Solo: A Star Wars Story

Better than I feared it would be, Solo is a different type of star wars film, which I welcome. No lightsabres, no mention of the force, and no big climactic battle. Alden Ehrenreich is passable as Solo,I found myself warming to him towards the end. Emilia Clarke is completely wooden and the most memorable thing about Woody Harrelson is his bad wig. Effects are excellent as you would expect, the set pieces (train heist, kessel run and the end fight with Paul Bettany are good. Only the middlesags because of Clarke's poor acting. Worth a watch

Finally went to see Solo in his first...solo. I had reservations going in (1) I had heard ticket sales were sub par. (2) I questioned the casting of the lead role (we'll get to that later). I tried to keep an open mind to let the film stand on its own merit. It was a pretty solid summer sci-fi action film that had some laughs with some likeable characters that reasonably fits in the Star Wars mythology. The movie was predictable in the sense that it's a prequel and many points of story progression are predetermined. That being said, these points are woven into a story that flowed well that I actually had fun watching. This movie is a solid 7. My biggest reservation was and is Alden Ehrenreich. His depiction of Han Solo is not terrible but is rather dry and lacks the charm and wit of his predecessor Harrison Ford. We can't help but make that comparison and those are tough shoes to fill. I was admittedly jaded going in as there is a Star Wars fan film on YouTube called Han Solo: A Smuggler's Trade where the actor is the personification of a young Harrison Ford. He captures all the nuances and mannerisms of Han Solo and his depiction is on point. If there are any sequels to this prequel, maybe Ehrenreich can grow into the role and own it.

Because more than 2000 folks have already reviewed this film on IMDB, I'll keep my review very brief. After all...what's one more review among so many?!

The movie was a bit of a shock when I found it, as somehow I really didn't hear much about it and I wasn't even sure if it had yet debuted. Much of this is because after so many "Star Wars" films, I find that a sort of fatigue has set in...much like how I feel about all the super hero films. But, as I was on a 13+ hour flight, I wasn't in a position to be picky and decided to watch the movie.

I was surprised to read that the movie is only rated 7.0 (meaning it must have ticked off a lot of fans) and really made almost nothing at the box office. Much of this is because I actually enjoyed the picture...and more than I'd expected. The story about the young Han Solo is exciting throughout and I also appreciated its dark tone and willingness to kill off characters (much like the previous installment)...but perhaps this is why fans were not so impressed by this one. All I know is that I liked seeing a darker film and it kept my interest throughout.

It doesn't deserve the hate. It's actually really good. It does exactly what it's supposed to do. I think it's revolutionary for star wars,let me explain. This is a very different movie than the rest of the star wars movies. There are no lightsabers (well except that one time) and there is no darth vader or Luke skywalker, there isn't a fight between good and evil, it's more of fight between thieves. That causes that this movie feels very different, it almost feels like this is not a star wars movie. And that's great. A great change of pace. It feels more like a cowboy space adventure, which is something the mandalorian got praised for, but that series came out after this movie, so I guess that makes it kinda revolutionary, in terms of star wars movies. This is really cool. I like it. It's better than rise of skywalker so... One thing though: that L3 robot. I hated her, she comes up with the lamest jokes and serves no purpose in the story other than some weird "love story"????

For anyone who feels discouraged by the reviews, I tell you this: They're not complaining about the movie, they're complaining because they feel abused by a continous stream of movies from a beloved franchise. It seems ironic, I know, but having nothing for so long and suddenly watching different posters every six months, has to be confusing and bound to raise some eyebrows. However, we have to look at it as objectively and simple as possible: If you love movies, you want to watch as many movies as you can. And if you love Star Wars, you love to experience the Star Wars' story! So all of this backlash for having so much of the thing you love is simply a tantrum that I hate to see on so many of my fellow Star Wars' fans.

This a very well made film that anyone can enjoy. Plot, acting, FX, Photography, Cast, etc. They did a great job with everything. Taking into account the enourmous pressure of making a film from such a historical franchise, I take my hat off for anyone who has the bravery to do this.

So, go and watch it, not with skepticisim, but with that natural feeling of curiousity and love you have every time you sit at the movie theater. I promise, you'll be pleased.