Movie Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 135 minutes

By now, it is well known that Solo: A Star Wars Story had several troubles behind the scenes. With the announcements of lead actor Alden Ehrenreich receiving acting lessons during filming as well as the changing of the film’s director well into filming, however, many people were expecting Solo to be a train wreck upon its arrival to theaters this weekend. How could a movie succeed with the director of the film being changed only a year before release? How could a movie possibly be enjoyable if the lead actor presumably can’t even act?

Well, first and foremost, I’d like to clear the air about one thing in particular; the casting. I’m happy to report that, whether it be because the acting lessons worked or that new director Ron Howard was able to work with him better than Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were, but Alden Ehrenreich did an excellent job at playing a young Han Solo. This Han is young, naïve, and has a certain element of idealism that the cynical Han played by Harrison Ford does not, however that doesn’t mean that these two Hans feel separate from each other. Rather, it helps to show how the character’s experiences over his life shaped him into the jaded rogue we grew to love in the original trilogy from the almost adorable dreamer he is in this film.

The next character that most people are curious about is young Lando Calrissian, portrayed by Atlanta showrunner and star Donald Glover. Fans of the series know Lando as the charismatic but shady smuggler portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in the original trilogy, and Glover channels this in his performance almost to a fault. For the first half of the movie, Lando feels more like he’s Glover doing an impression of Williams rather than the actual character, however later in the film as well as in his interactions onscreen with Ehrenreich he really shines as the stylish rogue we all love.

The rest of the casting is good; however, their characters aren’t all that notable for the simple fact that the majority of the characters introduced in this film are simply archetypes that we’ve all seen before. And while veteran actors like The Hunger Games’ Woody Harrelson and Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke make it work by performing exceptionally within the confines of their character, most of the other characters just feel like predictable stereotypes with the main villain (portrayed by Infinity Wars star Paul Bettany) being the most obvious example.

Taking into consideration the scale of this film’s plot (essentially boiling down to Han and crew attempting the infamous Kessel Run), this movie is fairly removed from the fantastic spectacle and “fate of the galaxy” type plots that many people have come to expect from the space opera series, especially since the release of The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. This separation, however, keeps the film grounded and makes for a rather low-stakes but engaging sci-fi western/heist movie. I should make sure to add that Solo isn’t completely devoid of spectacle. There are some great action sequences throughout this film, and plenty of spaceship flying moments to scratch your sci-fi itch. But compared to the massive battles that usually occur in the Star Wars franchise, this movie is pared down.

The biggest complaints I have come from the first half of the movie which is plagued by a slow start, out-of-place jokes that feel like they were written for children, and so much fanservice and callbacks to previous movies in the series that it felt like the directors were pandering for the sake of it rather than for any genuine development in the plot. However, the story eventually hits a stride that carries through into the climax and ending of the film, and by the time the credits roll I think most people will be happy with what they viewed.

Solo: A Star Wars Story isn’t the high-stakes space opera that common of most entries in the series, but it is an enjoyable film that die-hard fans and casual audiences can all enjoy once the story gets going. It’s by no means the best movie in the franchise, but it’s absolutely not the worst either by any stretch of the imagination. In the end, due to being bogged down by generally flat and predictable characters as well as a slow and cluttered start, the movie cements itself as an average flick that doesn’t do anything to elevate it to the level of some of its predecessors.