Reviewing: 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'
05:26
Directed by Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton
For those who follow my blog closely, you'll know how passionate I was in my distaste for Disney's firing of Phil Lord and Chris Miller from Solo back last year, in which Ron Howard took over the project. The pair of them are two of the most talented director duo's around so I was pretty excited for the movie until this happened. Ron Howard is a great filmmaker and all, but my anger towards Kathleen Kennedy and Disney for doing this really put me down. But alas, we are here, the movie that nobody ever asked for (nobody asked for a movie about the team of rebels who stole the Death Star plans either, but we still have Rogue One) has finally hit our cinema screens. So, is it a colossal mess? Surprisingly to say, no. But at the same time, Solo: A Star Wars Story has much to be desired.
The film tells the story of a young Han Solo (Ehrenreich) who's aspirations to be the best pilot in the galaxy put him in a predicament along with a group of criminals, in particular a man named Beckett (Harrelson) whom with which a heist is planned to save their skin from the ruthless gangster Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Along the way we meet Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) Qi'ra (Clarke) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) who become part of the team, and the first crew of the Millennium Falcon.
One thing I was really worried about with this film was that it would be really inconsistent in tone. Considering the production disasters that happened, this could have been two different movies put into one. Thankfully, I was pleased to see that Howard took the work already done by Lord and Miller and made sure that it was indeed the same film throughout. The humour is naff however, and when it is funny I'd like to say thats the work of Lord and Miller, but it is hard to tell. Ehrenreich is great as Han Solo. Many feared his performance but I have to say he really excels and comes into his own. He captures the heart of the character and the charisma to boot, and he feels like a different character all the same - which is good! Harrelson and Clarke are great too as supporting characters, but if there is one performance in particular I loved, it has to be Glover's Lando - who is honest to god the best. I've seen people saying that he's doing an impression of Billy Dee Williams, which is to be expected no? He does a great impression all the same. The best scenes in the movie are the ones between him and Han, such as their first meeting, which really put a smile on my face, a big one.
There are other great scenes too, including one where we see Han as an Imperial solider, and it's so pleasing to look at. There's some nice cinematography now and again too, providing some really interesting shots unbeknown to the Star Wars films. But... this is where we start to run out of things to say that are positive. You see this film is very consistent as I said, but that can also be a bad thing, as the writing in this film is consistently awful. Other than the Han and Lando bits and some moments here and there, the writing is so poorly done and just pandering to fans who don't want the pandering at all. Classic Han Solo lines and quips are redone in the film and it's the equivalent to Ehrenreich breaking the fourth wall and telling the audience that they just made a reference to the original trilogy. The thing is - while I liked a lot about the movie it's hard to really say things I really really remember about it. It's just very forgettable in places. And with some piss poor pacing too it's does end up feeling like a drag a lot of the time. And the thing that annoyed me most of all was how the ending was executed. One thing I liked was how the film managed to craft it's own identity - where it didn't feel like a Star Wars movie. That was great! Until the ending, where an obnoxious cameo and and the leaving out of important character information is left out in the hopes for a sequel - which I, and I know a lot of other people, do not want at all.
In conclusion, Solo is a very so-so film. Howard steers it in a comfortable direction after it's development hell but he only just lifts it up enough before it comes crashing down again. It is watchable sure, and it's a great breath of fresh air after the mess that was The Last Jedi, but at the same time this could have been something much better, if only the studio hadn't stuck their big ugly faces in it.
3/5
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