I thought I‘d do something a bit different with this post and ask what order you should watch the Star Wars films in. The restrictions are that all 6 films have to be included. This has been partly inspired by one of the tv stations here showing them in numerical order which I don‘t think works very well.
WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. STOP READING NOW IF YOU ON‘T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.
Ok. I shall give my order and the reasons for doing so and I hope you will share your preferred order and reasons for doing so.
ONE: Star Wars (or A New Hope if you must)
Reason: This film helped set up the story without clunky exposition and just threw you into the action. There were hints at adventures that had happened before, such as the Clone Wars and the conflict between Anakin and Darth Vader. A great start to the series and the only film to feature a fully built Death Star.
TWO: The Phantom Menace
Reason: It had to go somewhere and Star Wars works better as an introduction to this universe. Watching the 2 back-to-back will reveal some inconsistencies and some “how small is this universe anyway” questions. Are the Jedi part of a “hokey religion” or is it biological? Why are R2D2 and C3PO in the early films (or at least why is there no mention that they are decades old/retro in the later chapters).
THREE: Attack of the Clones
Reason: It fits well here. The Clone Wars has already been mentioned and here we get to see the beginning of the war and we also see the similarities between the clone troopers and the storm troopers to make us wonder what happened. We also see Jango Fett and his son Boba.
FOUR: The Empire Strikes Back
Reason: Nothing so far has ruined the big reveal in this film. Admittedly we may be wondering where Darth Vader is but having seen Darth Maul and Count Dooku, we can believe he will make his appearance soon. We also see the adult Boba Fett for the first time and as we have been away from this group of characters for 2 films, we feel that some time has passed since Star Wars and we welcome back these characters which makes the freezing of Han more shocking. The main drawback with watching films in this order is our first encounter with Yoda, although watching them this way gives the viewer the insider knowledge about who Yoda is and enjoy his odd behaviour compared to the Yoda we have already encountered. Now we have the big reveal and we are left at te end of the movie with two questions. What will happen to Han and how did Anakin become Darth Vader.
FIVE: Revenge of the Sith
Reason: It has been said that it is darkest before the dawn and this film is probably the darkest. We also get the confirmation about Yoda mentioning “another” in Empire and we see the fall of Anakin and a partially constructed Death Star.
SIX: Return of the Jedi
Reason: The title is more poignant after having seen the demise of the Jedi in Sith. We also begin with a partially constructed Death Star. We finally have confirmation that Luke and Leia are siblings and the final battle sees the redemption of Anakin (I leave it to your judgement as whether to watch the theatrical version where the elder Anakin (the one who threw the Emperor to his death and saved his son) shows up at the end or whether you watch the new edit with Hayden Christensen looking like the Anakin who slaughetered the “younglings” in Sith).
So that is my choice of which order to watch the films. What‘s your prevered viewing order*? *and I mean watching ALL six.
Here is an interesting YouTube link about what was done wrong with episode 4-6
Simon's (a)musing 