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Star Wars IV: A New Hope
D: George Lucas (1977) 121m

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also trying to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader. Fine performances from Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher... not to mention Alec Guinness' Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi. Saved the space opera genre.

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Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
D: Irvin Kershner (1980) 124m

After the Rebels are brutally overpowered by the Empire on the ice planet Hoth, Luke Skywalker begins Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader and a bounty hunter named Boba Fett. While the first film was a fun megahit, Empire Strikes Back ensured that at least one more Star Wars film would be made. Fans at the time were just getting used to the ongoing story.

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Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan
D: Nicholas Meyer (1982) 113m

Trek got back to basics with this action-packed adventure featuring one of the most feared TOS adversaries. Ricardo Montalban reprises his role as Khan - a genetically enhanced human bent on revenge. Nowhere near the budget (or running time) of its predecessor, in the process highlighting all the things that make Trek great. Started the tradition of the 'even' movies being the good ones.

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Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home
D: Leonard Nimoy (1986) 119m

Widely regarded as the best of the original cast movies. The Voyage Home finds our heroes lightheartedly time-warping around in a borrowed Klingon spaceship looking for humpback whales in order to save the Earth from destruction by an alien probe. Meanwhile, the Federation still holds a grudge over the fate of the Enterprise. Not to be missed by anyone even mildly interested in Trek.

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Star Trek - First Contact
D: Jonathan Frakes (1996) 110m

Supremos Berman and Piller managed to juggle three Trek incarnations at once, including this movie, which may stand as the best and most universally appealing work they'll ever do. Picard and his crew face off against the dreaded Borg and their terrifying queen in an attempt to stave off Earth's assimilation into the collective. Cutting-edge Trek telling a story that is not finished yet.

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Star Trek: Into Darkness
D: J.J. Abrams (2013) 132m

After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. The second reboot film was a critical and financial success, with many praising its dedication to the orignal series ethos and general kick-ass action. Simon Pegg plays a great Scotty.

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Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens
D: J.J. Abrams (2015) 138m

While the second trilogy (the first in sequence) didn't go over all that well, the franchise perked up with The Force Awakens. Three decades after the Empire's defeat, a new threat arises in the militant First Order. Stormtrooper Finn, a defector, and the scavenger Rey are caught up in the Resistance's search for the missing Luke Skywalker. Director J.J. Abrams defects from Trek to Wars.

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Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi
D: Rian Johnson (2017) 152m

By the time Last Jedi was released, many critics were referring to the series as a 'space opera'. Rey develops her newly discovered abilities with the guidance of Luke Skywalker, who is unsettled by the strength of her powers. Meanwhile, the Resistance prepares for battle with the First Order. At the time of writing, the Star Wars franchise was booming, and the Force was well and truly with it.