Solo: A Star Wars Story

So I am of the generation who got to experience Star Wars feom the beginning. Standing in a crazy ling line, literally wrapped around the local theater back in 1977 as a kid. Totally unaware I was about to see a movie that would become my central interest for all my childhood, early teens and once again as an adult. And all these years later, able to share this fandom with my own son. I liked Solo. I wouldn't say it's my favorite but it was a fun ride and it evoked the feelings that I associate with Stat Wars. The world and characters felt right. It showed us some cool new things about life in that world, living under the Empire. The amazing cityscapes of Corellia... It felt similar to me to Rogue One. Modern filmmaking techniques yet convincingly evoking the vibes of the classic Star Wars world. Anyway, I just wanted to put in some positive review for this movie to contrast this strange wave of hate feom "fans" on here. I don't really understand it. I have liked something about every Star Wars movie there has been. Some are better than others. There are weaker moments in every one to be sure. But none are worth the irrational seeming hate some people are putting out there. Solo is good and worth your time if you like Star Wars. Just one fan's opinion.

It doesn't deserve the hate. It's actually really good. It does exactly what it's supposed to do. I think it's revolutionary for star wars,let me explain. This is a very different movie than the rest of the star wars movies. There are no lightsabers (well except that one time) and there is no darth vader or Luke skywalker, there isn't a fight between good and evil, it's more of fight between thieves. That causes that this movie feels very different, it almost feels like this is not a star wars movie. And that's great. A great change of pace. It feels more like a cowboy space adventure, which is something the mandalorian got praised for, but that series came out after this movie, so I guess that makes it kinda revolutionary, in terms of star wars movies. This is really cool. I like it. It's better than rise of skywalker so... One thing though: that L3 robot. I hated her, she comes up with the lamest jokes and serves no purpose in the story other than some weird "love story"????

For anyone who feels discouraged by the reviews, I tell you this: They're not complaining about the movie, they're complaining because they feel abused by a continous stream of movies from a beloved franchise. It seems ironic, I know, but having nothing for so long and suddenly watching different posters every six months, has to be confusing and bound to raise some eyebrows. However, we have to look at it as objectively and simple as possible: If you love movies, you want to watch as many movies as you can. And if you love Star Wars, you love to experience the Star Wars' story! So all of this backlash for having so much of the thing you love is simply a tantrum that I hate to see on so many of my fellow Star Wars' fans.

This a very well made film that anyone can enjoy. Plot, acting, FX, Photography, Cast, etc. They did a great job with everything. Taking into account the enourmous pressure of making a film from such a historical franchise, I take my hat off for anyone who has the bravery to do this.

So, go and watch it, not with skepticisim, but with that natural feeling of curiousity and love you have every time you sit at the movie theater. I promise, you'll be pleased.

Finally went to see Solo in his first...solo. I had reservations going in (1) I had heard ticket sales were sub par. (2) I questioned the casting of the lead role (we'll get to that later). I tried to keep an open mind to let the film stand on its own merit. It was a pretty solid summer sci-fi action film that had some laughs with some likeable characters that reasonably fits in the Star Wars mythology. The movie was predictable in the sense that it's a prequel and many points of story progression are predetermined. That being said, these points are woven into a story that flowed well that I actually had fun watching. This movie is a solid 7. My biggest reservation was and is Alden Ehrenreich. His depiction of Han Solo is not terrible but is rather dry and lacks the charm and wit of his predecessor Harrison Ford. We can't help but make that comparison and those are tough shoes to fill. I was admittedly jaded going in as there is a Star Wars fan film on YouTube called Han Solo: A Smuggler's Trade where the actor is the personification of a young Harrison Ford. He captures all the nuances and mannerisms of Han Solo and his depiction is on point. If there are any sequels to this prequel, maybe Ehrenreich can grow into the role and own it.

Solo: A Star Wars Story boasts one of the more inventive plots I've seen lately. They play with Han's story and aren't afraid to take it some unexpected directions (at least for those just familiar with the movies and haven't researched to extended continuity of the franchise). One of the small problems I had with Solo was while the movie does have some intriguing ideas and exciting sequences, they reside in the middle of the movie. The bookends of this movie (beginning and end) are the weakest with all the best stuff in middle hour and a half. This isn't a major flaw, but I had to be patient for it to get going and the finale felt a little rushed.

After the news of Alden Ehrenreich needing some extra help to get the character of Han Solo, I wasn't sure he could capably perform in the lead. He caught me completely off guard, he was great as Han Solo. He's not Harrison Ford (and no one could have matched him as Han), but he has the charisma, the toughness and the comic timing and I think he pulled it off. He bounces off Joonas Suotamo (who plays Chewbacca) well and I thought he also had good chemistry with Emilia Clarke who played his love interest Qi'ra. Clarke did well, her performance as Daenerys is still better but this was a step in the right direction. She's had trouble getting off the ground when it comes to acting in movies and this will hopefully be that stepping stone for her. Donald Glover does a fine Lando impression, there was a lot of praise for his version of this character and I largely share those sentiments. Woody Harrelson is solid as Beckett, he's appropriately slimy but he invites you in enough that you want to believe in him. Thandie Newton is good for the limited time we get to spend with her. I also liked Paul Bettany, but he was kneecapped by his character.

I would put this in the heist movie genre but there are a couple of big action set pieces. Despite the troubled production, they were actually pretty great. Between the fight on the train and the escape/heist from the spice mining planet are both excellent. I didn't have a problem with the ending fight for the action choreography and even that bit had its moments. They pack the thrills and there were some unexpected outcomes for that little extra payoff. If anything, Solo proves you don't have to have a lightsabre duel to keep audiences on the edge of their seat.

My problems with Solo: A Star Wars Story boil down to 2 things. The first is that Bettany's character of Dryden Vos is a weak villain and although the ending boasts a couple of unique twists, its undercut by the lack of a real threat. Bettany's a great actor and they gave him a decent backstory, but a surprise betrayal comes in the 3rd act and instead of getting 2 sinister threats, we end up with none. The second is that Solo feels somewhat clunky or as if the movie is being too obvious when it brings in iconic items for Han or connects to the larger Star Wars universe. Solo works best when it operates as its own story, the seams only start to show when you really examine how it fits in the original timeline or when characters from other movies cameo.

I expected very little from this movie. I already mentioned all the bad press the movie got and while I went into this movie open-minded, the negativity surrounding Solo did lower my expectations accordingly. While it's far from perfect, I had a lot of fun with this movie. Between the taught pace, the solid acting from the cast and the infectiously happy vibe the movie boasts, I was swept up in it. It doesn't nail every aspect, but it gets far more right than it doesn't and I'm not going to drop it down to a 4 or a 5 because of some nitpicks. My actual rating for Solo: A Star Wars Story is somewhere between an 8-9/10 but I'll go with an 8/10 to be safe.