Solo: A Star Wars Story

2018 science fiction adventure

Rating: 14/20 (Dylan: 12/20)

Plot: Han Solo, in an effort to get his girl back, joins a band of outlaws and tries to pull off some seemingly impossible heists.

I'm starting to believe that Ron Howard only took over this project after those other guys were fired because he knew his brother Clint has always wanted to be in a Star Wars movie.

Warwick Davis has been in six Star Wars movies now. He's got a nice little part in this one and even has a couple lines.

This movie isn't without its issues, and one of those would probably be pacing. Lots of this feels very wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am-ish. Han skidaddles out of a dire situation. Wham-bam and on to the next mini-adventure. Han is in the middle of a murky and explosion-y battle sequence. Wham-bam and let's push him into the next sequence. Han meets his buddy Chewbacca for the first time. Wham-bam and he's got other things to do. So the pacing of the first half of this movie is a little off, and it takes a little bit of time to adjust to its beat, a rhythm that still feels like part of this franchise but is a little different.

The final third of the movie, right after or possibly during a giant action sequence that may or may not have been mentioned the very first time we see Han Solo in A New Hope, is where the movie really feels like it's scrambling. Double-crosses, triple-crosses, people shooting first, betrayals, a very strange cameo from a character that doesn't make any sense to me at all and who I never would have predicted would end up in this movie. It's a lot to take in.

So are the references to Han's past in the preceding movies which I guess means it's really Han's future. We see those dice things very early in this, almost the first shot, but then we're reminded about them over and over again. Slightly-altered lines recalling dialogue from the original trilogy, loads of visual cues, explanations of the origin of everything from Han Solo's belt buckle to how Chewbacca met his Wookiee wife in the Christmas special. My son was more annoyed by all of those "Hey, remember that thing you loved in Empire Strikes Back? Let me explain its origin to you!" moments, but I'd agree they were a little too cutesy at times. It's the same sort of subtly that you get in that third Indiana Jones movie with the River Phoenix scenes. Finding out why Indiana Jones fears snakes, where he first used a whip, how he got a scar on his chin, and why he likes those types of hats is a lot for what is essentially a prologue. At least these are peppered throughout the thing, I guess. The parts involving Han Solo and Chewbacca's names might have induced a groan from me though. And I really hated a bit of dialogue between Lando and Han that was a throwback to a classic bit between a different pair of characters in Empire.

Wookiee Ummph. Thanks, Woody Harrelson, for that one. That's a great name for a band.

Speaking of Woody, I liked his character in this one, a sort of mentor to our titular scoundrel. He gets some great lines, and he really seems to be having a lot of fun being in a Star Wars movie. In fact, I'd say that the same thing about all of these performers, even Clint Howard who has nothing to be happy about. Alden Ehrenreich has a lot of Solo's mannerisms down, but there were a lot of times I had to convince myself that a younger version of this character could sound like Ehrenreich instead of Ford. I don't envy that kid because taking over an iconic role can't be comfortable. He wasn't perfect, but he ranged between "nailing it" to "not being the biggest problem with the movie," which is about all you can ask for. Donald Glover's gotten a lot of love for his Lando impersonation. He's fine, and I would be interested in exploring that character more. The new guy wearing the Chewbacca suit--Joonas Suotamo--has Chewie's posture and mannerisms down perfectly. I don't know how much talent one has to bring to that kind of performance, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt and saying it's considerable. I mean, the guy in the suit I posed for a picture with at Disney a few months ago wasn't pulling it off. I knew that wasn't the real Chewbacca. I liked Paul Bettany's character, too.

Not all of the new characters worked though. Han's love interest was a little bland, and I'm just not sure Emilia Clarke had much to work with there. I never bought that relationship, probably because we came in long after it had developed, and her character's shiftiness never made a lot of sense. Phoebe Waller-Bridge's robot character was ok, but I think the whole robot-sidekick-used-for-comic-relief thing might be played. And this four-armed thing named Rio Durant is easily the Jar-Jar Binks of this movie. It seemed like they were trying to squeeze a Rocket Raccoon type character into the movie, but Rio Durant didn't work at all.

This is off-topic, but I'm really excited about the prospects of a Boba Fett movie directed by the guy who did that Logan movie. There's a bit of a visual reference to Boba Fett in this one, by the way. There's also a mention of Bossk. If Bossk is in the Boba Fett movie, I'm going to shit my pants right in the theater. There'll be no way to stop it.

This is a very good-looking movie. Even the weird parts that didn't work--one featuring gravity and a lot of tentacles--still contained really good imagery. There's a grimy look to this movie that reminded me more of Rogue One than any of the other Star Wars movies, and I guess that makes sense because the galaxy was likely a lot darker at that time. But this movie had just the right look for an intergalactic heist movie which it turns out was exactly what it was.

Man, I really can't get over that cameo near the end of this movie. I saw the character; thought, "That really doesn't sound anything like who I think that might be;" and then was stunned when I saw who it actually was. And confused. There's going to have to be a sequel whether the box office results warrant one or not because that one needs explained.

I had guessed that this would be the first Star Wars movie without a light saber. Close but no cigar!

The great special effects, the exciting battle sequences, a look at what a pristine Millennium Falcon can do, an ass-kicking Chewbacca, a rousing score, a ton of improbable action scenes, and a lot of great one-liners add up to a really fun ride. It all feels pretty inconsequential, a very small story in the Star Wars universe instead of something that resonates throughout the whole galaxy, but I think I'd prefer these spin-off movies to be that way.

One part got me to turn toward my son and say, "What the hell?" It involves a musical number, a duet. What were they thinking? I mean, I'm typing that now, but I think I might actually kind of love it.

My favorite moment: It might be when Han first sits down in the pilot seat of the Millennium Falcon. Ehrenreich really nails that one.

I can't believe I have to wait a whole year and a half before another Star Wars movie comes out. I'm blaming Trump for this.