Star Wars: who is the dumbest character in each live action film?

Star Wars has characters who can see the future, read minds and move entire ships without touching them, and somehow basic decision making is a massive problem. I'm picking the dumbest character in every live action Star Wars movie, including Rogue One, Solo and The Mandalorian and Grogu, and my verdict comes down to three names: Anakin, Tarkin and Hux.

The rule is simple. I'm judging what each character does in that particular movie. Your favorite character might be brilliant everywhere else, but if they spend this film making terrible decisions, they're going to get exposed. We've got military commanders ignoring evacuation warnings, a crime lord putting his own murder weapon around somebody's neck, and a general so committed to hating his boss that he helps the enemy win.

The Phantom Menace: Nute Gunray lets a hooded stranger talk him into invading Naboo

You might expect Jar Jar here. Give him a minute. He has a much stronger performance coming in the next movie. For The Phantom Menace, I'm going with Nute Gunray, a man who should have stopped answering hologram calls a long time ago. He takes a trade dispute and lets a mysterious hooded stranger talk him into a planetary invasion.

Think about that business meeting. You run a massive commercial organization. Somebody whose face you can barely see tells you to invade Naboo, capture its queen and force her to sign a treaty, and promises he'll handle making everything legal afterward. Nute Gunray gets nervous, Sidious tells him to escalate. The Jedi show up: keep going. The queen escapes: keep going. The queen comes back with a plan: wipe them out. At some point, you have to recognize you are doing all the arrestable parts of somebody else's operation.

Then there's the droid army. I'm not blaming Gunray personally for designing the Trade Federation's technology, but he is running this occupation, and his forces have a catastrophic dependency on their control ship. Once that goes, his entire ground army folds. Meanwhile, Palpatine gets exactly what he wanted out of the crisis. Gunray gets arrested and the other guy gets a promotion. That should tell you how the partnership was structured.

Attack of the Clones: Jar Jar Binks proposes emergency powers for Palpatine

Jar Jar deserves a defense before we get into this. He means well. Palpatine and the people around him exploit his trusting nature, and the Senate votes for this too. So Jar Jar doesn't single handedly create the Empire, but he does walk up to the microphone and get the process moving.

Padmé is away, Jar Jar is representing Naboo, and suddenly he's proposing emergency powers for Chancellor Palpatine. That's the exact kind of concentration of power that should make everybody in the room ask a few follow up questions. What are the limits? Who reviews his decisions? When do these powers expire? Apparently everyone is comfortable going with his promise that he'll hand them back later.

Jar Jar thinks he's helping the Republic survive a crisis. Palpatine sees somebody willing to open the door for him in public, and he lets Jar Jar do it. That's what makes this worse than slapstick. Stepping in something on Tatooine is embarrassing. Making a motion that helps a Sith Lord consolidate power has a slightly longer recovery period. Padmé leaves him covering her position, and by the time she gets back, the constitutional situation has changed considerably.

Revenge of the Sith: Anakin Skywalker helps Palpatine before getting any answers

I have to go with Anakin Skywalker, and his is the most heartbreaking entry on this list because we understand why he's vulnerable. He's terrified of losing Padmé and being manipulated by somebody he trusts. The Jedi have also done a spectacular job of making him feel like an idiot. But understanding the pressure doesn't make his decisions any better.

Palpatine sells him the possibility of saving Padmé from death, and that becomes the thing Anakin can't let go. Everything else gets measured against whether this man might have the answer. Then Anakin helps stop Mace Windu, Palpatine kills Mace, and the commitment is real. Shortly afterward, Palpatine explains that they're going to have to discover the secret together. Together? Anakin just helped destroy his relationship with the Jedi because this man supposedly had information he desperately needed, and now there's still work to do.

There should have been a moment to reconsider the purchase or ask for a refund. Instead, Anakin accepts that saving one person somehow requires attacking the Jedi Temple, murdering people he trusted and who trusted him, and helping establish a dictatorship. Then Padmé arrives on Mustafar and he attacks the person this entire decision was supposed to protect. "His fear is believable. His tragedy works," but the distance between his stated goal and his behavior is unbelievable. He wants Padmé safe, and by the end of the movie she needs protection from him.

Solo: Dryden Vos trusts his own read on Qi'ra far too much

For Solo, I'm going with Dryden Vos. He presents himself as the smartest person in every room: beautiful ship, expensive collection, terrifying reputation. Everybody around him chooses their words carefully and steps on eggshells. He does have Han's betrayal partially figured out, thanks to Beckett.

