Solo: A Star Wars Story – The Quintessential Review

28 May 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story is not quite the Star Wars story you expect. Unlike the superb Rogue One, which was an expansion of a part of the main Star Wars story itself, Solo is an expansion of a character, and it’s in this difference that some viewers will find Solo as not quite the movie they were looking for. There’s zero mention of the Force, for example, scant reference to the Empire, and locations are so unfamiliar that it could be any futuristic movie. That’s until you realise the setting of a galaxy run by crime syndicates and smuggling operations is very much part of the Star Wars universe at the time, something already hinted via Jabba The Hutt in the original trilogy.

Where Solo excels is weaving the many nuggets of information gleaned from the original trilogy into a fully fleshed and sustainable story that fully exposes the development and lifestyle of Han Solo as we saw him in Episode 4: A New Hope. Jabba The Hutt, Corellia, the Spice Mines of Kessel, the Kessel Run, Han meeting Chewbacca, Han meeting Lando Calrissian, Han acquiring the Millennium Falcon, and even how Han Solo got his name. It’s all there. So, too, the reason why it’s wise not to upset a Wookiee! For those craving an epic Star Wars moment, you even get a bit of that at the end. So much so that Star Wars geeks will want to explore branches of the Star Wars story outside the main films, especially about the primary female character, Qi’ra.

The two main negatives of Solo are not a great detriment to the film overall. Notably it seems slow to get going, and some of the casting could have been better. Part of the problem with the pacing is that the setting seems so alien to Star Wars as we know it, and stripped of that, you’re mostly watching some smug young punk engage in a series of mundane scenes and activities as he tries to escape his existing life and set up his new one. Once the key mission is in full process, notably the acquisition and then fight over canisters of hyperfuel (the most valuable commodity in the galaxy), then Solo flows to a breezy and surprising conclusion.

The casting was hit and miss. Alden Ehrenreich was simply unsuitable to be a convincing younger Han Solo, while L3-37, the new droid, was a trainwreck. Ehrenreich couldn’t capture the cool and suave style of the Han Solo character that Harrison Ford portrayed, and rather than the confidence and minimal fuss of the Han we love, we got someone childlike and overtly too arrogant. It seems the producers were more interested in the physical look than the mannerisms and speech style that really epitomised Han Solo, and even then, Ehrenreich appeared more goofy than serious when trying to channel the real Han.

Just like with the mistake made with K-2SO in Rogue One, L3-37, a female droid, was humanised way too much to be an interesting droid. Actually, the level of humanisation was ridiculous. Not only in mannerisms and personality, she was given long legs, wide hips and even walked like a super model! It took until the second view to stop seeing Woody Harrelson as Woody Harrelson, while the hits were Donald Glover as Lando – so authentic and believable! – and Emilia Clarke was superb as the stunning and mysterious Qi’ra. Minor characters of Dryden Vos and Val were also good, plus there was plenty of the lovable Chewbacca.

For a movie with low expectations, and especially after the disaster of The Last Jedi, Solo proved a fun, interesting and worthwhile movie. Seeing many of the places referenced in previous movies, how some of the great legends happened, not to forget the excellent action scenes, there’s plenty in Solo that most Star Wars geeks should find it eminently enjoyable, while others will see a satisfying action/adventure movie. You just need to be aware of its limitations and aware of its setting before going in, then a good blaster by your side will be with you.

Star Wars Ranking

Since Solo steps outside the main Star Wars story rather than be a part of it, it’s difficult to really rank it. It doesn’t advance or reveal anything essential, and there’s little mystery to it other than the future of Qi’ra. Without the inane waffle and gratuitous pointless scenes that mired The Last Jedi, it edges in front of that despite them being about equal on entertainment value.

01) Ep5: The Empire Strikes Back
02) Ep2: Attack Of The Clones
03) Ep4: A New Hope
04) Ep7: The Force Awakens
05) Rogue One
06) Ep4: Revenge Of The Sith
07) Ep6: Return Of The Jedi
09) Solo
10) Ep8: The Last Jedi