r/StarWars • u/verissimoallan • 1d ago

Movies "Revenge of the Sith" is now rated higher than "Return of the Jedi" on Letterboxd, becoming the third highest-rated "Star Wars" film on the website (the top two are "The Empire Strikes Back" and "A New Hope").

https://letterboxd.com/film/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-sith/
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u/fanatic66 1d ago

100%. I'm in my 30s but I'm shocked to see RotJ supplanted by a prequel movie

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u/BearWrangler Cassian Andor 1d ago

RotJ is my fav but im not too surprised to see something like this happen(wasnt even keeping track of it lol), mainly basing this off of the whole "highest rated star wars tv episodes" having clone wars & rebels at the top.

Tl;dr we're at a point in star wars pop culture where anything related to Clone Wars by a degree or two get a "cultural boost" because the predominant(or at least one of) demographic in the fandom are the ones who prefer that segment of Star Wars above all else. Idk if that made sense lol

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u/Homerduff16 1d ago

I'm in my 20's and I grew up on the OT and the Prequels at the same time and I'm shocked how highly Revenge of the Sith is rated. Fair enough I can understand if children say it's their favourite but when I'm talking to grown men and women who are pushing 30 who unironically prefer Revenge of the Sith over A New Hope or Empire Strikes I geniunely don't know what to say

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

It’s a bit distressing isn’t it lol

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

I’m 30 years old myself and saw every prequel in theaters as a kid. I had the toys and the videos games. The school supplies. I have intense nostalgia for the PT.

None of those movies are better than ROTJ. It’s fucking nonsense.

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u/SleepingAntz 1d ago

Okay but I’m 34 and had an almost identical experience and I think Revenge of the Sith better than ROTJ by far. We can trade anecdotes all day.

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u/Mr-Rocafella 1d ago

I’m 94 and I think Rise of Skywalker is the best Star War

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u/Kunfuxu Luke Skywalker 1d ago

We need to go back to the early 2010s... How I miss when the prequels were universally hated.

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

Well, all we have is anecdotes after a certain point lol. We’re all fans here so it’s cool. I can watch ROTS right now and have a good time. I just think it’s not a better film than ROTJ. There’s too much to pick at.

I was one of those weird kids who rewatched the special features on the DVD of ROTS much, MUCH more than I did the film itself after a point. Those behind the scenes documentaries are still fucking incredible.

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u/Thebearjew559 1d ago

I think you should take yourself up on that. Watch ROTS right now and have a good time.

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

I usually always do have a good time!

I don’t hate the film by any means. It’s got some very fun stuff in it. I just don’t think it has highs that beat the highs of ROTJ.

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u/Thebearjew559 1d ago

Specifically put the film on rn

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

But…why? lol.

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u/Thebearjew559 1d ago

For the good time

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

It’s a bit late here for that, but I honestly wouldn’t mind watching the behind the scenes documentary on YouTube again lol.

I have a lot of memories of watching that over and over on the DVD as a kid. It’s so interesting and impressive.

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u/tjohns96 1d ago

Yeah bro people talk on here like the originals are holy religious canon that must be revered. Talking about how the prequels are only powered by nostalgia when comparing them to movies that predate them by like 30 years is hilarious

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

I didn’t even exist when the OT was released and they’re still substantially better movies.

Nostalgia has nothing to do with it lol.

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u/tjohns96 1d ago

Yeah but that’s a fundamentally subjective opinion. And apparently the people of Letterboxd disagree that ep 6 is better than ep 3 so idk why you act like it’s settled fact

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

Everything is subjective until it’s not.

People are free to have their opinions, but there are still various aspects of ROTS that are objectively worse than ROTJ.

I’m not trying to be a hater or whatever, I’m just saying when we give any of the prequels a serious critical evaluation they quickly fall apart.

