Admissions on… “Solo: A Star Wars Story” – directed by Ron Howard
When Disney announced that we’d be getting one “Star Wars” film a year for the foreseeable future, many skeptics motioned that the world may tire quickly of the beloved series due to overexposure. Many dismissed those speculations, but things did get off to a bit of bumpy start when the first lineup of new material consisted of an animated series set before “A New Hope”, a film set after “Return of the Jedi” but was structurally just “A New Hope” with upgraded visuals, and a spin-off that didn’t focus on the Skywalker family, but was still a direct lead-in to “A New Hope”. None of these were bad; in actuality, most of it was pretty darn good, but there was that feeling that Disney liked “A New Hope” a little too much and needed to branch out a bit. Then six months ago, we got “The Last Jedi”, which actually did things that “Star Wars” had never done before and took the saga in unexpected directions. Unfortunately, while I myself and the majority of critics really liked what it did, I’ve spoken to more people than not who loathed it to the point of labeling it a franchise-killer. I don’t get why being new and different is a bad thing now, but just to be safe, Disney is once again taking the saga down memory lane to tell the tale of the galaxy’s greatest smuggler before we saw him hanging about in a lowly Tatooine cantina. Of course, I’m talking about Han Solo, who finally takes center stage in his very own “Star Wars” story.
Han (Alden Ehrenreich) starts off as a young thief trying to get himself and his girlfriend Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) off the dangerous and dirty planet Corellia. Just when things begin to look up, the two are separated; Han makes it his mission to get his own ship and return for his love. After falling out with the Imperial Flight Academy, he tags along with a gang of smugglers led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson), while also running into his future co-pilot Chewbacca (Joonas Suotama) and eventual best frenemy Lando Calrissan (Donald Glover), who just so happens to be in possession of a beautiful space freighter that Han takes a liking to: the Millennium Falcon.
This movie had a lot of red flags being waved around it ever since it got the go-ahead on the production, the first and most obvious being: who was really asking for a Han Solo origin story? Part of what made him so interesting in the original trilogy was that we didn’t know that much about him other than he has shady histories with a lot of bad people. Another red flag was the firing of original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, the two brilliant minds behind the “Jump Street” duology and “The Lego Movie”, after reports suggest they were going against the studio’s vision of a space western in favor of making a space comedy when filming was 80% already finished. Even with the project turned over to a capable Hollywood veteran like Ron Howard, it would seem like this already problematic production would result in a clash of directorial visions in the vein of something like “Justice League”. While I won’t say that this was the strongest of the new run of “Star Wars” movies, Howard deserves a lot of credit for turning a messy situation into a cohesive and enjoyable final product.
The only time there’s an issue of mixed visions is in the first 20-30 minutes when we’re waiting for Han’s adventure to really get going, with a lot of it peppered with humor that feels more like it was improvised and most of it falls flat. It also doesn’t help that there’s quite a bit of skipping over what should be some pretty important events in Han’s life; after he signs up for the Imperial Flight Academy, the timeline jumps forward three years later and he’s suddenly fighting in the trenches as an infantryman (surprisingly, they don’t get to wear stormtrooper armor) only to learn that he was kicked out of the academy. It would’ve been nice to see at least 10 minutes of Han flying a T.I.E. Fighter and/or seeing why exactly he was booted down to such a low position instead of just getting a soundbite referencing it. Even when we’re watching him in the middle of a great battle resembling the D-Day sequence from “Saving Private Ryan”, that whole scene is virtually over the minute it begins and we don’t even get a resolution to that. Fortunately, things start to liven up after his fateful first encounter with Chewbacca; instantly, the legendary chemistry between the two characters spark even with the new faces portraying both of them (of course, it’s harder to tell with Chewbacca under all that fur). We also get a exciting and well done rail heist, and from there the dialogue and humor improves along with the story which, while played and simplistic, moves a lot smoother and faster. John Powell (“Bourne” Franchise and “How To Train Your Dragon”) also proves his mettle and much like Michael Giacchino with “Rogue One” pays respective tribute to John Williams’ signature stylings while adding new material that is unmistakably his own.
Ron Howard’s career as a director has varied in the quality of its output, but one thing you can never take away from him is that he knows how to get good performances out of his actors, and to those of you who were worried about Alden Ehrenreich taking the reins from Harrison Ford: unless you’re one of those purists who won’t accept anyone else in the iconic role, odds are (never tell Solo) you’ll really like Ehrenreich’s take, cause I certainly enjoyed him in the part. When we start out with Han, he’s actually more of a snarkier version of Luke Skywalker, meaning he’s very enthusiastic, kind of irritating to the people around him, but ridiculously earnest to the point where he manages to charm his way through most of his troubles. Even by the end credits, this Han is more scrappy than scruffy and has a ways to go before getting to the latter, and there are a few parts where he’s a little awkward, but with this being a prequel, I was alright with him not being in full grasp of the charisma that Ford brought to the character; he remains innately likable through and through.
