The "Correct" Order To View The Star Wars Movies
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The "Correct" Order To View The Star Wars Movies

A new way to enjoy the classic franchise.

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The "Correct" Order To View The Star Wars Movies
wikipedia.com

I'm sure you've noticed the resurgence of "Star Wars" with the record-breaking debut of "The Force Awakens" a few weeks ago. Many fans went back and re-watched the old ones to prepare for the new experience, and I was one of them. I, however, watched them in a different order than the basic two. The obvious order is 1-6. There is nothing incredibly wrong with this order except for the weakness of the prequels. It also kind of ruins the greatest plot twist in cinema history. Then there is the other main order of 4-6 then 1-3, the order they were released. The plot twists are intact, but when you watch the film in that order, it seems like two trilogies and not one complete saga. A fan from Colorado named Rod Hilton has his own order dubbed, the Machete Order. The order is 4, 5 ,2, 3, then 6. Sounds a little weird but I will try to help explain why this order works so well.

First, you notice the exclusion of "The Phantom Menace." While most everyone will agree that "The Phantom Menace" was not an incredible film, it is really excluded due to the goal of the machete order. In the 1-6 viewing, Anakin Skywalker is the main character. But when you watch the original trilogy, it is clear Luke is actually the main character. It is pretty agreeable that the original trilogy is better than the prequels, so it seems like a good bet to focus on the original trilogy's main character. "The Phantom Menace" simply has nothing to do with Luke. It just has a lot of origin stories that are great to know, but not necessary. The first time I watched "A New Hope," I wasn't curious who built C-3PO, but when Luke and Ben mentioned the Clone Wars that sounded like it could be cool. So, you need to include the prequels that really matter to Luke's story, which are "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith."

So you start with "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back:" the two strongest Star Wars movies. You get introduced and dazzled by A New Hope and you still get the incredible plot twists of "The Empire Strikes Back." Then you switch to "Attack of the Clones." Remember, at the end of "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke is tempted to join the dark side as he just learned the truth behind his father. Then, we get to experience the prequels as one big flashback. We get to see Anakin start basically where Luke did. He learns the ways of the force from Obi-Wan and begins to be tempted by the dark side just like Luke. We see Anakin be a great general and pilot in the Clone Wars and the beginning of the end for the Jedi. Anakin even loses his right hand at the end just like Luke did in the last one in this order. Then we get to "Revenge of the Sith." I believe this movie is very similar to "Return of the Jedi" in the stories of the Skywalker in each film. They both begin to use the force to protect the ones they love. Anakin tries to use the force to protect his wife and Luke helps his friends escape Jabba's palace (where he threatens Jabba in a Vader moment of his own). But we see Luke decide to stick with the good side of the force where his father chose the path of a Sith.

This order has many benefits that are easy to look over by someone who has seen the movies hundreds of times. You get to cut out Jar-Jar, Qui-Gon and Darth Maul. Jar-Jar only has a few lines the rest of the prequels after "The Phantom Menace," so you don't have to deal with the incredibly disliked character. The loss of Qui-Gon and Darth Maul means that the story features less characters and less mentor-trainee relationships, so it is easier to follow the characters.

Another important thing is all twists are intact. The Luke and Leia twist is revealed a little earlier, but it doesn't harm the viewing in any way. In "Revenge of the Sith," the name Luke is revealed first then Leia, which, in my opinion, makes the twist a little stronger. The Vader and Yoda reveal twists of "The Empire Strikes Back" are still intact. It still keeps the Palpatine reveal intact as you only see the Emperor once in "The Empire Strikes Back" through a hologram.

Now, I want to go back to the main strength of the Machete order which is "Return of the Jedi." When people go back to the original trilogy, it is often agreed that "Return of the Jedi" is weaker than "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back," which in release order I agree with. But the Machete order makes it much stronger-- almost as strong as "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back." At the end of "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke battles Vader in the cave on Dagobah and finds his own face under the mask, then he learns he is actually Vader's son. These scenes really show how easy it will be for Luke to follow his father to the dark side. Then, we learn exactly how Anakin switched teams. The order makes Anakin's "Attack of the Clones" whining much better because it is so similar to Luke's "A New Hope" whining. At the beginning of "Return of the Jedi," Luke is wearing all black, force chokes Jabba's guards and suggests if Jabba doesn't surrender his companions he will be "destroyed." The entirety of the Jabba's palace scene shows Luke is on the path to the darkside. The way he slays Jabba's henchmen is so similar to Anakin's slaying of Tusken Raiders in "Attack of the Clones." Having just watched "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" makes Luke's actions very clearly similar to his father's.

The end of "Return of the Jedi" has the Emperor trying to tempt Luke to the dark side. When watching it in release or chronological order, it seems very unlikely, but when we just watched the Emperor do this to Luke's father it seems very possible. Soon after the Emperor's taunts, Luke begins to fight Vader and unleashes all his anger, which seems to suggest he gave in and embraced the dark side. He even cuts off Vader's arm just like Anakin did to Mace Windu in "Revenge of the Sith." By just watching the last two prequels before "Return of the Jedi," it makes the climax much more tense and really strengthens the movie.

The Machete order is not perfect, though. Qui-Gon is mentioned a few times in the prequels, but they also mention he was Obi-Wan's mentor so it still works. The order also cuts out the explanation of the prophecy but still includes it a lot. Thankfully, at the end of "Revenge of the Sith," Yoda suggests the prophecy might have been misinterpreted but it still feels weird not knowing the actual prophecy. The big weakness is when Anakin "returns" to Tatooine in "Attack of the Clones." We don't know about his mother and their slavery. We also don't know why C-3PO and Anakin seem to know each other. I believe to fix these little problems, you should probably watch "The Phantom Menace" after "Return of the Jedi" but view it as if it were the only prequel and was made to explain these little things. I still agree that it is not necessary but it at least explains the small problems that go unanswered in the order. The order causes one little problem that is unfixable without editing: Leia and Luke's dialogue in "Return of the Jedi" about their being siblings. Leia suggests she remembers her actual mother even though we very recently watch her mother die right after birth. The dialogue is just awkward and kind of silly, but it doesn't hurt the film at all.

Despite its issues, the Machete order has proven very good for people new to Star Wars. One college-aged girl who was watching them for the first time requested that they immediately watch "Return of the Jedi" after "Revenge of the Sith" just to know how everything ends because "Revenge of the Sith" is left with many questions that add to the questions left for "The Empire Strikes Back." Even though I didn't conceive this order, I wish I had. It is so smart and improves the series so much. If you know anyone who hasn't seen the movies, I highly recommend you suggest the Machete order. I know when I have kids, they will at least watch the first six movies in this order.

Now that there are new movies coming out, it will be interesting to see how episodes 7, 8 and 9 will follow "Return of the Jedi," but other movies like "Rogue One" will take place between the original trilogy and the new movies. Well, now it's time to dig out your "Star Wars" collection and begin watching. May the force be with you.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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