What order should I watch Star Wars in?

Started by jouzinka, June 16, 2012, 12:48:04 PM

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jouzinka

Okay, so... exactly as the title says.  :-[

Despite me being a bit of a geek, Star Wars are one of the things that I haven't yet watched. I used to have a reflex of "my bro likes -> hate it." It has since changed, but I did miss on a lot of good stuff and Star Wars is one of the things.

Only now there's seven six movies. ::) My brother-in-law-to-be has them all and I am trustworthy enough to be allowed to borrow them from him, but my question remains - how should I watch it? Should I watch all the prequels and then the "old" movies or should I watch it chronologically as they were filmed?

Advice please?  :-[
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Caitlin

I would recommend to start with 1 (the last one of the newest movies) and then work your way up to 6, that way you have the timeline in chronological order. It does also mean that you start with the coolest effects first, but the 1st three movies (Part 4 - 6) are still surprisingly good.

The order I would watch them in is:
Star Wars I - The Phantom Menace
Star Wars II - Attack of the Clones
Star Wars III - Revenge of the  Sith
Star Wars IV - A New Hope
Star Wars V - The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars VI - Return of the Jedi

Enjoy the movies! ;D

Star Safyre

My suggestion: IV, V, I, II, III, VI. 

If you really want, I say you can skip I; honestly, I don't think it contributes much aside from noise, assumed-canon trashing disruption, and characters designed to be toys.

If you don't mind spoilers (ha!), there's a nice break down of different orders and their pros/cons here.
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Remy

This is a personal opinion, but I would say watch them in the order they were made, older movies first , the prequels last.  Frankly because I (again personally) think the old ones are the real story, and the new movies a cash in.  Watch the older ones first and enjoy a great story that is a classic.  Then watch the prequels, have fun, plenty of popcorn.  But there's no comparison between the two eras. The older movies are where it all began -  it's like comparing a tasty burger with prime steak.

Inkidu

As long as you watch them I, II, II and IV, V, VI. It doesn't really matter. The later ones will reveal the earlier ones, and the earlier ones will reveal the later ones (in the universes' timeline, of course). :)
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Tadeln

Hi,

I would recommend watching them in the following order: IV-V-VI-II-III

And leaving Episode I out as it's quite a piece of crap. I would even go as far as saying that you better leave out that first part as it has nothing to do with the rest of the saga being mostly (as some people already said in earlier post) nothing more than a very long toys'r us ad.

Also seeing the "new" ones first spoils some of the story of the "older" ones.

jouzinka

Thank you, everyone, for chiming into this discussion. I value all your opinions. <3

For now I settled for watching IV and V and I'll see where it takes me later, so I'll eventually decide whether I'll watch VI or I after V.

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Shjade

I recommend watching them in the following order: IV, V, VI.

And then stop.
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Sasquatch421

Since you started at IV go ahead and watch V, and VI...Then go back and watch I-III. While I does suck it is worth a look because of Darth Maul and seeing if you can spot Warrick Davis in the pod race... Though the worst thing about I-III is that there is no Billy Dee Williams.

Inkidu

I know I'm going to probably get crucified for this, but I kind of like II the best of all the prequel movies. The reason being... well... just bring in the clones.
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LunarSage

Easy.  Watch A New Hope, then the Empire Strikes Back, then Return of the Jedi.  Then you're done!  :-)

There are three other movies that claim to be Star Wars prequels, but in my opinion they're best avoided since there are so many inconsistencies and really implausible aspects to them. 

Again, just my opinion.  The originals were just fine for moviegoers for over 15 years.  In my mind, we didn't need those horrid prequels at all.

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Shjade

http://redlettermedia.com/plinkett/ -- Just scroll down to the Star Wars movies. Those are more entertaining than the movies themselves (and almost as long!).
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Starlequin

Wow, lot of prequel hatin' in here. Not that it's not justified, but there were a couple of good points in I and III that made them worth checking out. (I won't mention anything about II, since I never watched more than a few minutes of it.) But I will say I agree with the plan to watch the original trilogy first, as it delivers the awesomely memorable plot twist moments, while the newer trilogy's value lies more in the special effects.
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LaOnomatopoeia

QuoteWow, lot of prequel hatin' in here.

Man there is. I think I'm the only person in history that actually liked Darth Maul.

I'll agree with a few others, it's probably not best to watch them in order (I - VI), and I say it's be because of the inconsistencies. Ima take it a step further, though, and recommend that you don't even watch all of them in the same day. There are even inconsistencies between IV - VI and they were made within a span of only six years.

