I was initially sceptical about this film: I was not a fan of Rogue One, and the idea of a young Han Solo movie seemed unnecessary. To my surprise this was an enjoyable film. It was fun and sometimes that’s all a movie needs to be. The film does have its dark moments, being set amongst the underbelly of the Star Wars universe, but it’s told in such a colourful way.
It’s a terrifying task for any actor to take on not only an iconic character, but actor. Fortunately, Alden Ehrenreich is great. He captures Ford’s wry smile perfectly and over time the walk and stance develops. You get the smuggler’s smugness, but also a naive Solo, growing up on the rough streets of Corellia vowing to get out. We witness this young street urchin grow into the cynical pirate we all love. And yes, he does have Ford’s chin scar, which was clearly my main concern.
Woody Harrelson is terrific as always. It was odd to have a Star Wars character with such an ordinary name as Tobias Beckett. Wigg Yadelo, or Ippy Boogie-Woogie were clearly taken. He plays the Long John Silver of the film, making his actions completely unpredictable.
Emilia Clarke was interesting. She plays Qi’Ra, Han’s childhood sweetheart who has found herself working for a big crime syndicate. Her character is conflicted between her profession and Han. The script allows her to be a competent female presence, something Lawrence Kasdan has always brought to the Star Wars universe.
Donald Glover is Lando Calrissian. Much like Karl Urban’s portrayal of Dr. “Bones” McCoy in the new Star Trek movies, not only is it a perfect impression, but also a great performance.
Unfortunately, it falls into the prequel trap of nudging the audience with, “there, see, see, that’s where Han got his blaster, that’s where the name Solo comes from, this is the Kessel Run!” There were too many origins in the film. Han meeting Lando for the Kessel Run, feels as though he only had one story prior to the original Star Wars.
The film obviously looks great. There are more varieties of landscapes here than any other Star Wars film, but it doesn’t feel as unfocused as Rogue One did with its ridiculous amount of planet-hopping. It’s a colourful eye-pleasing film, and cinematographer Bradford Young deserves a round of applause.
And the score was brilliant. John Williams contributed one soundtrack The Adventures of Han Solo, to which composer John Powell ‘adapted’ into his full score.
To sum it up, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a fun film akin to the spaghetti westerns. You’re here to watch a group of nefarious ne’er-do-wells run an impossible errand, backstab, and just act cool. It does feature way too many origins, which seems more like a wink-wink to the audience as opposed to telling a story. But, considering the project changed directors mid-filming, with 70% re-shoots, it’s amazing it came out as good as it did. Plus, it makes the Holiday Special canon, by featuring a Wookiee I can only assume as Malla in the breakout sequence. That’s it Star Wars, own it!
There is one major flaw in the film, at least a small cameo that really irritated me. But it is a spoiler, so stop reading if you don’t want it ruined.
In the third act, where the flick reaches its most A Fistful of Dollars, Qi’ra tells Han that she’ll see him soon, and that they will fly off and live happily ever after. Han leaves. Now we know that something’s obviously about to happen, either she dies, or flies off. Fine. What she does is contact a mysteriously robed figure hologram about a plan. The figure removes its hood to reveal… Darth Maul.
WHHHAAAAAAA…!
Apparently Darth Maul survived being sliced in half in The Phantom Menace and is now a crime boss. This was something that happened in the Clone Wars TV Show, which I never watched. But that is expanded universe canon, something supposedly wiped when Disney bought Lucasfilm. The fans have been clamouring for the Sith Lord to return, since he was only good thing about Episode I, and completely wasted. It’s not the return that annoyed me, but the fact the plot halts for this unnecessary cameo. If it had been Jabba the Hutt, that would make more sense, since the audience knows he’s a gangster, and a part of Han’s future. What has Darth Maul got to do with anything, except to say “remember this guy!” It was unnecessary, and put the plot on pause. Fortunately it was two minutes at the end, so you don’t have long to be completely distracted by it.