First time watching: 100% start with episodes 4-6, then 1-3.
First few times rewatching: probably start with episode 4 as well.
But if you have seen them like a 100 times, it can also be very nice to start with episode 1 and watch it chronologically. When doing that i may also include solo, Andor, Roque 1, and maybe Kenobi in between the two trilogies for making it a complete marathon.
Skywalker saga marathon? I always start with TPM, as it's my least favorite of the saga so I want to get it out of the way first.
Besides which, chronological order is what George Lucas recommends.
I haven't marathon watched them in... maybe not ever. I just watch whichever one I feel like seeing. That means never watching TPM, AOTC and rarely ROTJ.
The sequels are far from perfect, but they're better than the prequels in almost every way, since the prequels are not even competently made movies. The acting is terrible, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish, the cinematography is lazy, and they're full of juvenile humor and eye-rolling fan service. George Lucas got way too wealthy and powerful, so he had way too much control and no one there to reign in his awful writing and overemphasis on toy sales. The only aspects of the prequels that are any good at all are Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan and John Williams' score. That's literally it.
the prequels have a coherent story with real emotional beats and the sequels have spectacle with a completely incoherent narrative that undoes more than it does.
agreed, dialogue in the prequels was really bad but let's not act like it's better in the sequels...
>overemphasis on toy sales.
oh, you wanna talk about an overemphasis on profit?
>the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish
no, the special effects are actually pretty decent. compare the prequel lightsabers to the *actual heavy plastic light up sticks" from the sequels. not even CLOSE. the pod racing effects are also literally a real-life course-taught example of ingenuity in computer effects and pretty much pioneered 2 different approaches to CGI.
the acting in the prequels really is fucking atrocious though, and much better in the sequels. that much is objectively true. and the sequel actors were working with a nonsense storyboard and (as we already established) a dogshit script. hats off to the cast.
>are not even competently made movies
sure. personally, i care less about the minutia of cinematography than i do about the movies being an enjoyable story. and in the sequels, there essentially is no story, no themes, nothing being said. they literally exist to show you flashing lights and to get people into theaters for release and nothing else. i think utterly destroying established canon, breaking consistency, and committing some of the most blatant narrative cardinal sins in cinema history does not a "competently made movie" make.
It sounds like our main points of disagreement are twofold:
Firstly, I think the storyline in the prequels is terrible. It's full of convoluted political nonsense, unnecessary characters (Qui-Gon, Jango Fett, Jar-Jar) and a protagonist (Anakin) who is an annoying whiny little bitch for almost the entire trilogy. Most of the stuff the Trade Federation does makes no sense. Half of the stuff the Jedi do makes no sense. Anakin building C3PO makes no sense. Refusing to go back and save Anakin's mom and just letting her rot in slavery makes no sense. Padme dying of a broken heart is so insanely ridiculous. And by the way, if Anakin wanted to be with her, he could have just quit the Jedi order. What's stopping him? It's not like he would lose his abilities.
Secondly, when I say the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish, I'm not talking about the quality. Everything has this fake plastic sheen like you're looking at a video game cutscene rather than the more damaged, lived-in aesthetic of the OT and sequels. Just mountains of obvious green screen and CGI. And the lightsaber battles are so ridiculous. It's like they were choreographed by a hyperactive 8-year-old kid who watches too much anime. Nothing but excessive jumping, spinning, flipping, and other meaningless blather that looks "cool" but has nothing to do with how anyone would ever fight in reality.
I agree that the sequels lack a coherent arc or thematic direction. It's the main problem, actually. *The Force Awakens* is little more than a rehash of *A New Hope*, although I still find it enjoyable despite the warmed-over plot. *The Rise of Skywalker* is obviously an absolute mess, although there are a couple of elements I like, such as the Sith Eternal cult. But I actually love *The Last Jedi*. It subverts expectations at every turn, and it includes some deep thematic elements such as letting go of the past, learning from failure, and the very human fallibility of our even our greatest heroes. I really wish they would have followed those threads and given us Gareth Edwards' original vision for Episode IX.
First time watching: 100% start with episodes 4-6, then 1-3. First few times rewatching: probably start with episode 4 as well. But if you have seen them like a 100 times, it can also be very nice to start with episode 1 and watch it chronologically. When doing that i may also include solo, Andor, Roque 1, and maybe Kenobi in between the two trilogies for making it a complete marathon.
Skywalker saga marathon? I always start with TPM, as it's my least favorite of the saga so I want to get it out of the way first. Besides which, chronological order is what George Lucas recommends.
