Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

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Never tell me the odds.

Because he became the smuggler/war general we all know and love, Han (Alden Ehrenreich) was just another scrapper trying to get off of a nowhere planet with his girl, Qi'ra. (Emila Clarke) He meets Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and joins him and his team on a mission that changes everything.

Despite Han Solo being one of my favorite Star Wars characters, I can't say I was hoping for an origin story for him. I love Harrison Ford as Han and seeing someone else fill his shoes was never high on my priority list. After watching this film, fun as it is. It's easily the most mediocre of the new batch of Star Wars films.

The thing I loved the most about this movie ended up being Chewbacca. After seeing the previews, Lando stood out to me. I was interested in seeing Donald Glover's take the character but he still came in second to Chewy. I knew I was supposed to feel some type of way about Han stepping foot in the Falcon for the first time, but Ehrenreich wasn't selling me. The minute Chewy got in the copilot seat though? I felt that.  For the most part I really enjoyed the script. Especially the dialogue, everything Han and Lando said felt like something we would've heard the original counterparts say, and I appreciated that. Even if they threw in a pun or two at our expense. ("I hate you/I know")

Where the film didn't work for me was the rest of the characters. Ehrenreich didn't sell me as Han. He came off as someone who was concentrating really hard on doing a Han impression. At times it's like he was trying to scrunch up his face to make it stick, and he left me incredibly underwhelmed. On top of that, he had no chemistry with Clarke and their romance felt so empty. The new characters also didn't resonate with me the way Rogue One's did. The one that did was killed off after about 15 minutes of screen time. The ending of this film teases a sequel and I cannot imagine spending any more time with these newbies again. 

That said, the good outweighs the bad here, but it's still nothing spectacular. Especially following something as rewarding as The Last Jedi. I had fun, but I can't see myself purchasing this like I have the other Star Wars films, or even wanting to watch it again in the near future. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: C+

Memorable Quote: "I don't think you know her well enough." - Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson)

Comments

  1. Big Screen Small WordsMay 29, 2018 at 6:59 AM

    I still don't know whether I'd see this in the cinema or not. Right now, I'm leaning towards waiting for it on DVD. All the trouble this movie went through had me a bit disinterested yet curious to see how Ron Howard fared with taking over the production.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 29, 2018 at 7:14 AM

      To me it's a rental, or a cheap movie day film. You can tell a little bit which jokes were likely Ford and Miller's. I'm guessing they directed most of the beginning of the film.

      Delete
  2. s.May 29, 2018 at 11:19 AM

    Clarke used up all the chemistry on Momoa and now it's rough :) How was Woody? Was he at least in it a lot?

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    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 30, 2018 at 6:36 AM

      Woody is Woody. He's played this character several times before. He's in it a decent amount. I didn't find his character terribly interesting but he was good.

      Delete
  3. thevoid99May 29, 2018 at 3:03 PM

    I actually liked Ehrenreich as I think he got a lot of the mannerisms and cockiness of Solo dead-on. I really enjoyed any scene involving Chewie and Lando as they were fun to watch.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamMay 30, 2018 at 6:35 AM

      He was trying way too hard for me. It felt insincere.

      Delete
  4. GetterMay 31, 2018 at 9:09 AM

    I agree about Chewy having a much bigger impact emotionally during his scenes. I did like Lando though, I thought the film didn't give him enough time to shine, and they should have used Glover's charisma way more.
    Overall, meh, I mean, I wasn't a huge fan of Star Wars growing up, so for me, these new movies should be simply good (nostalgia is not part of my viewing experience with these) but so far, only Rogue One has been epic.. and has had a lot of staying power with me. Emotionally I mean. I still fucking hate how that movie ended, but that's part of what makes it good.

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 1, 2018 at 7:23 AM

      Exactly. I really felt for each and every character in Rogue One and that was missing here.

      Delete
  5. KatyMay 31, 2018 at 10:02 PM

    Nice review! My family and I are planning to see this, but my personal expectations are not that high? Shame to hear that about Alden. I'm hoping he's interesting for me, or at least Emilia/Donald are worth it. :)

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 1, 2018 at 6:48 AM

      I had pretty low expectations too and they mostly met them. The story wasn't as bad as I anticipated the most of the acting was.

      Delete
  6. BirgitJune 1, 2018 at 12:21 PM

    I want to see this film but have heard good and bad things. I am not taken with the guy playing Han Solo. I have a feeling it was too big a role for this actor.

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 2, 2018 at 6:45 AM

      It was, but I'm not sure that anyone could've properly filled Harrison's shoes.

      Delete
  7. MyerlaJune 4, 2018 at 6:17 AM

    Yep. I was utterly uninvested in the central romantic relationship. Prefered Han's relationship with a walking carpet over his romantic one.


    and yeah. Love Chewie in this.
    Though, I disliked The Last Jedi more than you did, and whilst I wouldnt say the film is better, it annoyed me less

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 4, 2018 at 9:49 AM

      lol walking carpet reference! I always forget Leia called him that.

      Delete
  8. DanielJune 4, 2018 at 12:57 PM

    Good lord, Emilia Clarke was actively bad in this. It's a shame, since her doppelganger Felicity Jones was really good in Rogue One... but I still liked Solo a good deal more than Rogue One. I had more fun with it, whereas Rogue One bored me for nearly the entire first half. As not-good as this was, it at least had verve and energy pretty much the whole way through, and I was glad for that.

    I have no clue what happened with Alden Ehrenreich, though. We know from Hail, Caesar! that he can do stylized acting, but this was... just not good. Thank God for Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge!

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    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 4, 2018 at 9:02 PM

      He was the only one keeping me awak in Hail, Caesar. I think it was just too much pressure for him.

      I feel bad for Emilia because she is capable of a good performance but her character had zero depth.

      Delete
  9. Sonia CercaJune 12, 2018 at 9:28 AM

    I passed this one mainly because I didn't like the cast of Ehrenreich. I'll check it out when it's on DVD. Nice review!

    ReplyDelete

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