Solo - A Star Wars Story (2018)

January 26, 2019

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

The Awesome: Whether you wanted one or not, we got a Han Solo film. All the characters we see throughout the film are just cool, like the ones around the Sabaac card games. The sets are pretty cool along with the props and the technology all around us. Just being in the Star Wars universe is always a fun time. We learn how Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) meets Chewbacca the Wookie (Joonas Suotamo) and it's pretty cool when it happens. The train heist sequence was very entertaining and really appreciate the filmmaker for not choosing the regulation shaky-cam and disorienting camera movements that usually rule those types of sequences and instead we get clear images and can understand what is happening although the scene did make me ask a logic question at one point, it was beautifully shot and was just a good time. I liked the cinematography as it wasn't all bright sci-fi sets and I always found Han Solo to be a bit dark character, so I prefer his film not to use bright saturated colors. The Chewy shower scene was full on hilarious.

The Good: Chemistry between Han and Chewy was there and that was very important being that the film is an origin story and I was expecting those two to click immediately and they do, even enjoyed how the Chewy nickname comes from a genuine emotional moment. The sets were all Star Wars worthy and there was no mistaking what world we were in from the opening shot. The Cloud Riders looked cool and I want them to get a movie of their own. I found the character of Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) intriguing and mysterious; I like how they wrote her character as she kept me guessing what she had been through and what her motivations and her actions were going to be and I was not disappointed. The entire flying through the Maw and it's cluster of black holes sequence was highly entertaining as there was so much peril and that intensified everything. A good character twist really clarified things for me at the end since we learn about the manipulating force behind the character and it's not who you thought it was and call me naive but I wasn't even considering some of the twists in the last act, perhaps it's just the Star Wars universe where I don't care about trying to figure out things and instead I just unplug my brain then just watch and react. Surprisingly heartbreaking separation scene in the first act really got to me, I really felt for the main characters as I believed their relationship and mutual dream, perhaps I liked it so much because when a film uses the 'Slumdog Millionaire'-ish thematic element at the start which hooked me immediately.

The Bad: I was not a big fan of how the entire Cloud Riders thing was handled. I usually don't like when a movie does things like that with the characters because it left me asking questions such as: "Why didn't they reveal that in the first place? Why risk lives without doing any research. The coaxium seems to be very powerful and very valuable so I wanted to know more about this multi-purpose liquid and why isn't EVERYONE in the galaxy going after it, just my personal view. I thought one particular sacrifice was quite dumb and POINTLESS (especially when some things are revealed later relating to that situation), plus the sacrifice didn't affect me the way I'm sure the filmmaker was hoping it would as I wasn't invested in many of the characters, maybe except Chewy, never want to see him die, ever. What was up with the dice thing? I know Qi'ra gives it to him and the dice seems to be a lucky charm but I don't remember the dice being critical in the originals. One of my fave sequences is the train one but it also made me ask why Beckett (Woody Harrelson) an experienced smuggler doesn't have equipment to make the train heist easier for them, I mean, that was some shitty planning because I got the impression you could buy anything in the galaxy so why not have what looked to be very useful footwear for the situation. I know I mentioned the cinematography in the awesome section but there were many scenes that were just too dark for us to enjoy what the character was seeing, like when he gets to the Millennium Falcon for the first time, that scene was so poorly lit that it took away from the excitement of seeing the MF for the first time and what was it with trying to connect Han Solo to everything for sentimental reasons, like when we find out his father used to build MF's....I mean, come on, really? There was no need for that mini-reveal since I always have associated Han Solo with two things....Chewy and the MF. I don't need Han Solo to be emotionally attached to shit because of his childhood, you are taking up script room for more interesting exposition. I had a tough time feeling convinced that I was watching a young Han Solo as the actor nails the orginal Han's charm and delivery only occasionally and the more I tried to convince myself the more the actor looked like a young Jack Nicholson instead so i kind of ruined the illusion on my own.

The Ugly: If you expect me to discuss the accuracy of Lando Calrissian's (Donald Glover) cape colors and fabrics or the accuracy in the Mandalorian armor seen in the film, you have come to the wrong place for that since I'm no authority on all things Star Wars, I just know the basics. The L3-37 droid (Phoebe Waller Bridge) was obnoxious because she beats us to death with the robot rights theme and I felt when you use things like that in your film you have to either take it serious or make it funny and here they tried to make it both and it just doesn't work either way, I don't mind films trying to send a message but at least do it well so it doesn't come across as something you sprinkled in to show you have a heart without really having any clue what your message is you are trying to convey and giving L3-37 sex jokes like the "good luck finding it" line when a character threatens shutting her down by her off switch just unfunny because robots/droids shouldn't be sexually conscious, I love a good tip touching joke but not in a Star Wars movie. Another thing was how much Han Solo tells us he wants to be a pilot, I mean, every other scene he is talking about being a pilot that it started to become a distraction. Implied robot anal, at least that is how I interpreted a particular moment of dialogue. The film bombed at the box office and I don't think it deserved that as it was not The Predator awful or story-telling issues like in Halloween (2018), remember in that one MM is 65 years old and seems to lose his superhuman elderly strength from one scene to the other.

Final Verdict...3/5..."AAARARRRGWWWH.", that's Wookie for Cool! I thought the film was fun for what it was as long as I don't do too much critical thinking. I'm sorry if I failed to mention things that changed or ruined the original canon or continuity as I'm not the authority on Star Wars and can only judge it by what I know about the expanded universe or whatever. I liked what it was aiming for and only wish there hadn't been a carousel of directors as I'm sure that didn't help the story-telling. I enjoyed some of the origin stuff but what I would have preferred was to have seen this young Han Solo almost unrecognizable to the adult version we have in our minds and then putting him in situations where sarcasm saves his life, being brutally honest gets him what he needs, etc, this way we can see young Han Solo starting to pick up the quirks of the Han Solo we all love. If I was not a fan of Star Wars, I'm almost on the verge of saying that the film, "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" is a more fun film and in fact you could probably have made that into a "Solo: A Star Wars Story", as both films are similar when it comes to the central protagonist and come to think of it, Solo seems to borrow a lot from that film....hmmmm. Anyways, I do recommend Solo if you are a Star Wars universe fan and want to briefly see some cool aliens and want to learn where Han gets his blaster, MF, and dice? and honestly, I still don't get why they made the dice a huge deal in this movie. I was bored while watching the last few Star Wars films so I expected the same for this one but I have to say I think it's the best one, but that is not saying much for the franchise ever since Disney acquired the property. I had fun watching it but will forget most of it.