My current ranking:

ESB
ANH
Solo, R1
RotS, RotJ, TFA
AotC, TPM
TLJ

All these lists are invalid without the Christmas Special in it.

The Disney theme park is now canon

Hamill officially does not give a **** anymore, and I love it...

I love Mark but his bitterness has gotten kind of annoying lately.

I agree.
Also...when were the 4 of them ever together in the original in the cockpit of the falcon? Oh right...never.
I think it's fine that he is upset about where they took his character, but he is purposeful stoking the fires now for self promotion. He knows the fans are upset so he is taking their side.
If he was really so upset about it, he would not have participated in the new trilogy. Sure the story has changed a bit, but I know that JJ wanted this story to focus on a new generation, and that was always the story from the outset. He can't act like he didn't know they old characters were not going to be the main focus.
I think it's just really unprofessional to make money from acting in something, and then to turn around and trash it. It's just not a good look on anyone.

Basically, I can't stand Hayden Christensen in the role of Anakin. I have nothing against Christensen as an actor, and have even liked him in other parts, I just think it's a terribly written part performed terribly. Anakin should be an endlessly compelling character, yet Lucas/Christensen render him the complete opposite. His stalker-esque relationship with Padme is cringe-worthy, he has zero chemistry with McGregor/Obi-Wan, and his eventual turn is almost laughable. I also think the movie itself is simply too "digital." It's the worst of Lucas' impulses all amped up to 10 and fully on display. The opening space/rescue sequence, the final duel, etc... it all just looks like noisy, digital crap, IMO. Overall, I just don't find any of it compelling. We not only know the exact ending going in, but everything leading up to it is so predictable as well, and the movie does absolutely nothing to subvert that in anyway. I just find it to be an all-around inevitable, digital bore.

I've said this before, but The Phantom Menace is the only prequel that actually looks like a real movie, seeing as it was the only prequel shot on film. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are well-rendered, have great chemistry, etc., and even though I never would have started the prequels with Anakin so young, I don't mind Jake Lloyd's performance at all. The pod race holds up, Maul is the second best villain of the franchise, and I still hold that the final climactic light saber fight between him, Qui-Gon, and Obi-Wan is, hands down, the best of the series. Don't get me wrong, the movie obviously has PLENTY of flaws, and it's still crap overall, but certain characters, settings, and sequences - as a whole - are better than any of the other prequels, IMO.

in my book mark hamill can do whatever he wants and still be the coolest guy around. He's always been magnificent to the fanbase, while ford and fisher treated star wars like something embarassing from their past for most of the 90s and 00s. He could have been an ******* and told RJ< no thanks I'm not doing that character, go ahead and try and replace me, and then he gave his brutal honest truth about the role when reporters asked. How many hollywood actors would admit "I didn't like the part, but I trusted the director and did my best." He wants to have a few yuks on Twitter with PHotoshop ? Guy has been in public spotlight for 42 years and never let them see him sweat. I'd rather meet him than any other celebrity alive just to say tahnks.

Seriously? How about, for starters, don't have Luke chuck one of the most iconic movie props in cinematic history over his shoulder. I think that's a reasonable starting point for options in improving Luke's character in TLJ.

He had the option of literally doing what Yoda did at the end of Ep III....go into hiding and wait for Rey to show up. Giving up and cutting off from the Force was all Rian.

So I blame Rian much more than JJ. But ultimately the blame falls with Disney/Lucasfilm for not insisting on greater collaboration or having someone in the story group own it. (They were that desperate to get JJ to direct VII I guess)

veryfuller said:

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Its JJ to blame for Luke's arc in the new trilogy, not RJ. Sure RJ may have tossed out JJ's initial ideas, but JJ didn't leave him many realistic options for what to do with Luke in the TLJ after the events of TFA. Also JJ killed off Han, so....if they were ever going to be together it would have been in TFA. I get people hating TLJ because of what happened with Luke, but I think blaming RJ for making the best with his limited options on Luke's story isn't really fair.

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I completely disagree with this. I just can't imagine Abrams intended for Luke to toss the lightsaber over his shoulder, or for him to turn into an emo hermit.

But what are the other options that explain his complete isolation? He is clearly physically fine at the end of the movie? So he could sense all the chaos going on, including the destruction of the capital star system and the death of one of his friends, but he chills on the island? What explains that in a satisfactory way that doesn't make him a complete jerk? Either he is ignoring his friends in pain (which is out of character for him per ESB) or he has detached from the force and is unaware of whats going on outside. Or maybe there is another option that explains his decisions?

Sure throwing the light saber is a jarring move, but it's at least in character for someone who has decided to leave the jedi stuff behind him. I'm not trying to convince you to like TLJ or what happened with Luke, I am just asking what is another story that makes sense given the set up. In my opinion, JJ didn't leave RJ with much to work with when it comes to Luke's story.

TLJ gets many things wrong, but Luke's arc is not one of them. It was jarring as hell to see him toss that lightsaber, but it completely fits with what his character has become--someone overcome with failure, guilt, and anger over his legacy. RJ took Luke's character about the only interesting place it could go. The easy thing would be to just turn him into Obi Wan Junior, but there would be no dramatic purpose for doing so--we've already seen that movie.

The climax featuring Luke literally facing his failure with Kylo head one is one of the defining moments of the series for me. The fact that the other elements of TLJ are uneven or downright bad is almost beside the point. They nailed Luke's character, and that goes a long way.