Settling the 'Star Wars' arguements

Discussions among "Star Wars" geeks relating to which one of Lucas's masterworks is their favorite can often become heated, and will occasionally inspire acts of violence that even Jabba the Hutt would admire. I've bypassed all this b.s. and used my "clout" at WEEKEND to fill you guys in on my preferences. What follows isn't opinion; it's fact. Strong with me the Force is.\n1. "The Empire Strikes Back" -- (Episode V), 1980 -- Far and away the best flick of the series, "Empire" goes to places that the other flicks can't muster the stones to. Luke Skywalker gets his hand chopped off. Incestuous overtones between Luke and Leia inundate the flick. The pimptastic Han Solo gets frozen in carbonite. Colt 45 spokesman Billy Dee Williams oozes his way into the series, and any and all of the sequences upon Hoth kick ass. Lucas had little to do with the flick (aside from producing and receiving story credit). Perhaps this is a good thing?\n2. "A New Hope" -- (Episode IV), 1977 -- The first visionary entry into the series was pretty tight. Alec Guiness was a straight-up pimp in the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi Carrie Fisher wore rye dinner rolls like nobody's business, and Harrison Ford was at his smarmy best in the role of Han -- the sole money grubber of the series. Plus, you gotta love the Cantina sequence where Han originally shot first. \n3. "Attack of the Clones" -- (Episode II), 2002 -- A much better flick than expected in wake of "The Phantom Menace." Hayden Christensen plays Anakin Skywalker the way he should be played -- minus the "yippee's" of Jake Lloyd (the child actor who played "Ani" in "Menace") and with just the right amount of subtle, building rage. Samuel L. Jackson continues to solidify his badass status in the role of Mace Windu. Ewan McGregor loosens up his second time around plucking the figurative stick from his ass and eliciting echoes of Guiness's charisma, and Natalie Portman is a midrift revealing vision in the role of Padmé Amidala. Last but certainly not least, the chase sequence at the beginning of the film, the Obi-Wan/Jango Fett fight in the middle of the film and the climactic battle at the end of the film all rock.\n4. "Return of the Jedi" -- (Episode VI), 1983 -- Everybody's always hating on those damned Ewoks, but actually they're pretty cool. Other highlights from "Jedi" include Princess Leia's metal bikini (a vision that excited me before I even realized I liked girls), the battle upon Hutt's slave ship and the speeder chase through the woods of Endor. Also, Luke's finally derided his pseudo-pussy status from past flicks by becoming the coolest man in black since Johnny Cash.\n5. Title yet to be announced -- (Episode III), 2005 -- Yeah, cameras haven't even begun rolling on Lucas's next installment, but it's gotta be better than that piece of bantha fodder otherwise known as "The Phantom Menace."\n6. "The Phantom Menace" -- (Episode I), 1999 -- One name screwed this flick up more than anything else: Jar Jar Binks. Otherwise, "Menace" ain't too bad. The pod race was pretty sweet as was the climactic lightsaber battle which pitted Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) against uber-badass Darth Maul (martial arts extrodinaire Ray Park). "Menace" is incessantly harped-on, and somewhat unfairly, but it's still the weakest of the series i.e. "Godfather III" style.