Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

​Solo: A Star Wars Story is a narratively uneven structure, but ultimately it's still a fast-paced space opera. Dust off the rough parts and you’re in for a ride. 

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​While, the newest Star Wars film failed to break records at the box office (possible franchise fatigue), nevertheless, it still aimed itself to be considered as a worthy tribute to the Star Wars saga. I would somewhat agree with that statement. Solo: A Star Wars Story adds in a fairly eager story about the origins of Han Solo (a wonderful Alden Ehrenreich). Although, at times, it seemed to be fighting with itself narratively speaking. The film takes a good portion of the first act before it kicks up the pace, gears, and stakes. This could be due to the creative differences between Lucasfilm and previous director’s Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street). Lord and Miller were reportedly fired about halfway through the production process. This led Disney to look for another director, who would take on the responsibility and finish the job.

That direction came into Ron Howard’s (Rush and A Beautiful Mind) hands. Howard kind of gets the job done for Solo. Guided through the rough patches, Han and his crew take flight and fight to save their own skin. In Solo, we are thrown into the dark and dangerous criminal underworld; while we also meet Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), Lando Calrissian (the fantastic Donald Glover), Qi'ra (The fierce Emilia Clarke), Beckett (a stubborn Woody Harrelson) and L3-37 – a feminist fighting droid (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge). The film really takes it into second gear, when we are introduced to Glover’s notorious Lando Calrissian at a gambling casino. Glover embodies the role as the famous former smuggler played by Billy Dee Williams back in the ‘80s. To me, Glover was the best part of this movie and kept the ball rolling. I would love to see Glover in his own standalone Star Wars adventure. 

​While, Ehrenreich also brought his own unique attributes to the role of Han. Ehrenreich’s charisma shined brightly throughout this picture. Overall, Solo is a mostly fun flick – nothing more and nothing less. There were, at times, some extremely exciting action set pieces. Like when Han and Chewie piloted the Millennium Falcon together through uncharted space, barely escaping the tentacle monster. While, at others, the film’s plot seemed at a standstill. Along, with the dark and gloomy cinematography, which was frustrating and hard to see. Unlike The Last Jedi, Solo doesn’t take the franchise into any new direction. But in the end, some would say that’s okay. So, if you check your brain out in the tickets admissions, you should enjoy this newest space opera extravaganza.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned). For sequences of sci-fi action/violence.