But if The Force Awakens understood anything, it's that Han had very little left to go at that point, sending him off on a fitting, but bittersweet note. So what do you do after one of your star characters has been killed off? In the case of Solo, the second in Disney's Star Wars Story anthology series, take us back to the past and show the origins of the infamous cad. And in all honesty, this is one step too far, because in an attempt to give a character more depth, they've actually made him less intriguing as a result.
Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) is a wayward petty thief from the planet of Corellia, wandering from planet and job to the next to scrape by. By chance, he soon ends up in the crew and company of smuggler Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), and joined by Wookie prisoner Chewbacca (Joonas Suotomo). Eager to square a debt with Crimson Dawn kingpin Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), Solo and Beckett form a new crew including Han's former lover Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), charismatic hustler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), and his droid companion L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), outrunning rival space pirates and the Empire to secure the cargo they need to collect their payment.
Cynical as it is to say, Solo almost feels like a preemptive apology for The Last Jedi, which became a heavily divisive film for toying with the fabric of Star Wars and for its political nature, with much of the fan outrage becoming very vindictive in nature. In contrast to the serious mood and massive paradigm shifts employed in Rian Johnson's film, Solo resorts back to that of a safer, more lighthearted product placing heavy emphasis on the action, shifting gears midway through production under the lead of Ron Howard. So what we're left with is a film that adds nothing new to the lore of Star Wars, but at least has the promise of being a crowdpleasing good time. However, I'm not sure that Solo achieves even that, and while I do remember having some fun watching it, I was really put off with just how uneventful this film is, especially in regards to its main character.
Solo himself may be one of the weaker examples of the kind of quality control present in this film, specifically Alden "Would that it were so simple" Ehrenreich's central performance. Given that the entire movie revolves around his ability to emulate Ford and fill the void left by his absence, Ehrenreich is given the unenviable task of carrying the entire film on his shoulders, which he does with mixed results, at points spot on at recreating Ford's charm and signature ticks, but at other times devolving into vapid imitation, while attempting to put his own spin on the character, and it makes you wish Ehrenreich had tried to stay closer to one intention or the other.
But a greater problem lies with series mainstay screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who succumbs to a bad case of prequelitis. Because the film deals so extensively with Han's origins, the film plays really fast and loose with setting up how some of his most famous exploits and traits came to be. This really backfires on the film, because so much of his intrigue has come from the shady mystery behind his past, and it feels like this film defangs him in that way. Because you know what we weren't asking ourselves? We weren't asking how Han got his last name, which the film establishes here in such a ridiculously cheesy fashion. We weren't asking how he eventually wound up with Jabba, how exactly he made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, or where the dice from The Last Jedi came from (Yeah, those are back, and it makes no sense why they bring it back). Not only that, but the flow of events inadvertently causes its own continuity issues, as it makes character connections feel less meaningful in the long term.
This even extends into his love interest Qi'ra, who holds not a candle to Leia in matching or surpassing him as a compelling sparring partner. Through much of the movie, there's actually not that much to really differentiate her from Rey or Jyn, given that she carries so much leftover influence from them both, with only hints of her doing despicable things to survive being tossed around on occasion, but is so tangential as to be irrelevant, and even Emilia Clarke's charm can't do much to elevate it. Same can be said for Paul Bettany, here as scarred criminal overlord Dryden Vos, who feels like a pasted on addition to give the heroes a final conflict.
Much more compelling a character is Beckett, given life by the naturally charming but cynical demeanor of Woody Harrelson. One could see their mentorship as a much darker take on Obi-Wan and Luke, given that so much of the lessons passed down from Beckett come to shape the man Han will ultimately become, a man who's seen it all, experienced it all, and lost it all witnessing first hand the cruelty within the galaxy. When Beckett tells Han to assume everyone will betray him, it hits like a piercing stab of sad truth, knowing too well the all too predictable and disappointing rate of human error, and you almost wish the movie were about him instead.
Other faces make an appearance, some new and some familiar. Obviously Chewie has to be here to make for some of the best bonding moments of the movie, but Donald Glover's spot on impersonation of Billy Dee Williams as Lando is the most consistently scene stealing, bringing with him a suave command and allure as he misdirects your attention to his benefit. At his side is L3, who mainly exists as a form of comic relief, especially since she becomes the most overtly political character of the film, with this amusing recurring gag of equal rights for droids, but humorous as she is, and enthused Phoebe Waller-Bridge may be, she still falls short to Rogue One's K-2SO. But not all characters are as strong, with Westworld's Thandie Newton as another member of Beckett's crew, and whatever potential this character has is swept under the rug in all too unceremonious a fashion.
But none of that means it's a *bad* film by any means. As always, it is a Star Wars film, so every cent of the budget is clearly on screen, as it makes use of the best technicians that Kathleen Kennedy can assemble. All of the elements are top of the line, from lavish sets, costumes, makeup, sound design, and music (featuring new material by John Williams, and rounded out spectacularly by John Powell). But once again, its the insane talents of the visual effects team who steal the show, with not a deceased mo-cap character in sight. The latest Disney-Star Wars film have made some impressive feats in practical effects, but Solo may be some of the most staggering yet, especially in regards to the puppetry and creature effects. So just on a level of superficial visual pleasures, the film can be enjoyable.
But the action isn't as staggering, nor the draggy pace all throughout. At well over two hours, Solo could stand to lose some footage, especially with how easy it is for it to run on fumes, and spin its wheels on needless fluff. But the action is the real disappointment, as it takes a very long time for it to get in top gear, and while they are technically competent and well produced, the severe lack of any true emotional investment means they lack impact. It feels like the film is throwing so much at you, all just to find out what sticks, and strangely enough peaks way too early on, as the movie takes a detour into a high speed chase through the thick clouds and gravity fields over Kessel, and by comparison the climax feels very limp and cheap.
But making a return from Rogue One is the fan service on display, some of which don't make sense at best, and are pure pandering at worst. It all makes these spin-off films feel less like canon, and more like nine-digit budget fan-fiction, even leaving threads open for a potential sub-franchise. Obviously, we'll never know what was lost in the transition from Phil Lord and Chris Miller to Ron Howard, but for a film that was touted as veering Star Wars into a more Western landscape... that intention was completely lost on me.
So I'm conflicted. As a huge Star Wars fan, I want to give this movie much better regards than I did, and with how over the moon I was with The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, I hoped these anthology movies would be a nice appetizer inbetween. Instead, they're just kind of sapping away the novelty of seeing a new Star Wars movie in theaters. I see all this effort gone into this movie, at times too much effort, and I see all these people so excited to be bringing it to life, but when I finally experience it, I just feel tired. It had real promise, and it did have its fun bits, but I doubt It'll stay in my mind for very long after this. I don't hate it. I just feel... nothing, and for Star Wars, that's just not good enough.
That's not to say I'll ever be deterred from a new entry, but once Disney has closed the book on Rey's chapter of the saga, I can only hope the studio takes a rest before going back to the well. What you did was great, kid, but don't get cocky...
**1/2 / *****
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