There are no shortages of lists about what the best Star Wars films are - anybody who has ever seen all the movies has to list them in preference, at some point or another. I certainly have, but the older and more jaded about it all I get, I really can't be bothered.
After watching all the main nine movies again recently, it's become more obvious that they've all got dumb moments and they've all got great moments. There is something to love in all of them, they've all got moments of sublime film-making.
The Phantom Menace got sneered at for years, but some of the editing during the podrace is exquisite, and the climactic light-sabre fight set the standard for any kind of swordplay for the next 20 years.
The audience I was with lost their shit when Yoda got his saber on in Attack of the Clones, and when there is true glee when Palpatine gets to unleash his evil cackle in the last third of Revenge of the Sith The trench run from the original hasn't been beaten yet; the asteroid chase remains exhilarating cinema and the impassive face of Darth Vader as he watches his son die is still heart-breaking.
Rey taking up the light sabre in the forest, Luke Skywalker going out to face everybody, it's all fucking great.
Even the lesser films have the charm of Donald Glover, or a Star Destroyer going down. Hell, even Rise Of Skywalker - which really is crippled by its desperate need to impress everybody - has moments of charm and vigor, especially when Adam Driver was finally allowed to swagger.
I've fallen behind on my Star Wars, mainly because I just want space cowboys, not Chosen Ones, and I realised I really only cared about the movies five episodes into the Clone Wars cartoon.
But I can't be bothered comparing all the films to each other anymore. It's all one giant, glorious galactic mess.
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