In the first act of Solo: A Star Wars Story, the controversial and hotly debated origin story for the galaxy's greatest scoundrel, there's a scene that almost made me give up on the movie entirely. After escaping the clutches of the guards on Corellia, sadly leaving his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) behind, young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) makes the snap decision to become a pilot for the Empire. As he's signing up at the desk, the recruitment officer asks Han to name his "tribe." The budding criminal says that he doesn't really have one at all, that he's more of a loner. So the officer goes "Hmm....Han....Han Solo." This is a real exchange. This happens in the movie. I am not making this up. It is so terrible and cringe-worthy and bone-headed that I could barely believe what I was watching.
Oh, but I should note that the rest of the movie is surprisingly great. Much like the criminals and lowlifes that populate this particular Star Wars adventure, I'm pulling a double-cross in this review. Even if Ron Howard's film (he came aboard after the firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and reportedly shot 70-80% of the movie) has a tendency to explain too much about the character made famous by Harrison Ford, there's an almost shocking amount of fun to be had with this stand-alone adventure. Can it match the brilliance of the last two saga films? No, of course not- those films, especially The Last Jedi, are simply on another level. But Solo is vastly superior to Rogue One, and unlike that film, it proves that there's something worth exploring in the Star Wars universe outside the Skywalker story. Solo may be shallow or empty or unnecessary, but it is a damn good time at the movies.
Years before the roguish smuggler set foot in the Mos Eisley Cantina to meet Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo was just an average criminal with a hidden soft spot. After the aforementioned opening sequence on Corellia, we first meet Han as he serves in the Imperial Army, fighting in the trenches while the chaos of ground warfare threatens to turn his life to hell. It's here that Solo meets Beckett (Woody Harrelson), Val (Thandie Netwon), and Rio (voiced by Jon Favreau), three secret criminals disguised as Imperial officers. Han tries desperately to join their crew for a big score, but Beckett instead sends the earnest soldier to his death, feeding him to a hungry beast in a muddy dungeon. Fortunately for Han, that beast turns out to be the lovable Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), who spares his life in favor of an escape plan. And just like that, a friendship is born.
Impressed by his moxie and short on men for the heist, Beckett picks up Han and his furry friend and saves them from a much deadlier fate. Together, the new crew prepares to steal some MacGuffin....er, coaxium (I had to look up what this silly thing was called), a powerful substance that everyone wants for some reason. Things go south on the job, which means that Beckett is in debt to crime lord Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), one of the main players in the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. After a quick surprise reunion with Qi'ra, who is now also working with the syndicate, Han devises a plan to steal raw coaxium from Kessel and repay Dryden. That means they'll need to complete the infamous Kessel Run, and they'll need to do it at a record speed. I wonder what ship could be fast enough for this job.....? Enter Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the galaxy's most charismatic scoundrel, and L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), his sassy droids' rights activist sidekick. After much card-playing and verbal sparring, this new crew prepares to pull off a heist for the ages. But there are darker forces at play here, individuals and groups that could spell trouble for Solo and friends.
Look, I'm not going to pretend that there's much meat on Solo's bones. From a character and story perspective, this is a thin, almost weightless movie. It's MacGuffins and double crosses and Star Wars references and not a whole lot else. The characters rarely evolve or change, their motivations are flimsy and inconsistent to say the least, and it's difficult to find any cohesive thematic arc to the film. But it would be equally disingenuous for me to claim that any of this affected my viewing experience in any way, shape, or form. Solo is pure escapist pleasure, equipped with charismatic leads, rip-roaring action scenes, and plenty of new visuals for viewers to feast their eyes on. My heart and mind may not have found much to enjoy in this perfectly engineered bit of sci-fi spectacle, but my inner popcorn blockbuster fan was having a grand old time. This movie is flat-out fun, and this is the rare case where that adjective isn't a back-handed compliment.
