Solo: A Star Wars Story - A Review

"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

 I didn’t need to see how Han Solo got his name. I just didn’t need to see it. It sets up something that doesn’t really pay off in the end. I get that he doesn't have a tribe but I don’t feel the emotional arc of this character by the end of the film. I guess Darth Maul is the elephant in the room here. I feel like Maul was totally unnecessary, it took me out of the film, completely. But maybe fandom will disagree with me on this one. I don’t see where they are going with the Maul plot thread. I mean, they already tied up his story with “Rebels”, and they aren’t going to undo any of the “Rebels” stuff, so why are they bringing in Maul? Who knows. One last thing: Han Solo is responsible for forming the early stages of the Rebel Alliance? Did they really have to go there? Couldn’t the Enfys Nest marauders just be a force fighting The Empire? Did they really have to hit the "Rebellion" nail on the head so hard?

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.