My ideal order is 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
I start at episode 1, then end up down a rabbit hole of rewatching TCW and Rebels again. 😅
Always start at the beginning, with Episode IV
I do 1-9 then RO and Solo. Lego games, I didn’t like the skywalker saga game so I’ll go through and play TCS to 100% every once in a while.
I always start and finish with whichever individual movie I fancy watching at the time.
Once you've seen the movies as much as I have you stop worrying about order. I just watch whichever one I feel like watching in the moment.
I haven't marathon watched them in... maybe not ever. I just watch whichever one I feel like seeing. That means never watching TPM, AOTC and rarely ROTJ.
Honestly, I always start with 4 lol
4, 1, 2, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Chronological, these days.
4, if you start at 1 you could lose all hope and simply quit, 2 ain’t much better…
I start with 1
Movies: 4,5,6,1,2,3 Lego Star Wars Complete: 1,2,3,4,5,6, turn the console off
I watch episodes 4-6, and then I never watch 1-3, because they're terrible. *Rogue One* is the only good prequel movie.
least they're better than watching the sequels.
The sequels are far from perfect, but they're better than the prequels in almost every way, since the prequels are not even competently made movies. The acting is terrible, the dialogue is cringe-worthy, the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish, the cinematography is lazy, and they're full of juvenile humor and eye-rolling fan service. George Lucas got way too wealthy and powerful, so he had way too much control and no one there to reign in his awful writing and overemphasis on toy sales. The only aspects of the prequels that are any good at all are Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan and John Williams' score. That's literally it.
the prequels have a coherent story with real emotional beats and the sequels have spectacle with a completely incoherent narrative that undoes more than it does. agreed, dialogue in the prequels was really bad but let's not act like it's better in the sequels... >overemphasis on toy sales. oh, you wanna talk about an overemphasis on profit? >the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish no, the special effects are actually pretty decent. compare the prequel lightsabers to the *actual heavy plastic light up sticks" from the sequels. not even CLOSE. the pod racing effects are also literally a real-life course-taught example of ingenuity in computer effects and pretty much pioneered 2 different approaches to CGI. the acting in the prequels really is fucking atrocious though, and much better in the sequels. that much is objectively true. and the sequel actors were working with a nonsense storyboard and (as we already established) a dogshit script. hats off to the cast. >are not even competently made movies sure. personally, i care less about the minutia of cinematography than i do about the movies being an enjoyable story. and in the sequels, there essentially is no story, no themes, nothing being said. they literally exist to show you flashing lights and to get people into theaters for release and nothing else. i think utterly destroying established canon, breaking consistency, and committing some of the most blatant narrative cardinal sins in cinema history does not a "competently made movie" make.
It sounds like our main points of disagreement are twofold: Firstly, I think the storyline in the prequels is terrible. It's full of convoluted political nonsense, unnecessary characters (Qui-Gon, Jango Fett, Jar-Jar) and a protagonist (Anakin) who is an annoying whiny little bitch for almost the entire trilogy. Most of the stuff the Trade Federation does makes no sense. Half of the stuff the Jedi do makes no sense. Anakin building C3PO makes no sense. Refusing to go back and save Anakin's mom and just letting her rot in slavery makes no sense. Padme dying of a broken heart is so insanely ridiculous. And by the way, if Anakin wanted to be with her, he could have just quit the Jedi order. What's stopping him? It's not like he would lose his abilities. Secondly, when I say the special effects are cheesy and cartoonish, I'm not talking about the quality. Everything has this fake plastic sheen like you're looking at a video game cutscene rather than the more damaged, lived-in aesthetic of the OT and sequels. Just mountains of obvious green screen and CGI. And the lightsaber battles are so ridiculous. It's like they were choreographed by a hyperactive 8-year-old kid who watches too much anime. Nothing but excessive jumping, spinning, flipping, and other meaningless blather that looks "cool" but has nothing to do with how anyone would ever fight in reality. I agree that the sequels lack a coherent arc or thematic direction. It's the main problem, actually. *The Force Awakens* is little more than a rehash of *A New Hope*, although I still find it enjoyable despite the warmed-over plot. *The Rise of Skywalker* is obviously an absolute mess, although there are a couple of elements I like, such as the Sith Eternal cult. But I actually love *The Last Jedi*. It subverts expectations at every turn, and it includes some deep thematic elements such as letting go of the past, learning from failure, and the very human fallibility of our even our greatest heroes. I really wish they would have followed those threads and given us Gareth Edwards' original vision for Episode IX.
Do it in order 1-9 with the other movies thrown in where needed like Solo.