star Wars films were a much more unanimous decision, with franchise debut A New Hope taking the top spot at a rating of 8.48. The series' first sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, was the second-highest rated film at 8.05. Combining the scores of all three trilogies shows that the 1977-1983 films are vastly preferred over the prequel trilogy, and moderately preferred over the 2015-2019 films.
The study did not take into account the many spinoffs and companion series to the Star Wars franchise, such as recent projects like The Book of Boba Fett. Star Wars is a massive multimedia franchise with different styles and levels of success across more than just the first three films.
The Rise of Skywalker has been heavily criticized by some members of the Star Wars fanbase, largely for its depiction of iconic characters like Emperor Palpatine, who some argue was not given sufficient purpose in the overarching story. The Force Awakens, on the other hand, was well-received as a return to form for Star Wars after the prequels.
Star Wars is available to stream on Disney+.
Source: Uswitch