Take your time, no matter the order you watch them in, just keep it to one-a-day.

Chris Brady

Quote from: LaOnomatopoeia on June 17, 2012, 03:37:48 AM
Man there is. I think I'm the only person in history that actually liked Darth Maul.

When the best acted role out of the entire film is the near silent/growly killer (I mean, the man only had one, one two minute scene where he spoke?) there's something wrong.  And I too liked Darth Maul.  He was the most fleshed out character.

But I will repeat, watch 4,5 and 6, and unless your really want to see some cool choreographed fight scenes, then go back and see 1,2,3.  Because really, that's all the prequels have going for them.

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One thing I've noticed, that in 1 and 2, the only time the Dark Siders were beaten were when the Jedi lost it, and was all angry and such.
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Shjade

Quote from: Chris Brady on June 17, 2012, 03:59:39 AM
Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide
One thing I've noticed, that in 1 and 2, the only time the Dark Siders were beaten were when the Jedi lost it, and was all angry and such.
This is also true in the original trilogy.
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Ryven

Watch in this order which incidentally is the order in which they were made.  I suggest you watch them in this order because they were made in this order for a reason.  Just because they chronologically are out of order does not mean you have to watch them in their chronological order.  In fact, I think it works better in the order they're listed below because it generates interest for knowing more about the past.  Quite honestly if they had been made in chronological order, I probably wouldn't have wanted to see the rest after seeing 1 - 3.

1. Star Wars: A New Hope (IV)
2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (V)
3. Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (VI)
4. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (I)
5. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (II)
6. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (III)

Remy

Quote from: Ryven on June 17, 2012, 08:47:50 AM
Watch in this order which incidentally is the order in which they were made.  I suggest you watch them in this order because they were made in this order for a reason.  Just because they chronologically are out of order does not mean you have to watch them in their chronological order.  In fact, I think it works better in the order they're listed below because it generates interest for knowing more about the past.  Quite honestly if they had been made in chronological order, I probably wouldn't have wanted to see the rest after seeing 1 - 3.

1. Star Wars: A New Hope (IV)
2. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (V)
3. Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (VI)
4. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (I)
5. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (II)
6. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith (III)

Yep. You put it much nicer than I. :-)

Geeklet

IV - V - II - III - VI

Reasoning:

IV does the best job of setting up the universe, and introducing the story.
V has twists in it that will be spoiled if you watch the prequels first.
I is crap and really adds nothing to the overall plot. (Except for making one scene in the later prequels seem a bit odd) Read a summary if you feel lost going into II, but thats it.
II and III are like an extended flashback, showing events that lead up to IV and V.
VI has the most satisfying ending, and makes a logical end to the series.

Will

Quote from: Remy on June 16, 2012, 01:08:19 PM
This is a personal opinion, but I would say watch them in the order they were made, older movies first , the prequels last.  Frankly because I (again personally) think the old ones are the real story, and the new movies a cash in.  Watch the older ones first and enjoy a great story that is a classic.  Then watch the prequels, have fun, plenty of popcorn.  But there's no comparison between the two eras. The older movies are where it all began -  it's like comparing a tasty burger with prime steak.

I completely agree with this.  IV, V, and VI are really great movies.  Widely loved and obsessed over.  They're classics.  I, II, and III... well, opinions are a bit more split on them, to put it nicely.  So I think it's a good idea to watch the old stuff first.  It would be a shame to be let down by the newer movies, and then go into the older ones with tainted expectations.  This has nothing to do with my own (admittedly biased) opinions of the films, and everything to do with the general reception of the prequels by fans and critics.


But in the interest of full disclosure... I'm with Shjade. >.> 
Quote from: Shjade on June 16, 2012, 06:37:01 PM
I recommend watching them in the following order: IV, V, VI.

And then stop.
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SinXAzgard21

Honestly just watch them as you see fit... Though I do recommend skipping episode one.
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jouzinka

#21
I watched the three oldies first and will watch the rest when time allows. ;D To be honest, though, you guys do scare me with the talk of I, II and III not being up to par. Let's just say that I was a little under-whelmed by IV, V and VI.

When I told my bro some of the reservations I had (and they had nothing to do with effects or that sort), he told me I am spoiled rotten by Game of Thrones and should quickly come back to Earth. XD
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Shjade

Nothing wrong with being underwhelmed. Star Wars is completely incapable of living up to the degree of hype it's accumulated over the years; if you're brand new to the series I can't say that kind of response to it surprises me.
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jouzinka

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