This is where the list gets a little bit dicey…
Coming off the heels of the most polarizing ‘Star Wars’ movie to date (The Last Jedi), fans weren’t necessarily dying to head back into theaters to see Solo: A Star Wars Story. Not to mention, this movie was released in May–only five months after Episode VIII. Had it been released in December like every other ‘Star Wars’ movie under Disney, then, perhaps, fans could’ve cooled off a bit before settling back into their seats. Instead, the ‘Star Wars’ fanbase was still in the midst of a Civil War, fighting over whether or not Luke really should’ve milked that sea-cow (we’ll discuss this later down the road). The quick turnaround also meant there wasn’t a whole lot of time for marketing; the first trailer for this film was released just three months prior to the movie’s release! It was already a movie nobody had asked for, and the marketing did nothing to make people excited to watch the finished product. Oh, and the original directors were fired right in the middle of production, so they had to bring in a new director and re-shoot roughly 90% of the film. As you can probably tell, the buildup to this movie was disastrous. Consequently, the expectations for the film were not high, in the slightest. Solo exceeded those expectations, but it’s safe to say that statement doesn’t really mean a whole lot. Let’s get into it.
*WARNING* THIS IS A LONG REVIEW
Story: 7
This is the first ‘Star Wars’ movie where, after watching it, I sat back and thought to myself, “Ok…cool”. I wasn’t thinking “HOLY COW” or “My goodness, that was bad”. It was fine; I was content. It was intended to be a fun summer movie and nothing more. I, of course, had a problem with this, considering I believe ‘Star Wars’ has always been and should always be a spectacle; this movie was not created to be that way. But, they had a vision, and they executed it. At the end of the day, I gotta give them credit. The story is a heist story, which is something unique that we hadn’t fully seen before in the ‘Star Wars’ universe. I thought the movie was more of a heist film with a ‘Star Wars’ spin to it rather than a ‘Star Wars’ film with a heist spin to it (if that makes sense), but the plot was still really enjoyable. Getting to see a different side of ‘Star Wars’ (particularly the criminal underworld) was probably the most enjoyable part. However, there’s nothing about this story that stands out. In other words, there’s nothing groundbreaking that happens in this movie–nothing that justifies why Disney went through so much trouble to make it. Yeah, we got to see Han Solo’s origins, but we didn’t need to at all. If you were to take this movie out of the Star Wars universe, everything would be exactly the same. The plot and the film, as a whole, just lack a clear objective, which is why I can’t give it more points.
Characters: 8
I want to start off by saying that every actor in this movie is phenomenal when it comes to portraying their character. Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover, especially, did a great job of portraying the already-beloved characters of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. In regards to Ehrenreich’s Han Solo, though, I did not understand where exactly Lucasfilm wanted the character to go. Did they want to show how he became the Han Solo we meet in A New Hope? If so, they missed the mark there. Did they want to show Han Solo’s origins? If so, then why does the movie end by setting up A New Hope? Again, this goes back to the lack of a clear objective. Not to mention, Han Solo is somewhat overshadowed at times in this film, and Han Solo should never be overshadowed. He is who everybody should automatically be drawn to because you never know what he’s going to do next. This flaw wasn’t due to Ehrenreich’s performance; this is solely a writing issue. That’s my only gripe with characters, though. All are very fun to watch on screen (with the exception of L3-37, in my opinion), and Qi’ra is one of the most complex characters I’ve ever seen in a Star Wars movie. I fell in love with her and her arc.
Locations: 5
This is hands down the worst ‘Star Wars’ movie in terms of planets. In the prequel trilogy, the planets were all, for the most part, heavily CGI, but they were still eye-catching and memorable. The locations we go to in this film feel real, but they are the most boring and forgettable planets in ‘Star Wars’ history. Corellia was pretty interesting, but we leave that planet after the first ten minutes. Kessel was pretty interesting, too, but we spend so little time there, as well. And here’s a real test as to how poor the planets are: This is the first ‘Star Wars’ movie that I walked out of not knowing every planet’s name. I knew Corellia, Kessel, and that was it. The planets are not made out to be these huge set pieces in the story, and they’re not very original, either. We go to a snow planet, which we’ve already seen with both Hoth and Starkiller Base, and we go to a sand planet, which we’ve already seen with Tatooine and Jakku. The lack of cool planets was the biggest letdown of the movie for me, by far.
Kessel
Humor: 7
It’s alright. Lots of the humor derives from nostalgia. As a fan of the franchise, I enjoyed it, but I could see why a newcomer to the ‘Star Wars’ universe wouldn’t find this movie to be very funny. There is one joke from L3-37 that I absolutely hated, and it’s a big reason why I was not a fan of her character. The joke refers to a time (or times) where Lando and L3 “got it on”, even though L3 is a droid. This totally changes the makeup of a well-established, beloved character in Lando Calrissian, and I don’t think that’s right at all.
Score: 6
This is not a memorable score. There were some nice nods to past themes (like the “Asteroid Field” riff from The Empire Strikes Back), but nothing new is brought to the table here. Sure, John Williams didn’t compose music for the film, so it’s natural for the movie to have a relatively inferior score. Although, Michael Giacchino was given less than a month to compose the music for Rogue One and it was incredible. This score was just mediocre.
Pacing: 9
I’m giving this movie such a high score in the pacing category solely because of what they had to go through to produce this film. With a production process as hectic as this one was, Ron Howard was still able to produce a highly cohesive film. As stated earlier, roughly 90% of the movie was re-shot, which means there was still 10% of the movie that was shot by original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Howard was able to mesh his work with the work left over from Lord and Miller, and he was able to, overall, put a movie together that flows very nicely.
Dialogue: 7
There’s nothing super special about the dialogue. There are no lines that really stick out in my mind as awesome ‘Star Wars’ quotes. The conversations between Han and Lando are intriguing to see play out. The deep moments between Han and Qi’ra are also very well-written. But, as a whole, it’s just alright.
Action: 8
I was surprised by the quality of the action in this movie. This was the first ‘Star Wars’ movie where a lightsaber was not used in combat. The only battles that occurred were with blasters, and these battles were executed very well. The best action in the movie, though, comes from the Millenium Falcon. In my opinion, the Kessel Run is the greatest action scene in the film. This is due, in large part, to the versatility of the Millenium Falcon and the way the ship was caught on camera. It complements the overall legend of the Falcon in exciting fashion.
Cinematography: 7
There are some really amazing shots in this film. They’re not iconic, but they’re visually appealing, to say the least. But the movie, in many parts, is actually too dark due to the lighting of the sets. Some audiences even complained about the movie because they could barely make out what was happening on screen; they couldn’t see the characters! As a result of this, I have to deduct some points.
Moments: 7
This movie really only has two ‘Star Wars’ moments. The aforementioned Kessel Run is a cool scene, but if you were to ask 100 ‘Star Wars’ fans what their favorite moment in the series is, I guarantee you 0% of them would say the Kessel Run. The biggest moment in the movie is not this scene, though, as it is actually an appearance from Darth Maul (now just referred to as Maul) in the final ten minutes. He is revealed as the leader of the biggest crime syndicate in the galaxy, and he is also revealed to still, in fact, be alive after being sliced in half by Obi-Wan’s lightsaber in Episode I. This could serve as a teaser for some huge ‘Star Wars’ projects in the future, but regardless, it is great to see Maul (who had been re-introduced as a survivor strictly on television) back on the big screen.