Alden Ehrenreich, best known for his role as Hobie Doyle in the Coen Bros.' Hail, Caesar!, was always a controversial pick to play Solo. However, writers Lawrence and Jon Kasdan smartly choose to set this particular Han Solo story well before he ever becomes a part of the Skywalker story, allowing Ehrenreich to put his own spin on the action icon. He's obviously no Ford, but you can't help but like the young actor's take on Solo. Even at the end of the film, he hasn't yet developed that devil-may-care attitude that defines Han Solo- he's still a naive romantic at heart. While the box office will likely prevent any future sequels, I would be more than happy to see Ehrenreich pick up the blaster again. Should those follow-ups ever come to fruition, we're likely to see Emilia Clarke return as Qi'ra, one of the more complex characters in the film. I'm not sure any of the filmmakers understand how to execute a powerful and surprising double-cross, but the final tease for Qi'ra's future is honestly more enticing than anything else she gets to do in the movie.
Many fans will likely be clamoring for a Lando Calrissian spin-off with Donald Glover after this one, and it's not hard to see why. Glover is a charismatic figure, and he perfectly channels the boisterous energy that Billy Dee Williams brought to the role. Still, there is undeniably a fundamental flaw with the character work here. The world of Solo is one of thieves and criminals, people you couldn't trust if your life depended on it. That means all of our characters are basically non-existent from a moral perspective, devoid of any motivation beyond personal self-interest. Interesting actors like Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany chew the scenery, but they're not really allowed to dig into anything interesting because.....well, there's nothing there. Thankfully, the film overcomes that issue by creating a sense of scrappy camaraderie between these no-good hustlers. Especially during the elaborate heist scenes, it's fun to watch the characters work together, plotting their way to narrowly escape another crazy scenario.
Make no mistake- the action scenes are the reason to buy a ticket. The good news is that there's a lot of them, as the film is so completely stacked with explosive incidents that it's almost overwhelming. Director Ron Howard (or Lord and Miller, who even knows at this point) gives each action beat a sense of Star Wars-y glee that is virtually contagious, carrying over from one sequence to the next. The setpieces in Solo don't feel chaotic or overstimulating- instead, there's a very meticulous level of control to each and every one of them. The Star Wars franchise may be known for epic space battles and outlandish fights, but the action in Solo is intricate and precise, building naturally and containing a sense of genuine excitement. After all, this is a heist movie, and it's a blast to watch Han and his friends try to choreograph the perfect score.
While the action scenes are a point of agreement among Solo fans and dissenters, there's been a bit of a controversy over DP Bradford Young's cinematography, which has been both praised and slammed in various circles. Some have called the film dark and ugly, prompting others to blame that on the projection. I can't speak for others, but I had a crisp and gorgeous viewing of Solo, and I thought it looked stunning. Young has done work on popular indies like Arrival and Selma, but this is his first foray into big blockbuster territory. And to be quite honest, without a single auteur at the helm for this near-disastrous project, Young's visual stamp emerges as the film's most consistent element. His vision of the world of Star Wars is covered in ten layers of mud, and there are a few aspects that feel recycled from the recent franchise aesthetic. We get it, there's real war in Star Wars, we don't need a trench scene in every movie. That being said, Young's distinct photography gives the film a sense of beauty and simplicity, which I found truly refreshing.
Best of all, Solo tackles a corner of the Star Wars universe that I find particularly fun. With the previous caveat that all of the characters are basically selfish, amoral monsters, the criminal underworld of Star Wars is genuinely fascinating, a weird mix of sketchy elements that you would never find in a saga film. As an origin story, it's fair to say that Solo is just too familiar to ever be truly bold. But for all of the winks and nods and deep cut references, I love just how fresh this film feels in its strongest moments. This is a markedly different kind of Star Wars movie, and it helps that there are plenty of new worlds to explore in this spin-off. From the poverty-stricken Corellia to the beautiful mines of Kessel, Solo is a delightful expansion of this growing world. It still feels like Star Wars, but they're not just recycling the same ten planets over and over. Oh, and there's also a badass musical cue that counts as a spoiler. You'll know it when you hear it.
In the end, what more can I say? I'm sure I could add a few more nitpicks about the conclusion, which features more double-crosses and "twists" than a dozen film noir classics combined. Or I could whine about the errant Jabba the Hutt references and silly fan service jokes, which threaten to derail the movie at times. But none of these little things really matter all that much. I had a blast watching Solo, and even if it hasn't been rattling around my brain over the last few weeks, it gave me exactly what I wanted and nothing less. After the behind-the-scenes difficulties, it's a little shocking to find a film so competently made and enjoyable, one that delivers the Star Wars goods in terrific fashion. But for a movie about a hero who basically winged it every single time, should it really be a surprise?