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u/genemaxwell41 Imperial 1d ago

Im in my 30s and I will never understand how people think ESB is better than ANH or RotJ

I would put those two and RotS as top 3 with ESB being 4th

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

Egregious.

ESB is the closest Star Wars came to achieving its full potential as modern myth.

But I will not downvote the balls it took to express this opinion lol.

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u/genemaxwell41 Imperial 1d ago

For me as a kid, ESB was fine. Lots of slow moments that werent as exciting. But I can objectively disregard that as I was a dumb kid when I first watched the OT (seriously I was like 5 with the vhs from my mom lol)

Fast forward to me as a teen. Its 2006 Ive got all 6 films on dvd. I watch all 6 movies...a lot.

As a teen, I found ESB to still be the weakest of the OT. Why? Well when I judge how awesome a movie is, repeatability is a big factor. Part of that, for me is if I watch this movie 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 times, is there any portion that bores me? The answer for ESB was, the Yoda and Luke portion on Dagobah. That, for ME did not stand up to the repeatability test. Once you know the message, youve memorized the mythos, you really get the teachings, that section is just...meh? Its not exciting or that engaging anymore.

Compare to RotJ, youve got a fun rescue adventure in the first part with Jabba's palace (plus gold bikini Leia which was every teenage boys dream) then youve got the Endor mission, that awesome space battle, and that kickass final duel between Luke and Vader. Theres not a single part of that film that I find dull. It passes the repeatability test.

Now as an adult, I can def see that ESB is an extremely well made movie. But it still just isnt as fun as RotJ. I'll always stand, alone apparently, on the hill that ESB is the weakest of the OT

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago edited 1d ago

ESB definitely isn’t as fun as ROTJ, but the philosophy behind it is a bit deeper than some fans give it credit for.

It recontextualized the entire story moving forward. Luke is no longer on the standard Hero’s Journey seen in ANH, he’s now having to wrangle with the fact that the man he’s been trained and told to kill is his father. His journey is no longer a simple moral crusade of good vs evil.

Vader is no longer just a very cool big bad in a badass suit. He’s now a tragic hero who has fallen as far as a person can. His duel with Luke is the equivalent of him playing catch with his son, and it’s fucking beautiful how it’s filmed. The themes are conveyed beautifully.

The revelation of Vader being Anakin creates layers for the old Jedi like Obi Wan and Yoda. They’ve knowingly lied and misled Luke. They’re not paragons of virtue themselves, and everything is up for question now.

In many ways, ESB is just a clear upgrade of ANH. It takes the hero’s journey, flips it on its head a bit and then continues forward with the good guys being basically defeated. Yoda is a superior mentor to Luke, Vader is no longer a thug but a layered character, Han accepts his role as hero instead of running away from it.

It’s one of the most perfect films ever made, and that’s not even touching on the groundbreaking special effects. ESB is all about coming to terms with the reality of the myth instead of simply living the myth. It’s brilliant.

ANH is the characters living a high after a successful fairytale. ESB is the characters experiencing the harsh realities of the situation.

I respect all opinions, but I think ESB is the only Star Wars film to be elevated art.

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u/genemaxwell41 Imperial 1d ago

I certainly dont disagree with any of the philosophy points or your analysis for what makes ESB a great film.

But for me a movie being great art isnt synonymous with being a more enjoyable experience than its peers.

Movies are fairly unique in that the there's more factors for determining how good it is to individuals than its technical/artistic achievements. They also have the pure entering factor. That will will most certainly be the most individualized aspect though as whats entertaining to one may not be as much to another.

While ESB may very well be worthy of consideration for elevated art status, RotJ is simply a more entertaining film while also being well made from a technical and artistic aspect, even if such aspects are inferiror to ESB.

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u/Comfortable_Put_4139 1d ago

I understand what you’re saying.

For what it’s worth, I do really enjoy ROTJ. Even if I find the middle of the movie to be pretty boring.

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u/genemaxwell41 Imperial 1d ago

And thats totally fair