Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence

Score: 3 out of 5

I get the backlash against The Last Jedi. I really liked it, as did many critics, but looking at the most common points of objection to it, the critical embrace of that film (including my own) came from many of the very same things that a lot of lifelong Star Wars fans absolutely despised about it. It was not interested in meeting their expectations except to deliberately subvert them, going out of its way to either withhold answers to major questions raised in The Force Awakens or consciously give unsatisfying answers to them, all while being far more interested in separating itself from the legacy of the original trilogy. It felt like the sort of Star Wars film that would be made by somebody who read and took to heart Star Wars on Trial, a collection of essays by David Brin, Matthew Woodring Stover, and other science fiction writers debating whether or not Star Wars is a lowest-common-denominator fantasy story disguised as science fiction while pushing a elitist, authoritarian political message. In other words, the sort of film that was practically designed to rankle the fans. (Ironically, a common criticism of The Force Awakens was that it hewed too closely to the events of the original trilogy, particularly A New Hope. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose.)

Solo: A Star Wars Story, by contrast, is a lot more old-fashioned and conventional -- and by that same token, it's probably my least favorite of the recent, Disney-era Star Wars films. It's certainly the least ambitious of them; while The Force Awakens worked hard to carry the weight of being the first Star Wars film in ten years, Rogue One used its status as a side-story to show viewers a much grittier side of the galaxy far, far away, and as noted above, The Last Jedi overturned every assumption that the series was built on, Solo is two hours and fifteen minutes' worth of fanservice designed to bring back and give an origin story to a character whose history was never much of a mystery. Han Solo was a scoundrel with a heart of gold, and this film doesn't challenge that idea. Still, while I found myself wishing at times that there was a bit more to this film for me to dig into, at its core it's still a well-made sci-fi movie with a great cast, some exciting visuals, and some great call-backs, including a twist that had the guy sitting in front of me screaming out "holy shit!" multiple times.

Solo is basically the story of Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) making the Kessel Run in less than fourteen parsecs, while giving him a backstory about growing up on the shipbuilding planet of Corellia with his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke). The two of them are born to run, plotting to leave that death trap and suicide rap behind and explore the galaxy, but Qi'ra is captured by gangsters that Han screwed over to get the money. A three-year stint in the Imperial Army later (he wanted to be a pilot but washed out of flight school for insubordination), Han, together with a beastly Wookiee named Chewbacca that he rescued from his former employers, deserts his post and joins a band of thieves posing as Imperial soldiers, who have been hired to steal a shipment of coaxium fuel for a criminal syndicate called the Crimson Dawn. The job goes wrong and leaves only Han, Chewie, the droid L3-37, and the gang's leader Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) still alive, deep in debt to the Crimson Dawn's leader Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), who gives them one last chance to steal him some coaxium -- leading to Han acquiring the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and making the dangerous Kessel Run. Also along for the ride is a Crimson Dawn liaison meant to make sure they get the job done -- who, as it turns out, is Han's old flame Qi'ra.

Once you dig out all the fanservice, what you get here is a fairly straightforward crime caper/space Western that probably could've been a lot shorter than it is. The pacing was awkward, and outside of one big reveal towards the end (no spoilers), it didn't really add much to the franchise that wasn't hinted at in prior films. Its main reason for being is to bring back a popular character and show us some of his backstory. It's pure whiz-bang entertainment, without much in the way of deeper substance beyond immediate gratification, and while I was satisfied watching it, it didn't really stick in my head for very long afterwards. The fact that this film had a troubled production, with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller fired during production and Ron Howard brought in to reshoot 70% of it, was obvious, as while it worked as a finished film, it never quite clicked together with a distinct voice of its own the way that past Star Wars films seemed to have, be they George Lucas' movies or the contributions of J. J. Abrams, Gareth Edwards, or Rian Johnson. This was the first Star Wars movie that really felt like a studio product.

That said, it was still a good Star Wars movie, even if it was far from a great one. The cast are playing the sorts of roles they can do in their sleep, but they do their jobs well, with Emilia Clarke as a femme fatale, Woody Harrelson as a gruff, yet snarky, older mentor figure, Paul Bettany as a slimy villain, and Donald Glover as a slick hustler. Special props, however, go to Alden Ehrenreich as the young Han Solo. Having previously had his breakthrough in the Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar!, Ehrenreich had some gigantic shoes to fill as Han, playing one of the most famous characters to come out of Hollywood in the last fifty years, and a role made famous by a living legend at that. As it turns out, however, his character in Hail, Caesar!, a cowboy actor named Hobie Doyle, was pretty good practice for playing a figure who, if you swap out the blaster for a Colt Peacemaker and the Millennium Falcon for a horse, would fit perfectly into that classic Western hero mold. Ehrenreich not only looks the part of Han, he packs the chops as well, never feeling like he's imitating Harrison Ford but capturing much the same feel in the character. Even though the script didn't leave Han with much room to grow after the first act, Ehrenreich still shined in the role, and I expect some pretty big things from him in the future.

The Bottom Line

It wasn't really the Star Wars film we needed or even really wanted, and it felt disjointed and at least twenty minutes too long, but at the end of the day, it's still a decent Star Wars movie. It's mostly forgettable on the story front, but the cast shines, and some of the bigger twists contained within have already gotten the fans talking. Check it out in a matinee.