The problem is that knowing somebody plans to deceive you doesn't mean you understand the entire situation. Dryden gets comfortable because he thinks he has the most important information. He sends his security people after Enfys Nest's supposedly vulnerable position, and Han has already anticipated the move.

Then there's Qi'ra. Dryden knows she has a history with Han. He knows she's capable, and he has made her dangerous enough to operate at his side. But when things turn violent, he still believes he understands where she stands. He doesn't. She turns on him, kills him and takes the opportunity his death creates. Dryden spends the movie reminding people what happens when they disappoint him. He should have spent a little more time thinking about what happens when somebody close to him decides they're finished being afraid.

Rogue One: Director Krennic forces Galen Erso to build the Death Star

Director Krennic is an easy pick. He desperately wants recognition, affirmation and a pat on the back for the Death Star. That's his motivation through the movie: he wants the Emperor to be impressed and everybody to acknowledge what he did. Unfortunately, what he built depends on a scientist with an extremely understandable reason to hate him.

Krennic brings armed troops to Galen Erso's home. Galen's wife is killed during the confrontation, and Galen is forced back into the weapons project. Then Krennic expects reliable work on the Empire's most important military asset. Forcing skilled people to work for you is very much an Imperial practice, and Krennic isn't the first villain to do it. But when the man helping build your planet killing weapon has every reason to sabotage it, you have to account for that possibility.

Galen does sabotage it. He builds in a vulnerability and makes sure the right people can learn about it. Krennic's response to the project falling apart is revealing. He keeps trying to secure his position, appeals to Vader and fights for ownership. He's trapped in an argument about who gets the credit while the security disaster blows up in his face. Eventually he ends up on Scarif staring at the consequences. He wanted everybody to remember his contribution to the Death Star, but being on the receiving end was probably not the recognition he was hoping for.

A New Hope: Grand Moff Tarkin refuses to take the warning seriously

Tarkin's entry is simple. Somebody brings him a warning, explains that the rebel attack poses a danger, and asks whether his ship should be ready. He refuses. There are entries on this list where somebody lacks information; Tarkin gets that information. There are entries where somebody has no escape route; Tarkin has one. He simply can't accept that this attack could threaten him.

Remember, this is happening after the Empire has already lost the plans. The rebels have had an opportunity to examine them, and fighters are actively attacking the station. That's a reasonable time to take a warning seriously. He doesn't have to abandon the battle. He could keep directing the operation from the ship, or at least prepare to leave. There are several options between panicking and standing perfectly still until you explode.

But Tarkin has built his worldview around the Death Star making resistance pointless. Accepting that it might be vulnerable would mean accepting that his whole philosophy was a problem. So he stays, Luke makes the shot, and Tarkin becomes the galaxy's strongest argument for listening when an employee says they've found something concerning.

The Empire Strikes Back: Admiral Ozzel drops out of hyperspace too close to Hoth

Admiral Ozzel had a rough assignment. Working directly for Vader comes with some obvious workplace challenges. Still, when your mission depends on surprising a rebel base, arriving in a way that alerts the rebels is a substantial mistake. Ozzel brings the fleet out of hyperspace too close to Hoth. The rebels detect the approach, their defenses are ready, and the Empire loses the clean surprise it wanted. Vader immediately understands the problem.

What I like about this pick is that it isn't a villain getting unlucky. Ozzel makes a command decision that compromises the operation before the ground battle even begins. The Empire still takes the base, but taking an evacuation site after the people you wanted have started leaving is a different result. Vader is angry, and he's unreasonable, but the mistake was real. Ozzel gets replaced by Piett, who receives a promotion, which is an extremely clear demonstration of what the previous guy did wrong.

Return of the Jedi: Jabba the Hutt chooses entertainment over finishing the job

Jabba has an incredible collection of advantages at the start of this movie. Han is his prisoner, Leia gets captured, Chewbacca is locked up, and Luke walks into his palace. For a while, the heroes are practically delivering themselves. And Jabba chooses entertainment over finishing the job.

Luke survives the rancor, which should have immediately changed how seriously Jabba took him. It didn't. This is now a Jedi who walked into your headquarters, warned you about the future and killed the monster you dropped on him. Jabba responds by organizing a large outing to the Sarlacc, gathering his people together and giving Luke another opportunity to do whatever he has clearly come prepared to do.

