If you read my Rogue One review, you’d guess that I’m probably not a fan of the ‘Star Wars Story films’; making spin-off movies from the original slate of movies and squeezing them between the timelines isn’t exactly my idea of taking the franchise forward, as I’d generally prefer stories unrelated to the Skywalker legacy. For me, finding stories that place before or after the Skywalkers would have been the way to go.
Ergo, I won’t sit here and pretend that I wanted a movie about the origins of Han Solo. So, when I heard there was going to be one, I wasn’t exactly jumping for joy, the casting choices for the lead character came out, and wasn’t particularly encouraging either, although I was rooting for Ansel Elgort (aka An Solo his self-styled musical alias). Guy looked like a young Harrison Ford (sort of) and I’d seen him in a couple of films before, he definitely had the acting chops to be a young Solo. So imagine my further disappointment when he didn’t get the role. After that, any anticipation I had for the film was pretty much Lukewarm and I really had no expectations for it. That it seems, turned out to be a good thing.
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS
Solo is without a doubt the most lighthearted Star Wars film to date, it doesn’t dabble in philosophy, politics or ‘the force’ , it isn’t as ‘deep’ as any of its predecessors which in my opinion suits the tone of the galaxy’s most charming smuggler. It’s a really fun movie, and since you don’t need any prior knowledge of the Star Wars mythos to enjoy it, it’s probably the one Star Wars film that will appeal to those who don’t know anything about Star Wars and fans alike. Solo wasn’t a necessary addition to the franchise but we’ll take it as it is.
Al Solo
As mentioned earlier Alden Ehrenreich would not have been my first choice for the lead character,(that would have been Anthony Ingruber, just look at this) but the powers that be considered him the man for the job, and admittedly he did a fine job of it. he’s a charmer and he definitely charmed his way into the role, which is a very Han Solo thing to do, through the course of the film any doubts I had about the actor were more or less put to bed, he was quite believable, It also made sense that Han's backstory would be that of a self determined street kid making his way out of the gutters using his streetwise savvy and charm to make a better life for himself and his friend Qira.
I was quite disappointed at the origins of his name though, would it have been too much to ask that it was his birth name and not one randomly given by a random empire officer. I don’t know about you but I didn’t like it much, The word 'Solo' didn't have to mean the same thing in a galaxy far far away. At the end of it I think Alden gave a good account of himself and completely won me over.
Qira, Mother of Mystery
The beautiful Emilia Clarke plays the enigmatic Qira, Han’s childhood friend and love interest. I really liked the character, although there’s so much about her that goes unresolved, the film never really digs into her past after she and Han get separated and she generally waves it off saying by she’s done ‘things’ that Han wouldn’t agree with. She’s shown to have a tactical skill set necessary for espionage and her showdown with Dryden Vos reveal that she’s quite skilled at combat insinuating that she’s probably done it a lot of times with much success. Her leaving Han and (breaking his heart to a thousand pieces!), also sets up a basis for Han’s philandering lifestyle until a certain princess comes along. If her story will get fleshed out more in further sequels is yet to be known, but I would really like to know what happens to her after going to meet the Dathomirian in the hologram which we'll get to in a moment.
Chewie
Like any other successful tag team in history, you can't tell a story about one without the other and as Solo dives into Han Solo's past it inadvertently gives us a slice of Millenium Falcon first mate Chewbacca's. We might not know how it came to be that Han's furry sidekick came to be thrown in a pit and used for sport, but we're fine with that. However, Solo does give us a little insight into Chewbacca's motives and why he and Han, both wanderers without a family inevitably became one.
This is Calrissian
Donald Glover’s interpretation of a young Lando Calrissian is quite apt and his love hate-hate relationship with Han Hen is reignited to amusing outcomes. Han’s charming devil-may-care, I’m making this up as I go along attitude is a huge contrast to Lando’s suave, neat and organized demeanor which makes the ruffling of his feathers capes that more amusing. At the end of SOLO, Han is easily Lando’s least favourite person in the galaxy.
Also, what would Star Wars be without droids? Certainly not Star Wars I’ll tell you that. Solo continued with the long droid tradition with L3-37, a leggy, feisty, opinionated, pro-equal rights droid who serves as Lando’s first mate on the Millenium Falcon. L3-37 isn’t like any droid we’ve seen in the series, being the first female voiced droid in the films (droids are without sex of course), which sounds like the kind of thing Lando would have installed for his listening pleasure.
Woody Harrelson’s older scoundrel Tobias Beckett recruits Han and Chewie to his smalltime band of thieves which include Val (Thandie Newton) and Rio Durant (Jon Favreau) early death, but they are cut down back to size after their first mission is interrupted by Enfys Nest. Val and Rio don’t make it past that point which I consider an underutilization of the actors and their characters, a midway appearance by these two would have certainly made for some great scenes, but we’ll never know now. Beckett serves as a father figure, mentor type to Han and we see where many of Han's future attitudes come from.
Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos, the leader of criminal outfit Crimson Dawn is a genuinely threatening guy, you know the type; don’t look like much, but are way worse than they look, capable of a lot more than the likes of Jabba the Hutt. I really dug how is scars and eyes went red when he was angry (totally cool), all in all for a one off villain, he was quite appropriate.
Now let's talk about that cameo. My first thought after the cloaked hologram removed his hood was ‘oh shit it’s Darth Maul!’ but my mate seated next to me was quick to pull up the Star Wars timeline. For the uninitiated Darth Maul is a bad-ass Sith Lord who first appears in Episode I: The Phantom Menace, which takes place years before SOLO, and is killed in that film by Obi Wan Kenobi, not just killed, but fucking bisected! (Just look at the image above, I mean there’s no coming back from that, right?) You don’t survive that even if you’re from a galaxy far, far away (not unless you’re Deadpool), and even if he miraculously survived, Darth Vader is the current Sith apprentice to the emperor at the time, so unless I’m missing something from the other cannon between Episodes I: A New Hope and Episode V: Attack of the Clones, that can’t be Darth Maul can it? Either way it would seem I have some more catching up to do with Star Wars lore.
Speaking of lore, what about that of the Millenium Falcon? The Kessel Run which Han boasts of through the duration of the series is finally brought to life and I liked how it wasn’t some big spectated event in the movie as it kinda explains Han’s never-waning confidence in his and the Millennium Falcon’s abilities and everybody else’s (except those who witnessed it; being only Chewie and Lando by the time a New Hope rolls around) skepticism towards this invisible accolade, making Han’s boast about ‘the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs’ in A New Hope, a very Han thing to do, I mean if nobody’s gonna blow your trumpet you might as well do it yourself right?
SOLO:A Star wars story was a really fun movie, different from any of its predecessors, it isn't reliant on the other films and is purely enough by itself. The dark themes of the other films aren't anywhere near this and it's it lighthearted, fun, approach that make it a joy to watch, and I'm genuinely interested in a Solo trilogy now, if anything, to find out what happens to Qira and if that was Darth Maul (seriously it's killing me).
RejectRating: 7/10
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