The good news about “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is that Alden Ehrenreich does not make a terrible Han Solo. The bad news, however, is that the plot is unremarkable. “Solo” is the worst of the Disney Star Wars movies so far. Spoilers ahead.
Han Solo
The film did not need to spend time on Han’s origin as a thief/slave. I believe the concept for him, but we see this story for every Star Wars character. The speeder chase was also low-stakes and terrible. Podracing in “A Phantom Menace” looked better.
I do not like that an Imperial officer gave Han his last name “Solo.” Han hates the Empire so bad, that he would not keep their suggestion. I would rather Han come up with the name himself. Also, tell me more about Han being a pain in the Imperial military’s backside. Why did we have to skip past all of that story!?
I can appreciate what this film did with the gold dice last shown in “The Last Jedi” and how the films build on each other.
Thanks for fixing the parsec error from “A New Hope” (look it up), but the Kessel Run should’ve felt more like a race or competition.
Qi’ra
Han has a girl he loves. They are both slaves who try to escape their planet, but only Han makes it. He vows to get money and go back to save the girl. The odds of Han running into this old flame on another planet seem really low.
Perhaps the film could have introduced the character Qi’ra as a criminal that Han met through the job, fell in love with, and thought he could rescue from slavery.
Emilia Clarke played the role just fine and I was okay with the character betraying Han, though the betrayal would’ve been better face-to-face.
Chewbacca
Was Chewie about to eat Han? Is this what happened to other Imperial deserters (they became dessert)?I’m not sure how I feel about this idea.
I liked that Han spoke “Wookie” to calm Chewie down. That said, I didn’t need to hear that much Wookie language from Han — I almost started having PTSD from the Star Wars Holiday Special.
Most everything with Chewbacca was good. We saw him rip someone’s arms off (fulfilling the “A New Hope” reference). We even saw he hates losing at the on-ship board game (also seen in “A New Hope”). That said, we needed more of him.
This film should’ve been “When Han Met Chewie” with the duo bound together for life. Perhaps the film would be better if it begun with the two. Imagine Han as a (crappy) Imperial soldier who chooses to save Chewie and some other Wookies instead of doing his job of killing or enslaving them.
L3-37
I remember the line, “We don’t serve their kind here,” in “A New Hope.” In that particular scene a bartender made R2D2 and C3P0 go outside because they were droids.
I love the idea of fleshing out other creature’s hate of droids and their slavery. [What if this concept also tied to the “Clone Wars” and how the Droid Army impacted the galaxy!]
While I love the concept, I hate L3-37 and how she approaches such social commentary. She is so loud. I want to know: Is she owned by Lando or is she free? Did he free her and has she only stayed around because she likes him? What does Lando feel about droids? How does the other crew members feel about droids? These are questions the story should’ve fleshed out. When L3-37 starts a droid rebellion at a mining camp, it is used for comedic effect. This seems disrespectful to what commentary such a plot could provide.
When L3-37 is shot and is dying, Lando is heartbroken. I might have felt something if I actually understood their relationship better. I did like the idea of her becoming part of the Millennium Falcon at the end. Too bad Lando lost the ship to Han!
Lando Calrissian
Donald Glover did a fantastic job — we needed more of Lando in the story. I like that he cheated Han and then Han cheated him right back. I hope we see more of this character in the future.
Tobias Beckett
Beckett is well-played by Woody Harrelson. I wish the character became more of a father-figure for Han before betraying him. This would make the deception more devastating for Han. Also, Beckett got over the death of his wife extremely quickly.
This film did establish that Han shoots first, a detail I loved. Beckett was dead before he could even think to shoot. Good job.
Dryden Vos
Vos is played by Paul Bettany and is effectively villainous. He needed more screen-time and more tie into the evil of the Empire.
Cloud Riders
This group of fuel-stealing enemies, turned good-guys, was a waste of screen time. Han’s decision to help them seemed unbelievable.
Darth Maul
I like the idea of Maul coming back. That said, the animation was not great. He had to show off his lightsaber in the hologram because… why?
Fingers-crossed this is foreshadowing an Obi-wan film where ‘old Ben’ has to come out of hiding to fight his longtime enemy!
Final Thoughts
I fear Disney is creating Star Wars movies fast, but without the same imagination as George Lucas. Stop selling us stories about spaceship fuel (cough, cough, “The Last Jedi”)!
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