Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) Review
5:16 PM
Never tell him the odds.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is directed by Ron Howard (In the Heart of the Sea) and written by Jonathan Kasdan (The First Time) and Lawrence Kasdan (Star Wars: The Force Awakens). The film stars Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Donald Glover (Atlanta). "During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion". After some production nightmares, Solo: A Star Wars Story finally hits the big screen. Was it the right decision to fire Phil Lord and Christopher Miller?
This is the first of the modern Star Wars films that I cannot defend. Despite all having a positive critical reception, The Force Awakens, Rogue One and The Last Jedi were all divisive when it came to the fans, especially the latter. Solo is the first film from this set that is truly disappointing and underwhelming. Aside from some fun moments, Solo is mostly dull and uninspired. The first act of the film is an utter disaster and the half-full (on opening night!) audience did not laugh once. If Kathleen Kennedy felt a backlash from The Last Jedi, I think she should prepare herself for things to get a lot worse. At best, Solo is serviceable. At worst, it is forgettable, unnecessary and boring.
Somehow, I went into Solo thinking it was less than two hours long. Sadly, the film runs for a tedious 135 minutes. The first 30 minutes of the film are completely rushed; so much happens in such little time. The remainder of the film is much slower. This contrast of pacing was an issue. The writers attempt to tell too much story within an already long run-time. In the first act, Han (Ehrenreich) escapes Lady Proxima (Linda Hunt), meets up with Qi'ra (Clarke), signs up to the Empire front-line, gets imprisoned (and meets Chewbacca (Suotamo)) and then joins Beckett (Harrelson) and Val (Thandie Newton) on their mission. Then the next 100 minutes sees Han, Beckett and company be sent on another mission by Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). It is hard to understand how the writers did not see this imbalance. The first act is an incoherent mess and while the film thankfully improves, it is clear that there has been a lot of studio meddling.
The terribleness of the first act does not end with the writing, the cinematography, visual effects and some of the acting are subpar. The first thing anybody watching Solo will notice is how poorly lit the film is. Solo was sold to audiences as a fun, spin-off adventure but begins as a dark and gritty snoozefest. Lady Proxima is the worst thing about this movie. I do not understand why the character was set up in the opening credits as the film's villain but only appears in one scene. I was actually happy that Lady Proxima does not return as she was realised very poorly and looked like she belongs in the infamous prequels. Linda Hunt's role was so small that it is hard to comment on her performance but the one scene we got was not good. I suspect that the first act is all of Lord and Miller's usable footage mashed together and then what follows is Howard's much more mundane vision. Even though the first act was disastrous, at least it had a distinct style.
Every time I write a review of the latest Star Wars film, I have to admit that the Kathleen Kennedy films are the only ones I have seen (this is something I am working on I promise!). Therefore, I cannot comment on Alden Ehrenreich's performance as Han Solo in comparison to Harrison Ford's portrayal. Ehrenreich's performance may just be the strongest in the entire film. The plot relies heavily on Ehrenreich and he delivers. However, despite being in one of the biggest films of the summer, Ehrenreich never screamed 'movie star' to me. There was a star quality and charm that was missing. The film adds little development to the character of Han Solo; there is nothing in Solo that audiences didn't know already or couldn't easily work out for themselves. The film details where Han met Chewie, how Han first met Lando (Glover) and his first experience flying the Millenium Falcon. The only layers the film really adds to the character are a romantic layer: Han falling for Qi'ra, and a narrative layer: he has his first encounter with the rebellion. Do these two extra layers of character development really warrant an entire spin-off film?
Weirdly, Solo never felt like a Star Wars film. If the theme tune was not played during every significant moment, Solo could pass as a generic sci-fi adventure flick. The film is absent of any signature Star Wars editing and it never feels as magical as the others. The one thing that Solo gets right is Chewbacca. The film suddenly becomes more enjoyable when he enters the story. There were some cringe-worthy moments when Han speaks Chewie's language though. Suotamo was very good. I liked that Chewie saved another Wookiee during the final action sequence. Solo proves that Chewbacca may just be the only reliable character throughout the Star Wars universe.
A pretty impressive cast has been assembled: Woody Harrelson as Beckett, Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra and Donald Glover as Lando. This trio fails to make much of an impression. Harrelson continues to give the same performance in all of his films - what got him an Oscar nomination in Three Billboards doesn't work quite as well this time. SPOILER: Beckett is revealed to be working alongside Dryden. This plot twist was completely unsurprising as earlier in the film Beckett warns Han to 'trust nobody' and anyone who has seen enough films knows that the person who says this is usually the one who should not be trusted. Clarke's performance isn't bad. Unfortunately, her character is the third brunette-white female Star Wars character in a matter of years and she is the most forgettable one yet. Clarke does have one good action scene towards the end of the film. I wish Donald Glover put as much enthusiasm and charisma into his performance as Lando as he did in his most recent music video. Glover's performance is muted and weirdly, this fan favourite character fails to make an impression.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge voices the newest Star Wars droid, L3-37. The droid is a social justice warrior. While her first few lines are funny, the joke gets old pretty quickly. L3-37 is grating and irritating. Those who called The Last Jedi's Rose one of the worst characters in Star Wars history are in for a treat. Waller-Bridge did not do enough with her performance to differentiate herself from Captain Phasma- both sounded so similar!
The Force Awakens? Derivative. The Last Jedi? Complex. Rogue One? Dark. Solo combines the flaws of all of those films to create Kathleen Kennedy's worst Star Wars outing yet. Solo is as generic, formulaic and predictable as most films in the sci-fi genre. Solo is overly complex, trying to squeeze too much story into an already overlong film. Solo is dark, especially at first. An unnecessary spin-off that warrants no reason for its existence...other than money. The casting directors have assembled arguably the most acclaimed cast yet. However, Harrelson, Clarke and Glover are never given a chance to shine (by the fault of their own and the script). Ehrenreich is good enough, but Chewbacca is the film's saving grace. The first act is awful, the second and third are slower in pace but somewhat entertaining. I hope audiences appreciate The Last Jedi more after this paint-by-numbers affair. However, I worry this is going to be more of a crowd pleaser (if so, wake up people!). If my thoughts express the general consensus...Kathleen Kennedy, may the force be with you.
50
/100
What did you think of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY? What is your favourite Kennedy-produced Star Wars film?
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3 comments
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