Meanwhile, Leia is chained beside him. Jabba thinks the chain demonstrates power and control. It turns out it has another practical application. He can't reasonably predict every part of Luke's rescue plan, but he can recognize that these prisoners are dangerous, coordinated and extremely motivated. Instead, his confidence keeps giving them openings. Jabba wants to enjoy watching his enemies die, and they spend the extra time figuring out how to kill him.

The Force Awakens: Captain Phasma lowers the shields

Captain Phasma looks like she should have been a massive problem. The armor, the voice, the rank: everything about the presentation says this person is going to make the heroes work for it. Then they capture her, tell her to lower the shields, and she does.

To be fair, she's being threatened at gunpoint, and I'm not arguing that wanting to survive is stupid. But she's a senior officer responsible for defending an installation that represents an enormous portion of the First Order's power. Lowering those shields gives the attackers the opening they need. The scale of what she compromises is what puts her on this list.

She also knows exactly who Finn is. This is somebody she commanded, somebody who defected, and somebody who now stands there with the enemy. That should tell her this is a serious security breach with consequences far beyond that room. Instead, the heroes get what they need and Phasma ends up headed toward the trash compactor. She arrives looking like the final boss and spends a crucial part of the movie as a failure.

The Last Jedi: Poe Dameron's certainty runs ahead of what he knows

This one is a hot take, maybe: Poe Dameron. Some of you are going to disagree, because Poe destroys the Dreadnought and that ship is dangerous. I'll give him that his attack achieved something important. The problem is the cost, and the fact that Leia had already ordered him to pull back. Poe continues, the Resistance loses its bombers, and he survives a victory that leaves his side with fewer people and fewer options.

Then the movie gives him more chances to make independent decisions. He supports Finn and Rose's secret mission and keeps that operation outside the chain of command. Eventually he stages a mutiny against Holdo because he believes she has no workable plan. Holdo's communication is fair to criticize, and the movie makes that conflict frustrating for a reason.

But Poe's certainty keeps running ahead of what he knows. He knows he can fly and fight, and he keeps treating those abilities as evidence that his broader judgment must also be right. His unauthorized plan has terrible consequences when DJ learns about the transports and sells that information. Poe finally starts learning the lesson by the end: sometimes surviving and preserving your people matters more than another dramatic attack run. For most of the movie, though, if Poe says he has an idea, somebody should ask for a second opinion.

The Rise of Skywalker: General Hux becomes a spy to see Kylo Ren lose

General Hux is easy. He becomes a spy because he wants Kylo to lose. That's an extraordinary amount of commitment to a workplace feud. I understand that he hates Kylo. Kylo humiliates him, abuses him and keeps pushing him further down the hierarchy, so Hux has plenty of reasons to want him gone.

But helping the Resistance escape is a spectacularly dangerous way to pursue that goal when your own power depends on the organization they're fighting. Hux wants the outcome tailored very specifically: Kylo loses, Hux somehow benefits, and the enemy he helps doesn't become an existential problem for him. That's a lot to expect.

He even has Finn shoot him in the leg to make the escape look more convincing. So now he's injured, he has betrayed his side, and his explanation doesn't save him. Pryde figures it out and kills him. There were presumably other ways to undermine Kylo, but Hux chooses the one that requires assisting enemy prisoners, taking a blaster wound and hoping his colleagues don't notice.

The Mandalorian and Grogu: Rotta the Hutt rejects the warning that could save him

Rotta the Hutt has a very good reason to distrust the people trying to bring him home. The Hutt twins are a threat to him, and he's right to worry about what they want. But he manages to combine that justified suspicion with terrible judgment about the crime lord profiting from his captivity.

Mando warns him that this crime lord intends to kill him, and Rotta refuses to believe it. He calls the guards on the people who tried to help him. He thinks he has a deal: one more fight and he's free, gladiator style. If you're a valuable attraction in somebody else's criminal operation, that's a promise you should look at a little closer. Instead, Rotta trusts it enough to reject the warning, which helps put Mando and Grogu in danger too.

Then the betrayal becomes obvious and Rotta has to team up with Mando anyway. That's the part that earns him the spot. He eventually arrives at the correct partnership, but only after helping make everybody's situation worse. He understands that his family might want him dead, yet struggles with the possibility that the crime lord might be dishonest too. He can fight. His ability to evaluate a situation isn't there.

Across every live action Star Wars movie, my picks land this way: Anakin has the most devastating run of bad decisions, Tarkin has the least defensible, and Hux is just dumb.