Han and his best friend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) were scavengers on the grungy planet Corellia. They try to escape their employers by joining the Imperial Navy, but only Han gets free. Years later, Han's ego demotes him to the Imperial Infantry. He later meets a smuggler crew led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). They plan to steal a shipment of Coaxium, a MacGuffin hyper fuel. Han joins their mission along with Chewbacca, who he meets on the way.
The mission goes awry and the crew find themselves in trouble. Their employer, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), a crime boss of the Crimson Dawn syndicate, wants to cut his losses by cutting them. They'll have to find another source of Coaxium and fast. Fortunately, suave smuggler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and his ship, the Millennium Falcon, are here to help. As is Qi'ra, who happens to be Vos's trusted lieutenant. But can anybody be trusted?
Director Ron Howard came aboard after the original choices, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, fell out with Lucasfilm. Their comedic style is evident throughout the film especially in a gritty war scene early on. The tone set by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan's script doesn't fluctuate too badly. The film's revelations of treachery and double-doublecrossing were hard to follow. There's a subplot involving "space pirates" that could've been improved with one more scene with them. A few scenes made the film's 135 minutes feel longer than they were.
Ehrenreich was an admirable choice for Han Solo. He's charming and quick-witted but he knows when to be serious. Glover was even better as Lando; his slick demeanor is entertaining and endearing. Lando's right-hand droid, L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), made for the film's best new character. Tobias Beckett made for a fun mentor. Rio Durant (Jon Favreau) made for another memorable character who bit it too soon.
The film's technical standards are alive and well. Its best set piece is the fabled Kessel Run, which involves fleeing from a giant space squid. Cinematographer Bradford Young makes the space encounter perfectly nightmarish. This ought to make an intense ride on Disneyland. On the other hand, the initial coaxium heist was rapidly edited to blurry results. Still, the other action scenes edited by Pietro Scalia were amazing and comprehensive. John Powell's soundtrack mixes in a strong original score and bits of John Williams's classic themes.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is a good space adventure. It's not a milestone in filmmaking but it'll entertain you for an afternoon. It's amazingly cohesive given all the turmoil it experienced. I'm not demanding a sequel but I'd like an explanation for a long dead character's sudden return here. You'll be surprised when you see him. Let's hope Episode Nine will wrap up the main saga, again, in a triumphant way. That'll come in December of next year.
The mission goes awry and the crew find themselves in trouble. Their employer, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), a crime boss of the Crimson Dawn syndicate, wants to cut his losses by cutting them. They'll have to find another source of Coaxium and fast. Fortunately, suave smuggler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and his ship, the Millennium Falcon, are here to help. As is Qi'ra, who happens to be Vos's trusted lieutenant. But can anybody be trusted?
Director Ron Howard came aboard after the original choices, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, fell out with Lucasfilm. Their comedic style is evident throughout the film especially in a gritty war scene early on. The tone set by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan's script doesn't fluctuate too badly. The film's revelations of treachery and double-doublecrossing were hard to follow. There's a subplot involving "space pirates" that could've been improved with one more scene with them. A few scenes made the film's 135 minutes feel longer than they were.
Ehrenreich was an admirable choice for Han Solo. He's charming and quick-witted but he knows when to be serious. Glover was even better as Lando; his slick demeanor is entertaining and endearing. Lando's right-hand droid, L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), made for the film's best new character. Tobias Beckett made for a fun mentor. Rio Durant (Jon Favreau) made for another memorable character who bit it too soon.
The film's technical standards are alive and well. Its best set piece is the fabled Kessel Run, which involves fleeing from a giant space squid. Cinematographer Bradford Young makes the space encounter perfectly nightmarish. This ought to make an intense ride on Disneyland. On the other hand, the initial coaxium heist was rapidly edited to blurry results. Still, the other action scenes edited by Pietro Scalia were amazing and comprehensive. John Powell's soundtrack mixes in a strong original score and bits of John Williams's classic themes.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is a good space adventure. It's not a milestone in filmmaking but it'll entertain you for an afternoon. It's amazingly cohesive given all the turmoil it experienced. I'm not demanding a sequel but I'd like an explanation for a long dead character's sudden return here. You'll be surprised when you see him. Let's hope Episode Nine will wrap up the main saga, again, in a triumphant way. That'll come in December of next year.
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