"Solo" is the second non-episodic Star Wars film. These “Star Wars
Story” films exist to explore the limits of the franchise. They break the mold of the 'Trilogy' films. They do what the Expanded Universe has been doing for decades- they
fill in the gaps, they explore, they try to poke holes in what everyone thinks
Star Wars can be.
The
Good
“Solo” is a safe film. It gives us what we expect. We see how
Han meets Chewie. We see the Kessel run. We see Han win the Falcon from Lando. The
film presents us with compelling characters that we care about and then puts
those compelling characters into adventurous scenarios. I feel a real connection to every single character in this film (and I can't say that about "Rogue One" or the other prequels). The film has high stakes and consequences. It is both
big and adventurous and at the same time it is very, very small. There are no
Death Stars to be blown up. There are no battles to be won. There is just a
heist. Which is a good thing. It is okay for Star Wars to be humble sometimes.
The biggest risk this film took is that it tried to be small. I think it's actually a miracle that Howard and the Kasdans managed to make such a safe film. There isn't much about this film that people can get mad at. There are a lot of things that just... work.
The
Bad
I have no clue how fans will respond to this movie. Fans felt “The
Force Awakens” didn’t take enough risks and that “The Last Jedi” took too many.
“Rogue One” was a film built on a message of ‘hope’, yet many of the characters
felt hopeless and uninspired. So what will the complaints about “Solo” be? I
expect the main complaints will be about Alden Ehrenreich. Personally, I
thought Ehrenreich did a great job as Han Solo. I mean, his job was an
impossible one. To really be Han Solo, you have to be Harrison Ford and no one
can actually embody Harrison Ford except for Harrison Ford. So with Ehrenreich, we get a younger, wide-eyed kid. A Solo
without a chip on his shoulder. I guess the biggest problem I have is that
Ehrenreich’s Solo never really earns that “chip on his shoulder”. Even by the
end of the film he doesn’t carry that emotional baggage that we see inside of
Harrison Ford’s Solo. So if the Ehrenreich Solo never turns into the Ford Solo…
then what was the point of the film?
The
Ugly
The
Geeky
I’m sure that fandom will spend the next
several months mining the reference-nuggets out of this film. There is a lot.
Off the top of my head: They mention that Becket kills Aura Sing (can’t wait
for that to show up in a comic or novel). There is a Bossk reference. They
mention at least a dozen planets including Scarif and Felucia. I saw a yellow Rodian! Also I'm pretty sure that the guy who looked like Saw Gerrera's henchman (Benthic "Two Tubes") is the same character from "Rogue One". We see Warwick
Davis outside of a mask with an actual speaking role. Clint Howard showed up. Also:
“I Hate You”, “I Know” is my new favorite dialogue exchange of all time.
Final Thoughts
The film was kind of billed as being a comedic take on a “Star Wars” film. Yet, a lot of the jokes didn’t seem to land. The jokes that do land
are funny, but audiences seemed to laugh at the jokes from “The Force
Awakens” and “The Last Jedi” a lot more than the jokes in this film. I’m not
saying this movie has to be funny to be a good movie, but for a film that was
originally directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller, it does seem a little bland
as far as humor goes. It is notable that “Solo” is the first film where an
original trilogy actor does not show up (except for Warwick Davis, but he shows
up as a new character). Or maybe it’s not notable… I mean, Chewbacca is still
Chewbacca whether its Mayhew or Suotamo under that suit. And Donald Glover
makes a pretty good Lando. There is still a lot to tie this to the main Star
Wars line, but as we move into the future, we are going to see less and less of
the Legacy Actors if not the Legacy Characters.
I liked Solo. The film might even grow on me
the way that the other three Disney films have grown on me. Thanks for reading
and may Lady Luck be with you tonight.