If only these guys could have pulled off a box office heist.
THE FINAL GRADE: B+ (7.9/10)
Images: Lucasfilm/IMDb
Oh, but I should note that the rest of the movie is surprisingly great. Much like the criminals and lowlifes that populate this particular Star Wars adventure, I'm pulling a double-cross in this review. Even if Ron Howard's film (he came aboard after the firing of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and reportedly shot 70-80% of the movie) has a tendency to explain too much about the character made famous by Harrison Ford, there's an almost shocking amount of fun to be had with this stand-alone adventure. Can it match the brilliance of the last two saga films? No, of course not- those films, especially The Last Jedi, are simply on another level. But Solo is vastly superior to Rogue One, and unlike that film, it proves that there's something worth exploring in the Star Wars universe outside the Skywalker story. Solo may be shallow or empty or unnecessary, but it is a damn good time at the movies.
Years before the roguish smuggler set foot in the Mos Eisley Cantina to meet Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo was just an average criminal with a hidden soft spot. After the aforementioned opening sequence on Corellia, we first meet Han as he serves in the Imperial Army, fighting in the trenches while the chaos of ground warfare threatens to turn his life to hell. It's here that Solo meets Beckett (Woody Harrelson), Val (Thandie Netwon), and Rio (voiced by Jon Favreau), three secret criminals disguised as Imperial officers. Han tries desperately to join their crew for a big score, but Beckett instead sends the earnest soldier to his death, feeding him to a hungry beast in a muddy dungeon. Fortunately for Han, that beast turns out to be the lovable Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), who spares his life in favor of an escape plan. And just like that, a friendship is born.
Impressed by his moxie and short on men for the heist, Beckett picks up Han and his furry friend and saves them from a much deadlier fate. Together, the new crew prepares to steal some MacGuffin....er, coaxium (I had to look up what this silly thing was called), a powerful substance that everyone wants for some reason. Things go south on the job, which means that Beckett is in debt to crime lord Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), one of the main players in the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate. After a quick surprise reunion with Qi'ra, who is now also working with the syndicate, Han devises a plan to steal raw coaxium from Kessel and repay Dryden. That means they'll need to complete the infamous Kessel Run, and they'll need to do it at a record speed. I wonder what ship could be fast enough for this job.....? Enter Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the galaxy's most charismatic scoundrel, and L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), his sassy droids' rights activist sidekick. After much card-playing and verbal sparring, this new crew prepares to pull off a heist for the ages. But there are darker forces at play here, individuals and groups that could spell trouble for Solo and friends.
Look, I'm not going to pretend that there's much meat on Solo's bones. From a character and story perspective, this is a thin, almost weightless movie. It's MacGuffins and double crosses and Star Wars references and not a whole lot else. The characters rarely evolve or change, their motivations are flimsy and inconsistent to say the least, and it's difficult to find any cohesive thematic arc to the film. But it would be equally disingenuous for me to claim that any of this affected my viewing experience in any way, shape, or form. Solo is pure escapist pleasure, equipped with charismatic leads, rip-roaring action scenes, and plenty of new visuals for viewers to feast their eyes on. My heart and mind may not have found much to enjoy in this perfectly engineered bit of sci-fi spectacle, but my inner popcorn blockbuster fan was having a grand old time. This movie is flat-out fun, and this is the rare case where that adjective isn't a back-handed compliment.
Alden Ehrenreich, best known for his role as Hobie Doyle in the Coen Bros.' Hail, Caesar!, was always a controversial pick to play Solo. However, writers Lawrence and Jon Kasdan smartly choose to set this particular Han Solo story well before he ever becomes a part of the Skywalker story, allowing Ehrenreich to put his own spin on the action icon. He's obviously no Ford, but you can't help but like the young actor's take on Solo. Even at the end of the film, he hasn't yet developed that devil-may-care attitude that defines Han Solo- he's still a naive romantic at heart. While the box office will likely prevent any future sequels, I would be more than happy to see Ehrenreich pick up the blaster again. Should those follow-ups ever come to fruition, we're likely to see Emilia Clarke return as Qi'ra, one of the more complex characters in the film. I'm not sure any of the filmmakers understand how to execute a powerful and surprising double-cross, but the final tease for Qi'ra's future is honestly more enticing than anything else she gets to do in the movie.
