Solo: A Star Wars
Story – 5 out of 5
I know whiny fanboys who like to claim ownership over the
properties they enjoy have complained endlessly about how Disney is ruining Star Wars
but I certainly don’t agree with them.
I’ll admit that I was shocked and very hesitant when I heard that Disney
purchased the property but quickly got excited when they said there would be a
new Star Wars film every year for the foreseeable future. If that isn’t a reason to make me try and make
it through this hellscape that is our reality, I don’t know what is. Since they debuted their first film; The Force Awakens, I have loved every second of what The Mouse has produced. Solo: A Star Wars Story is the second of the stand-alone films they plan on
releasing. Rogue One set the bar high,
in my opinion (I love that one), and there was a lot riding on this one as it
focuses on one of the franchises most iconic scoundrel. Did it deliver? In my opinion, it sure did!
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Just two cool dudes flying one cool ship. |
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures It's not weird that I fell in love with L3 is it? Because that's what has been holding me up from posting this review. I'm trying to come to terms with my feelings for a droid. I'm feeling very confused right now. |
Han (Alden Ehrenreich) dreams of one day leaving his
thieving life on Corellia behind and take his love Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) with
him. However, after she fails to escape,
Han joins the Empire in hopes of being a pilot and one day saving her. While there, he rescues an enslaved Wookiee
named Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and a rogue named Tobias Beckett (Woody
Harrelson). Beckett brings Han and
Chewie in on a job with his crew; Val (Thandie Newton) and Rio Durant (Jon
Favreau). The job promises a lot of
money when completed for gangster and high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson
Dawn syndicate; Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany).
However, after the plan fails, the team enlists the help of the best
smuggler in the galaxy; Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), and his droid
companion; L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and they plan on a big job that will either
make them rich or make things square with the Crimson Dawn or lead them down a
path that culminates in their deaths.
A Star Wars film is going to have to work really hard for me
to not enjoy it. Hell, I’ll admit it, I
like the prequels. Granted there are
elements I don’t like about them but, for the most part, I think they are
pretty good. Going into Solo, I didn’t
really have any reservations or concerns.
In the end, the final product provided an exciting film that has the
feel and substance of the galaxy far, far away but also felt like it was its
own creature that belonged to the greater whole but stands out on its own
accords.
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures In Star Wars, she's the mother of krayt dragons. |
It’s refreshing to see where these stand-alone stories take
this property and I like that they tell stories that don’t involve the Jedi or
the Force. I loved how Rogue One
explored the darker side of being a Rebel and I love how this one shows us the
faithful meeting of Han and Chewie and seeing how he became that scruffy
–looking nerf herder that I secretly desire to be. Origin stories can often get knee-jerk
reactions from people but I like seeing how my favorite characters start
out. Solo brings this about with
exciting action and plenty of humor.
Seeing the evolution of Han as he tries to find his place and grab onto
that confidence and swagger was very engaging and a lot of fun to watch
unfold. Not to mention the way this film
canonized so many elements from the now defunct Expanded Universe gave me a
geekgasm!
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures The wind blown look works for Chewie. |
The performances in this one are absolutely stellar. I loved how Alden Ehrenreich was able to
capture the essence of Han Solo without having it feel like he was doing an
impression of the character. Instead, it
felt like he was able to latch onto who and what he is and then reverse engineer
it so it was a time and personality of the character we hadn’t seen yet. Just the opposite is what I loved about
Donald Glover’s portrayal of Lando.
First off, Glover is a ridiculously talented man who seems to have no
end to what he can and will accomplish but he provided this special magic as a
young Lando that felt more like an impression of Billy Dee Williams than an
impression of Lando—and did so without it feeling like it was an
impression. He was just absolutely
captivating to watch.
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Seriously, is there anything this man can't do? |
Concerning the rest of the cast, there is no one not pulling
their weight. Whether it’s Woody
Harrelson with his cocky charm or Emilia Clarke being sly and mysterious, Jon
Favreau being very amusing as the voice of Rio Durant or Paul Bettany having
this very odd mix of charisma and being completely unhinged as the crime boss,
this film had some excellent performances.
One personal favorite of mine was Phoebe Waller-Bridge as the voice of
the droid L3—a droid I instantly fell in love with (still wrestling with feelings). Her sass was endlessly amusing and made the
character extra memorable and fun to watch.
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| Lucasfilm, Ltd./Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures In the world of Star Wars, Tobias Beckett is the most normal sounding name. |
Even though we are only two films in with the stand-alone tales
that Disney is making, I really think the company built by a mouse is on to
something. Solo: A Star Wars Story provides an exciting story
that is action-packed, visually stunning and really funny. It’s refreshing seeing a story explores the
other avenues of this galaxy and the way it makes its connections with the new
canon that is being established is wicked fun (and this one offers up a really
great surprise). I really enjoyed what Ron Howard did with this one, especially with the visual tone that he set. It was obvious a Star Wars film but also had a look that didn't feel like the other saga features. While there is no doubt that I was deeply curious to see what Phil Lord and Christopher Miller was going to create, I think Howard made something very entertaining and one that really works for the direction this franchise is going. Keep it up,
Disney! I like where you are taking Star
Wars.
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