As a kid I would often think of what it would be like to have more than the three original Star Wars movies. And as I grew older Hollywood finally caught up with my generation’s imagination: by making more Star Wars films. Now, it could be argued less is more, but overall as a fan it’s great to finally see more Star Wars stories set outside the established canon of the Skywalker drama. Enter the newest addition to the film franchise: Solo: A Star Wars Story, giving us the origin of the fan favorite smuggler with the heart of gold, Han Solo. It’s a film that isn’t needed, but is a very entertaining summer popcorn flick.
We meet Han on his home world of Corellia where he and his lady, Qi’ra, are under the rule of a local gangster. Due to plot he manages to escape, and joins up with The Empire with the goal to become a great pilot and return to his home world. But due to a series of unfortunate circumstances Han finds himself in hot water. He ends up saving a Wookiee named Chewbacca. Both on the run, they join up with a smuggler crew, led by Tobias Beckett and his wife Val Beckett, who are planning to steal a ship from The Empire for a heist.
After botching the job the crew must make an uneasy deal with an intergalactic crime boss named Drylan Vos. To make sure the job goes more smoothly than before Vos sends his second in charge to oversee, who just happens to be Han’s lost love, Qi’ra. The crew then goes out to find a fast ship: enter fan favorite, Lando Calrissian. Together the crew must steal from The Empire, make the Kessel Run, and make it back before Vos has them all killed.
Now it’s no secret in Hollywood that Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired from directing the movie due to creative differences, and Ron Howard was brought in to fix/reshoot the film. Rumor is over 75% of the movie was reshot. But even with all those problems plaguing this shoot, the filmmakers did manage to make an enjoyable film. It’s fun, full of great Star Wars action and humor. It’s kind of all you’d expect and it hits all the marks.
Lots of people will be comparing Alden Ehrenreich’s performance of Han to Harrison Ford. Some people will tell you it’s bad and that he isn’t Han. I’m telling you here and now, they’re wrong. He took what we’ve seen of Han from past movies and is making it his own. Ehrenreich isn’t doing an impression, it’s clear that he studied Ford’s acting at great length, and does the little things: a nod, smile, or a body movement. He captures Han Solo’s essence as a character while keeping it grounded and making it fresh. This kid is good.
But not as good as Donald Glover as Lando: He comes in like a wrecking ball and never stops. He takes what little we’ve had of Lando and mixes in lots of the Billy Dee Williams swagger and creates the coolest man in the galaxy. Glover also watched and studied his counterpart and makes it his own and keeps it real. Glover is the stand out in the movie. He makes you want all the Lando you could handle: a simple look, gesture and the cadence in his voice makes you believe.
Rounding out the rest of the cast is Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Paul Bettany and Thandie Newton. Each has their role to play in what is essentially a heist movie in space. Harrelson is great as Han’s mentor, and Newton is amazing in all her scenes. They work well together and are worth watching. Bettany is acceptable as the leader of an intergalactic gang: a worthy villain for Han to face off against. Clarke is fine in her role as Qi’ra. But out of everyone she is the weak link. We’ve seen her characters be better in other films. She feels like she was pushed into the plot just to let Han have a girl. Not a dig at Clarke, who is extremely talented, it’s the character she’s playing that needed work
Not a newcomer anymore is Joonas Suotamo, the 6’11 Finnish actor and former basketball player who now plays the role of Chewbacca in all the most current Star Wars films. Peter Mayhew has more or less retried from the role due to health issues so now Suotamo is pretty much our new Chewie. He’s great at the body language and comic timing of our favorite Wookiee. It’s hard to compare the acting per se because both actors basically work behind a mask, leaving only body movements and their eyes do to all the acting. And both are accomplished at doing it.
The movie looks fantastic. This is one of the better-looking Star Wars films. All the locations, sets and special effects breathe life into the movie. A highlight is seeing the Millennium Falcon in its prime. Crisp, clean and new: Lando knows how to keep a ship looking tight!
At its core this movie is a fan service film. It takes jokes from the Internet and makes fun of them or makes them canon. A fine example would be the joke online about the Kessel run being done in under 12 or 14 parsecs. They poke fun at that kind of humor. The movie is very self-aware of itself while trying to be its own thing. It doesn’t hurt the film, but makes you just groan a little. Entertaining and family friendly films never hurt anyone: overall this entire movie wasn’t needed, but I’m glad we got it at the end of the day.
