Year: 2018
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Joonas Suotamo, and Paul Bettany
Tagline: Never Tell Him the Odds
Synopsis: The early adventures of Han Solo.
Tagline: Never Tell Him the Odds
Synopsis: The early adventures of Han Solo.
Review
Well, it's no Rogue One, but it's also not The Last Jedi. Solo is a fun yet flawed film that takes place in the increasingly familiar galaxy far, far away.
I enjoyed the film. I did. There are things it does totally right. But, the film also has struggles at times and falls far short of the film our favorite scruffy looking nerf-herder deserves. Here are some of my thoughts.
The question on most people's minds going into this film was: can Alden Ehrenreich pull off the iconic Han Solo. Eh, mostly. He's not Harrison Ford. And those are impossible shoes to fill. But Ehrenreich does an admiral job capturing the swagger of our favorite smuggler. Put it this way, I more readily believed that he was Han Solo than I believed that Mark Hamill was really Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. He does his best and I would not mind seeing him take on Han Solo again.
Although it isn't Peter Mayhew under the iconic fur (hair?) of Chewbacca, everyone's favorite Wookie is still one of the best parts of Star Wars. And seeing him first meet and become friends with Han is indeed fun and enjoyable. Does anyone not love Chewie? (Side note: I enjoyed Han's reaction to learning his new pal's name.)
Yes, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian steals every scene he is in. He's perfect in the role. That said, his droid, L3 is one of the low points of the film for me. She just annoyed me. A droids' rights subplot was not really what the film needed. Mostly though, she seems totally unsuited to the charming and debonair Lando. The film tries to explain the unlikely duo, but it still just felt off to me. I can understand why Lando has the banal Lobot by Empire Strikes Back.
I did think that Qi'ra (played by Emilia Clarke) was a fitting addition and a worthy foil to Han Solo. But their love story was the cheesiest. Yes, Han and Leia had some pretty cheesy lines. But Han and Qi'ra were making my eyes hurt from rolling. I'm no expert, but I don't think people actually talk like that.
As for the other characters, they were ... there. And they were functional. In a universe with some of the most iconic characters ever to grace the silver screen, nobody stood out as being memorable here. But they aren't bad characters either.
The story has a western feel to it, which works for Han Solo. The story is serviceable in that it gets Han, Chewie, and Lando all to meet each other and assures that a certain Kessel run takes place and that a particular game of sabacc is won by the right person. But other than that, it's not a particularly compelling narrative. A smuggler owes debts to a crime lord and has to pull another, bigger heist to pay his debts. Double crosses ensue. There's nothing new there. It's not until the last act that things really pick up and start getting intriguing.
Again, I did enjoy Solo. But I went with low expectations and it never really exceeded those expectations. If this film weren't about characters we already know and love, it would fall completely flat and be forgotten. Fortunately, we do love Han and Chewie (and even Lando). So I hope that perhaps we do get another future outing with them.
If you are a Star Wars fan, I'd say go see Solo. It has its fun moments and pays respect to the original trilogy. Just don't have your expectations set too high. If you aren't an avid fan of the galaxy far, far away ... well, maybe wait until Netflix.
*** Spoiler Section ***
Perhaps one of the best things Solo does is it answers (in its own way) the argument about whether Han shot first. Han most definitely shot first.
I appreciated some of the references to the original trilogy, such as Lando telling Han "I hate you" and Han responding with, "I know." We also see the same guard outfit that is used by Lando in Return of the Jedi. Apparently they keep that on the Falcon as a disguise. It was fun to watch Chewie first playing the holographic dejarik game on the Falcon. And of course we see Han's lucky dice.
There were a few missed opportunities though. I kept waiting for someone to refer to Han as either "scruffy" or "a scoundrel." There were a few perfect opportunities. But no.
It is a little weird that Han is given the surname "Solo" by an Imperial recruiter. Certainly the name suits him, but would he really keep anything the Empire gave him?
One review I read criticized the reveal of Enfys Nest as if it was supposed to be shocking that this seemingly hardened marauder was a female. That's not how I took it at all. To me, the shock of the moment was to see how young she was. She looks like a teenager, not the grizzled, middle-aged male or female I was expecting.
And then there was the twist at the end. Who is the secret head of Crimson Dawn? Darth Maul. Wait. What?! The last time I checked, Maul had been sliced in two by Obi-Wan Kenobi and was tumbling down one of the ubiquitous bottomless shafts that every space station must have. It was a cool twist, but I left very confused. I had to go home and do some Googling. Turns out Maul's whole "not dead" storyline is told in both the animated Clone Wars and Rebels series. Huh.
