Solo: A Star Wars Story

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge (voice), Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau (voice), Erin Kellyman, Linda Hunt (voice), Ian Kenny, Warwick Davis, Clint Howard, Anthony Daniels, Ray Park
Directed by: Ron Howard
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) gets involved with a deadly crime syndicate and must pull off a dangerous heist if he hopes to stay alive.

Review:

Tim: The Star Wars universe has taken some unexpected hits in recent years. There was the controversy around Star Wars: The Last Jedi (and I'm not an angry fanboy, but that movie was an utter disappointment) and then the long list of issues with Solo. First off, they fired original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. There were some pretty major differences of opinion. The studio made a wise decision by bringing in Ron Howard, but this obviously spelled trouble for the production. There was also the question of whether we really needed a Han Solo origin story. This all translated to the most disappointing box office in the history of the Star Wars franchise. This movie lost Disney tens of millions of dollars. In fact, I didn't go to see this movie in theaters. Even two years ago if you told me a new Star Wars movie would come out and I wouldn't go see it in theaters, I would have laughed at you. Unfortunately, it just didn't look compelling enough for me to go.

All of a sudden, a franchise that looked invincible (A Force Awakens is still the highest-grossing film of all time, by a margin of $170+ million) took some pretty big hits. The brand had been damaged. Not fatally, of course, but it was worrisome. Here's the crazy thing about this- Solo: A Star Wars Story is a really good movie. Sure, it's not great. Yes, there's way too many flaws and it does feel like the product of multiple visions. There's still the questions about whether this movie was necessary. And yet, despite all that, Ron Howard delivers an entertaining, fun, enjoyable movie. I actually thought this was better than The Last Jedi and maybe just a bit behind Rogue One. It's an odd world when a solid, entertaining movie feels like a massive bomb. The problem was so bad that Disney completely rethought their Star Wars strategy after this movie. I was actually happy about that- do we need origin stories for all the characters? I'm not convinced. And yet, all this for a movie that I really enjoyed.

The story itself is actually pretty good. It's not perfect, but it does give us more insight into Han. The film is entertaining, creates some tense moments, and generally is fairly enjoyable. The movie doesn't really offer any classic moments- there's not a single scene that shoots to the top tier of what this franchise has given the world. That's a problem, but the movie as a whole still works. Now, it does feel like the script panders to the fans a bit too much. In this movie, we find out how Han got his last name, how he met Chewbacca and Lando, we see the famed Kessel Run, we see how Han was introduced to the Millennium Falcon, and we see how he was first exposed to the Resistance. On the one hand, it's amazing how this script fits so tightly in the already-established history of this character. That aspect is brilliant and it's a big reason why this movie works. On the other hand, it almost feels like overkill. Like fans just made a list of all the things they know about Han Solo's past and this movie slammed them all into one film. I was more happy with the script than unhappy, but it needs to be mentioned that there's some issues here.

While there are issues, there's still some really cool scenes. It's hard not to geek out when you see Han meet Chewbacca or Lando. The Kessel Run sequence is especially cool and answers one of the big nerd questions about Han's past. The train scene was fairly enjoyable. As I said, I really did enjoy this movie and I had a fun time watching it. Ron Howard is a great enough director that he's able to piece something effective here.

While no one can replace Harrison Ford, I think they made the right choice with Alden Ehrenreich. He looks enough like Ford to be believable, but it's his cocky demeanor and charisma that really does justice to the character. Anyone could point out obvious issues that arise any time you recast a character with a younger version. Those exist, but overall, Ehrenreich did a better job than I would have expected. Woody Harrelson is a great actor and I enjoyed him here. He has some great moments (the thumbs line is one of my favorites and his delivery is perfect). His character might not have been as well written as desired, but he makes the movie better. Emilia Clarke did a good job, too. While I love her on "Game of Thrones", her acting in movies hasn't always been the best. I actually thought she was effective and believable here. I left the movie impressed with her performance. I loved seeing Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. It was perfect casting and he gives a good performance. Unfortunately, his character is continually underutilized. It was a shame because Glover's great performance feels limited by the screen time. Thandie Newton was a nice addition to the cast in a small role. Paul Bettany made a decent villain. He'll never be one of the more memorable Star Wars antagonists, but he worked well enough in the role.

I feel torn when I think about the legacy of Solo: A Star Wars Story. It'll be regarded as a massive failure. That's somewhat unfair because the movie is entertaining and shines a light on a great character in this franchise. There's a lot to like here. On the other hand, it may have closed off the character prequel route Disney had been going, which is probably the right thing. Did we need a Ben Kenobi or Boba Fett movie? Probably not. So, in some ways, I'm not broken up about this film's failure. Still, for me, I'd consider this a solid if unremarkable entry in a great franchise. I'm hoping this misstep serves the larger good by getting this franchise back on track.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens