Every Movie Directed by George Lucas Ranked From Worst to Best (original) (raw)
Published Jul 11, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT
Jeremy has more than 2500 published articles on Collider to his name, and has been writing for the site since February 2022. He's an omnivore when it comes to his movie-watching diet, so will gladly watch and write about almost anything, from old Godzilla films to gangster flicks to samurai movies to classic musicals to the French New Wave to the MCU... well, maybe not the Disney+ shows.
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For about half a century now, George Lucas has proven to be one of the most influential people in the world of film. He is best known for developing Star Wars, arguably the most popular sci-fi movie series of all time (and directing several of its installments). Still, he's also had a hand in producing and writing a variety of acclaimed, big-earning titles. If anything, there's a strong argument to be made that he's more of a behind-the-scenes ideas man or producer than he is a filmmaker.
This is largely because, after 50 years in the industry, George Lucas has only directed six feature films. It's a surprisingly low number, and goes to show that his influence has spread far beyond just what he's directed. He's a sometimes divisive figure (perhaps not deservedly), but the American film industry would likely look very different were it not for Lucas and the various companies — including Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and THX — he's founded. To turn back to those films he's directed, the number may be small, but they're all interesting in their own ways... and admittedly not entirely consistent in quality, being ranked below from worst to best.
6 'Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones' (2002)
Image via 20th Century Studios
The Star Wars prequels are either over-hated or somewhat disappointing, depending on who you ask. They're admirable in some ways and flawed in others, but no one could call them uninteresting, with George Lucas notably waiting close to 20 years for special effects to catch up to his vision before making a new Star Wars trilogy between 1999 and 2005. The second installment of that trilogy, 2002's Attack of the Clones, is probably the weakest of the three.
Some trilogies see their second entry suffering because the parts of the story being told in the middle aren't quite as exciting as the parts of the story focused on at the start or near the end. This can be said of Attack of the Clones, which lacks the novelty that the first prequel had (or would've had, at least, upon release), and also isn't quite as dramatic as the third of the prequels. It feels like it spins its wheels a little and has a much-maligned romantic subplot, but there are things set up throughout that do pay off in the last of Lucas's Star Wars prequels, meaning Attack of the Clones can't be written off entirely, and certainly isn't a complete disaster by any means.
5 'Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace' (1999)
The first of the Star Wars prequels, The Phantom Menace, is among the most divisive Star Wars movies. It even tops Attack of the Clones in this regard because The Phantom Menace is a less consistent movie. Attack of the Clones feels steadily middle-of-the-road — arguably competent — throughout, but The Phantom Menace is a movie of great highs and baffling lows, having some sequences that feel like classic Star Wars and other parts that feel confusingly sloppy or misguided.
It's interesting to visit familiar characters when they were younger, including Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Yoda. And it can't be denied that the effects and spectacle on offer here are remarkable for a movie that's almost a quarter of a century old. But for every great thing in The Phantom Menace, like the pod-racing scene or anything involving Darth Maul, there are a handful of jokes that don't land or certain scenes that drag on and kill the pacing. It's messy, but viewers with a glass-half-full approach to life will find the good here, likely overwhelming the bad.
4 'THX 1138' (1971)
Anyone familiar with Star Wars who then goes digging through George Lucas's body of work for other movies to watch will likely stumble upon THX 1138. It would be understandable for someone to watch it, knowing that it belongs in the sci-fi genre as well, and therefore potentially expect something like Star Wars. It's the same broad genre, was released in the same decade, and had the same director... but THX 1138 is a far less accessible film and much more experimental than the 1977 blockbuster that Lucas would become best known for making.
It takes place in a far-off future where the population's controlled by drugs that prevent people from falling in love, and what happens when a man named THX 1138 stops taking these drugs and starts a secret relationship with a woman. It touches on themes present in iconic sci-fi stories like 1984 and Brave New World, and though its deliberate pacing and sometimes obscure storytelling can make it a challenging watch, it is a very interesting film and one certainly worth experiencing at least once.
3 'Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith' (2005)
Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan fight on Mustafar in 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith'
Image via Lucasfilm
Without a doubt, the third Star Wars prequel, Revenge of the Sith, is the best of the lot. The first two films were all about setting up Anakin's turn to the dark side and the events that allowed the Empire to destroy the Jedi Order and effectively conquer the galaxy. Revenge of the Sith is therefore, all about monumental things going down, and though it's not always considered one of the very best Star Wars movies by all, very few people could call it lacking in entertainment value or drama.
It's a true tragedy and is unapologetically bombastic in its tone and storytelling, feeling like a movie where George Lucas is really going for broke — and going out with a bang — when it comes to directing (it still stands as his most recent directorial effort, now 18 years on). It might be too over-the-top and melodramatic for some, but it's also tremendously entertaining and has a much faster pace than the other prequels, ultimately justifying the trilogy's existence, even for those who didn't love the first two movies.
2 'American Graffiti' (1973)
Harrison Ford as Bob standing by a car in American Graffiti
Image via Universal Pictures
American Graffiti is the only movie George Lucas has directed that isn't a work of science-fiction. Instead, it's a coming-of-age movie, and a great one at that, with events taking place over a short space of time and without much of a direct plot. Instead, it's more of a hang-out movie, following a group of high school friends enjoying one big night shortly before they all head off to different colleges, using the bittersweet occasion together to bid farewell to one stage of their lives.
Being a grounded dramedy shows that George Lucas is capable of directing more than just sci-fi, with American Graffiti undeniably being one of his very best films. Even today, 50 years from its release and more than 60 years from when the film's set, it still holds up and rings true. It's funny, moving, and heartfelt, and has an expectedly great soundtrack filled with pop/rock songs from the time.
1 'Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope' (1977)
What more is there to say about the original Star Wars, other than reiterating for the billionth time that it's one of the best science-fiction movies of all time? It was the first movie set a long time ago, in a distinct galaxy far, far away, and was a perfect blend of the old and new, taking inspiration from older sci-fi movies and adventure serials but updating it all — and using groundbreaking special effects — to make it like something else entirely, and the kind of sci-fi movie people had never seen before.
Being such a well-established classic makes it possible to take Star Wars for granted nowadays, but even for those who weren't there to see it come out; it remains entertaining, thrilling, and overall hard to fault. It was the only film in the original trilogy that George Lucas directed (he had producing and writing credits for the other two), but with Star Wars, Lucas's legacy was forever cemented. He made one of the biggest and most popular movies of all time with this film, and pop culture's never been the same ever since.
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