I enjoyed the film. I did. There are things it does totally right. But, the film also has struggles at times and falls far short of the film our favorite scruffy looking nerf-herder deserves. Here are some of my thoughts.
The question on most people's minds going into this film was: can Alden Ehrenreich pull off the iconic Han Solo. Eh, mostly. He's not Harrison Ford. And those are impossible shoes to fill. But Ehrenreich does an admiral job capturing the swagger of our favorite smuggler. Put it this way, I more readily believed that he was Han Solo than I believed that Mark Hamill was really Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi. He does his best and I would not mind seeing him take on Han Solo again.
Although it isn't Peter Mayhew under the iconic fur (hair?) of Chewbacca, everyone's favorite Wookie is still one of the best parts of Star Wars. And seeing him first meet and become friends with Han is indeed fun and enjoyable. Does anyone not love Chewie? (Side note: I enjoyed Han's reaction to learning his new pal's name.)
Yes, Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian steals every scene he is in. He's perfect in the role. That said, his droid, L3 is one of the low points of the film for me. She just annoyed me. A droids' rights subplot was not really what the film needed. Mostly though, she seems totally unsuited to the charming and debonair Lando. The film tries to explain the unlikely duo, but it still just felt off to me. I can understand why Lando has the banal Lobot by Empire Strikes Back.
I did think that Qi'ra (played by Emilia Clarke) was a fitting addition and a worthy foil to Han Solo. But their love story was the cheesiest. Yes, Han and Leia had some pretty cheesy lines. But Han and Qi'ra were making my eyes hurt from rolling. I'm no expert, but I don't think people actually talk like that.
As for the other characters, they were ... there. And they were functional. In a universe with some of the most iconic characters ever to grace the silver screen, nobody stood out as being memorable here. But they aren't bad characters either.
The story has a western feel to it, which works for Han Solo. The story is serviceable in that it gets Han, Chewie, and Lando all to meet each other and assures that a certain Kessel run takes place and that a particular game of sabacc is won by the right person. But other than that, it's not a particularly compelling narrative. A smuggler owes debts to a crime lord and has to pull another, bigger heist to pay his debts. Double crosses ensue. There's nothing new there. It's not until the last act that things really pick up and start getting intriguing.
Again, I did enjoy Solo. But I went with low expectations and it never really exceeded those expectations. If this film weren't about characters we already know and love, it would fall completely flat and be forgotten. Fortunately, we do love Han and Chewie (and even Lando). So I hope that perhaps we do get another future outing with them.
If you are a Star Wars fan, I'd say go see Solo. It has its fun moments and pays respect to the original trilogy. Just don't have your expectations set too high. If you aren't an avid fan of the galaxy far, far away ... well, maybe wait until Netflix.
*** Spoiler Section ***
Perhaps one of the best things Solo does is it answers (in its own way) the argument about whether Han shot first. Han most definitely shot first.
I appreciated some of the references to the original trilogy, such as Lando telling Han "I hate you" and Han responding with, "I know." We also see the same guard outfit that is used by Lando in Return of the Jedi. Apparently they keep that on the Falcon as a disguise. It was fun to watch Chewie first playing the holographic dejarik game on the Falcon. And of course we see Han's lucky dice.
There were a few missed opportunities though. I kept waiting for someone to refer to Han as either "scruffy" or "a scoundrel." There were a few perfect opportunities. But no.
It is a little weird that Han is given the surname "Solo" by an Imperial recruiter. Certainly the name suits him, but would he really keep anything the Empire gave him?
One review I read criticized the reveal of Enfys Nest as if it was supposed to be shocking that this seemingly hardened marauder was a female. That's not how I took it at all. To me, the shock of the moment was to see how young she was. She looks like a teenager, not the grizzled, middle-aged male or female I was expecting.
And then there was the twist at the end. Who is the secret head of Crimson Dawn? Darth Maul. Wait. What?! The last time I checked, Maul had been sliced in two by Obi-Wan Kenobi and was tumbling down one of the ubiquitous bottomless shafts that every space station must have. It was a cool twist, but I left very confused. I had to go home and do some Googling. Turns out Maul's whole "not dead" storyline is told in both the animated Clone Wars and Rebels series. Huh.
Quotable Quotes
- "I hate you." "I know." -- Lando Calrissian and Han Solo
- "Assume everyone will betray you, and you will never be disappointed." -- Tobias Beckett to Han Solo
- "That's my cape! It's custom made!" -- Lando Calrissian to Qi'ra, who is using a cape to put out a fire
- "I've got a really good feeling about this." -- Han Solo
- "Throw him to the beast." "There's a beast?!" -- Empire Soldier and Han Solo
ISFS
