Let me first say that I'm a very big Star Wars fan. I saw the first one as a teenager back in 1978, had to wait a very long time for the new ones and thought that both Rogue One and The Last Jedi were brilliant. This one however isn't. I even think that Solo: A Star Wars Story is the worst entry in the series.
Disney has bought the rights to Star Wars and in order to get their investment back they must earn money: I get that. So they made a sequel trilogy to Return of the Jedi and are planning a brand new one in the future too. I get that as well. At the same time they produce stand-alone movies so they can have a Star Wars movie every year. Logical. But why choose Han Solo as a subject, a project that can only fail?
Making a Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford is a big risk. Who can follow in his iconic footsteps? Actor Alden Ehrenreich does a decent job, but he can't make us forget the original actor. It's not even close. Trying to see the movie as a non-Han Solo movie isn't possible either, because you're constantly reminded that Alden is supposed to be the real deal. I don't know how many times the famous dice (Solo's lucky charm) is shown to proof this or when Alden tries to smile like the famous scoundrel.
Then the story... Well, somebody must have asked the question: "Okay, we'll do Han Solo. Which elements of his past can we use? How he met Chewbacca, how he won the Falcon, the Kessel run... well, they all appear in the story. Wow, that's some lazy writing! And remember that famous scene in the Godfather part 2 when Vito arrives in America and somebody asks him his name? Well, there is a similar scene in this movie explaining Han's surname. What, has he lived his life all the time without one? No, it doesn't look like a tribute. Again, it's just some lazy writing.
Visually the movie is also disappointing. The first part, when we meet Han and his girlfriend Qi'ra for the first time, even looks like a middle-of-the-road Direct-to-DVD film. There is a nice scene however when Han and his crew must rob a train (as shown in the trailer). To me that was the (visual) highlight of the movie.
In the end there's an effort to make this stand-alone film fit more into the Star Wars movie canon by showing a famous character that will probably play a big part in the sequel. This surprise comes out of nowhere and it just doesn't work. And yes: sequel. Depending on the success two sequels will follow. At the end of part 3 Han will probably walk into the cantina on Tattooine to meet Obi-Wan and Luke for the first time. So yes: that doesn't happen in this movie.
It's incredible that the great Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the lost arc) co-wrote this story. There are absolutely no surprises in there and the character build up (of Solo and Emilia Clarke's Kira, pardon: Qi'ra) is very poor at times. The scene in which Han speaks Wookie (!) is an all time low in Star Wars history (only to be outlowed by the "Yippie" from Episode 1 and "Nooooo!" from Episode 3). And a robot with an attitude? Come on! Been there, done that.
I think Disney - like so many Stormtroopers - pretty much misfired with this movie. Who the hell okayed this script? Donald Glover is charming as Lando, but could have had more screentime. Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany always perform well and Emilia Clarke... well, the movie stops just when her character becomes interesting. Her character could be fascinating in the sequel (that hopefully will not be made).
Ever since I heard of Solo: A Star Wars Story I had a bad feeling about it. I wasn't wrong. Solo is a movie made for all the wrong reasons (money) and should have never been green lit. It's just Star Wars overkill. Let me end with something positive: in the movie theatre there were also fans who did like the movie, so there's a slight chance that I'm too harsh for the film. So if you really want to see it: go ahead!
Oh yeah: there's no aftercredits scene in this film!
Disney has bought the rights to Star Wars and in order to get their investment back they must earn money: I get that. So they made a sequel trilogy to Return of the Jedi and are planning a brand new one in the future too. I get that as well. At the same time they produce stand-alone movies so they can have a Star Wars movie every year. Logical. But why choose Han Solo as a subject, a project that can only fail?
Making a Han Solo movie without Harrison Ford is a big risk. Who can follow in his iconic footsteps? Actor Alden Ehrenreich does a decent job, but he can't make us forget the original actor. It's not even close. Trying to see the movie as a non-Han Solo movie isn't possible either, because you're constantly reminded that Alden is supposed to be the real deal. I don't know how many times the famous dice (Solo's lucky charm) is shown to proof this or when Alden tries to smile like the famous scoundrel.
Then the story... Well, somebody must have asked the question: "Okay, we'll do Han Solo. Which elements of his past can we use? How he met Chewbacca, how he won the Falcon, the Kessel run... well, they all appear in the story. Wow, that's some lazy writing! And remember that famous scene in the Godfather part 2 when Vito arrives in America and somebody asks him his name? Well, there is a similar scene in this movie explaining Han's surname. What, has he lived his life all the time without one? No, it doesn't look like a tribute. Again, it's just some lazy writing.
Visually the movie is also disappointing. The first part, when we meet Han and his girlfriend Qi'ra for the first time, even looks like a middle-of-the-road Direct-to-DVD film. There is a nice scene however when Han and his crew must rob a train (as shown in the trailer). To me that was the (visual) highlight of the movie.
In the end there's an effort to make this stand-alone film fit more into the Star Wars movie canon by showing a famous character that will probably play a big part in the sequel. This surprise comes out of nowhere and it just doesn't work. And yes: sequel. Depending on the success two sequels will follow. At the end of part 3 Han will probably walk into the cantina on Tattooine to meet Obi-Wan and Luke for the first time. So yes: that doesn't happen in this movie.
It's incredible that the great Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the lost arc) co-wrote this story. There are absolutely no surprises in there and the character build up (of Solo and Emilia Clarke's Kira, pardon: Qi'ra) is very poor at times. The scene in which Han speaks Wookie (!) is an all time low in Star Wars history (only to be outlowed by the "Yippie" from Episode 1 and "Nooooo!" from Episode 3). And a robot with an attitude? Come on! Been there, done that.
I think Disney - like so many Stormtroopers - pretty much misfired with this movie. Who the hell okayed this script? Donald Glover is charming as Lando, but could have had more screentime. Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany always perform well and Emilia Clarke... well, the movie stops just when her character becomes interesting. Her character could be fascinating in the sequel (that hopefully will not be made).
Ever since I heard of Solo: A Star Wars Story I had a bad feeling about it. I wasn't wrong. Solo is a movie made for all the wrong reasons (money) and should have never been green lit. It's just Star Wars overkill. Let me end with something positive: in the movie theatre there were also fans who did like the movie, so there's a slight chance that I'm too harsh for the film. So if you really want to see it: go ahead!
Oh yeah: there's no aftercredits scene in this film!