Many fans will likely be clamoring for a Lando Calrissian spin-off with Donald Glover after this one, and it's not hard to see why. Glover is a charismatic figure, and he perfectly channels the boisterous energy that Billy Dee Williams brought to the role. Still, there is undeniably a fundamental flaw with the character work here. The world of Solo is one of thieves and criminals, people you couldn't trust if your life depended on it. That means all of our characters are basically non-existent from a moral perspective, devoid of any motivation beyond personal self-interest. Interesting actors like Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany chew the scenery, but they're not really allowed to dig into anything interesting because.....well, there's nothing there. Thankfully, the film overcomes that issue by creating a sense of scrappy camaraderie between these no-good hustlers. Especially during the elaborate heist scenes, it's fun to watch the characters work together, plotting their way to narrowly escape another crazy scenario.
Make no mistake- the action scenes are the reason to buy a ticket. The good news is that there's a lot of them, as the film is so completely stacked with explosive incidents that it's almost overwhelming. Director Ron Howard (or Lord and Miller, who even knows at this point) gives each action beat a sense of Star Wars-y glee that is virtually contagious, carrying over from one sequence to the next. The setpieces in Solo don't feel chaotic or overstimulating- instead, there's a very meticulous level of control to each and every one of them. The Star Wars franchise may be known for epic space battles and outlandish fights, but the action in Solo is intricate and precise, building naturally and containing a sense of genuine excitement. After all, this is a heist movie, and it's a blast to watch Han and his friends try to choreograph the perfect score.
While the action scenes are a point of agreement among Solo fans and dissenters, there's been a bit of a controversy over DP Bradford Young's cinematography, which has been both praised and slammed in various circles. Some have called the film dark and ugly, prompting others to blame that on the projection. I can't speak for others, but I had a crisp and gorgeous viewing of Solo, and I thought it looked stunning. Young has done work on popular indies like Arrival and Selma, but this is his first foray into big blockbuster territory. And to be quite honest, without a single auteur at the helm for this near-disastrous project, Young's visual stamp emerges as the film's most consistent element. His vision of the world of Star Wars is covered in ten layers of mud, and there are a few aspects that feel recycled from the recent franchise aesthetic. We get it, there's real war in Star Wars, we don't need a trench scene in every movie. That being said, Young's distinct photography gives the film a sense of beauty and simplicity, which I found truly refreshing.
Best of all, Solo tackles a corner of the Star Wars universe that I find particularly fun. With the previous caveat that all of the characters are basically selfish, amoral monsters, the criminal underworld of Star Wars is genuinely fascinating, a weird mix of sketchy elements that you would never find in a saga film. As an origin story, it's fair to say that Solo is just too familiar to ever be truly bold. But for all of the winks and nods and deep cut references, I love just how fresh this film feels in its strongest moments. This is a markedly different kind of Star Wars movie, and it helps that there are plenty of new worlds to explore in this spin-off. From the poverty-stricken Corellia to the beautiful mines of Kessel, Solo is a delightful expansion of this growing world. It still feels like Star Wars, but they're not just recycling the same ten planets over and over. Oh, and there's also a badass musical cue that counts as a spoiler. You'll know it when you hear it.
In the end, what more can I say? I'm sure I could add a few more nitpicks about the conclusion, which features more double-crosses and "twists" than a dozen film noir classics combined. Or I could whine about the errant Jabba the Hutt references and silly fan service jokes, which threaten to derail the movie at times. But none of these little things really matter all that much. I had a blast watching Solo, and even if it hasn't been rattling around my brain over the last few weeks, it gave me exactly what I wanted and nothing less. After the behind-the-scenes difficulties, it's a little shocking to find a film so competently made and enjoyable, one that delivers the Star Wars goods in terrific fashion. But for a movie about a hero who basically winged it every single time, should it really be a surprise?
If only these guys could have pulled off a box office heist.
THE FINAL GRADE: B+ (7.9/10)
Images: Lucasfilm/IMDb
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