Regarding the supporting cast, Donald Glover does a great job as Lando, nailing the voice and mannerisms of Billy Dee Williams to an almost uncanny degree. After splitting time under the walking carpet with his predecessor Peter Mayhew in “The Force Awakens” and “The Last Jedi”, Joonas Suotamo makes for a perfect successor for Chewbacca; I may have joked about how you can’t tell the difference given the costume, but Chewie’s always been one of the series’ more heartfelt characters, and capturing the intimidating physical presence while still making him funny and huggable is a commendable feat. Most of the new characters are written as archetypes to serve the plot like Beckett as the gruff, experienced leader and Qi’ra as the femme fatale, but Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke bring a little something extra to their respective roles to where you enjoy them. Jon Favreau, Thandie Newton, and Paul Bettany sadly don’t get as much screen time as you’d expect, but again, thanks to Howard being able to bring out the best in his actors, gives their characters enough ‘umph’ that I wanted to learn more about all of them. Another minor standout is Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Lando’s droid L3-37; though her side story and overall inclusion feels like a last-minute studio decision after the positive response to K-2SO in “Rogue One”, Waller-Bridge sells every dry, sarcastic line with the sharpest wit.
This is going to be a little heartbreaking for me to write about, but as we go into things that don’t quite work here, this is one of the few times you’ll hear me put cinematography in this category. Bradford Young is one of the best cinematographers working today (“Selma”, “Arrival”), and his shot composition here is masterful as per usual, but a lot of it is undercut by bad lighting, or lack thereof. Part of his visual style is shooting only with natural light, and while that certainly would make an interesting departure from what we’re used to in “Star Wars”, it probably would’ve worked better for a more straight-up war film like “Rogue One” or just something more dark in tone like a horror film if Disney were willing to try it; I can get the idea of it being shot this way as it’s a story told in the seedier part of the galaxy, but the overall tone is rather lightweight, so it’s just an awkward combination. I got used to it after the first act, but I couldn’t help but think back to the first “Pacific Rim” and how all the action in that movie was shot in the dark with heavy rain, taking away from well-shot choreography. Also, don’t see this in 3-D, because 3-D makes any motion picture darker anyway, so that just adds to an already challenging visual experience.
Believe it or not, though you’d think a prequel would have little in the way of surprise as you go in knowing what happens afterward, there is one major surprise in the final minutes that catches you off guard, but not in an entirely good way. Obviously, MILD SPOILERS ahead in case you want to go into this cold. There’s a familiar character that appears in the final minutes who’s been acting as a ringmaster of the events that have transpired. It’s a double-edged sword upon discovery, because if you’re a fan who’s only watched the movies and nothing else, you’ll either be scratching your head from how little sense it makes or too excited by it because you didn’t see it coming. For me, being a guy who grew up watching the animated shows that filled in a lot of plot holes leftover from George Lucas’ prequel trilogy, the twist did make sense, but I saw it as potentially problematic to the future of this particular corner of the “Star Wars” universe. END OF SPOILERS With the troubled production and director switch combined with a sizable number of fans turning their back on the franchise after “The Last Jedi”, AND a production budget of $250 million dollars, this film has a pretty steep hill to climb if it hopes to continue with further chapters. Then again, the surprise could have easily been taken out in the editing room, so to keep it in must be a sign of good faith that this will be a hit. We’ll just have to wait and see on that…
In summary, this is far from being a great movie, but thanks to a charming cast and Ron Howard’s solid direction, what could’ve been the “Suicide Squad” of the “Star Wars” saga comes out of the workshop a fun and easygoing space-romp. Many will say that it’s an unnecessary movie, and I won’t argue against that, but that doesn’t deprive it of being a nice way to spend a couple hours in the theater to escape the heat and humidity. Having a big scoop of ice cream isn’t a necessary thing to get through a hot summer day, but we do it anyway because it feels good. In this case, I found “Solo: A Star Wars Story” to be a giant, tasty scoop of blue milk ice-cream. If you’re in the mood for it, then by all means, buckle up baby!
Pros(+) and Cons(-):
+ Charming, affable cast of old and new characters
+ Fast-paced plot
+ Lots of fun action sequences…
– …some of which are hampered by poorly-lit cinematography
– first 30 minutes are too jumpy and hectic
– that big surprise is more accessible to super fans over casual fans
***1/2 out of *****
“Let me give you a piece of advice. Assume everyone will betray you. And you will never be disappointed.” – Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett
Admissions 