Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story is a movie we didn’t want but still delivers

When Disney announced a Solo: A Star Wars Story was coming to the silver screen in 2018, the internet collectively groaned. A spin-off of a character whose greatest strength was his mystery? Another movie cashing in on the recognition of an iconic character instead of telling a fully original story in unseen parts of the galaxy far, far away which seems to only have a few dozen interesting people in it? Give me a break!

Not many people were clamoring for this movie and feared it would damage Han Solo and Star Wars more than fill in any gaps in the timeline. As respectable talent started to join the production such as the charming Donald Glover, the legendary Woody Harrelson, and directing duo Phil Lord and Chris Miller, our concerns began to be eased. Well, that was until the directors were fired in the final weeks of filming and Ron Howard had to be brought in to reshoot 70% – 80% of the movie in a small period of time without being able to delay the movie’s release date.

The fan base became tense following the news, things weren’t looking hot but at least we had The Last Jedi! Then that movie came out and received a pretty divisive consensus from the feedback ranging from so much hate that people threatened to boycott the franchise going forward and people loving it so much that they couldn’t wait for director Rian Johnson to make his upcoming standalone trilogy.

With the state of Star Wars, many of us went into Solo: A Star Wars Story with pretty low expectations. Would Disney allow their franchise to be tarnished by a dumpster fire just six months after their last one was pushed around by its fans? The answer is no, Solo is a surprisingly worthy entry in the seemingly never-ending sci-fi saga. Those are words I didn’t expect to write in this review before seeing the film but I’m incredibly glad to be proven wrong.

Solo: A Star Wars Story takes us back ten years before A New Hope to find the smug, egotistical wannabe pilot madly in love and trapped in a life of bleak boredom. Shackled by a gang forcing him to steal on a dark shipbuilding planet, a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) takes his lover Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) and makes a one-shot attempt at escaping the clutches of the people practically enslaving them. When things go south and the two are separated, Solo is forced to join the Imperial Army where he meets a ragtag group of people planning a heist that could ultimately set him back on the path to the woman who keeps the blood running through his veins.

The optimistic yet cocky up and coming pilot jumps at the chance, taking a nearly 200-year-old violent Wookie with him, and sets out on a life-defining adventure. This is where the fun begins. Let’s revisit the question of did this movie actually need to be made? Absolutely not and I still believe that, if Solo vanished from existence one day I wouldn’t be completely heartbroken. Maybe a bit sad, yes but I’d get over it. Am I glad it exists as of right now? Totally.

While Star Wars has always had a high fun factor, the thrills Solo: A Star Wars Story brings are second to none. This is a crime film through and through, it gives us all a deeper look at the seedy underbelly we’ve only gotten hints of over the course of the films released in the last 41 years. This film is as much about the brutal and grimy world that lies beneath all the gloss and glamour of places like Coruscant as it is about the titular smuggler himself.

We see how cutthroat and cunning the desperate are like criminal mastermind turned mentor Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and the criminal overlord he is indebted to, Dryden. While one is more morally ambiguous than the other, they provide this great contrast to a galaxy filled with triumphant heroes and larger than life villains. These are the guys who get their hands so dirty, the dirt between their fingernails doesn’t scrub off. Vader can sit in a massive space dome and fire lasers to kill millions but he doesn’t have to do these dirty jobs to survive.

We’re exposed to a world that thrives off murdering, cheating, and pillaging. At times, the movie feels less like a sci-fi epic and more like a western. Sometimes unintentionally, sometimes intentionally by giving us high noon duals and backstabbing betrayals. Solo: A Star Wars Story does an absolutely exquisite job of building on the foundation of this less pleasant world laid by George Lucas all the way back in 1977. It’s refreshing and adds new depth to a world already rich with lore.

As mentioned previously, this could’ve stomped all over Han Solo’s legacy with forced references and contrivances that make the character less interesting but thankfully, it knows just how much to give us. Empire Strikes Back and Force Awakens writer Lawerence Kassaden returns to fill in the gaps of Han Solo’s life such as the famed but mostly unknown Kessel run, something Solo prides himself on for completing in 12 parsecs.

There are subtle nuances that build his character both in the writing and performance given by Ehrenreich. We begin to see where his optimism evolves into narcissism, where his cunning nature comes from, and much more. Ehrenreich could’ve been one to try and just ape Harrison Ford but he doesn’t, he tries to build up to where Ford was when we first found him. We see his loose stances, his arrogant smile, his devilish but charming look that pierces through the hearts of women. The scruffy looking nerfherder couldn’t have been more perfectly cast.

The story in of itself isn’t anything particularly original but it’s the characters, writing, and action that sell the film on being one that deserves to stand in a franchise of cinematic greatness even if it does sit toward the bottom of the chain.

Seeing Lando (Donald Glover) toss a blaster through the air at Han during a massive firefight while others load the Falcon with precious, fragile cargo is a small detail but made me super giddy. Having him rush into danger to save a friend in a frantic moment seconds later while smoothly navigating a semi-metaphorical minefield is great fun and so is watching an intimate but tense stand-off between beloved characters in a small, compact room. These moments help Solo standout in an otherwise cookie-cutter story, it’s driven by those exhilarating lowkey setpieces.

With enough cinematic flair by Ron Howard, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a film that is driven by pulse-pounding action, great worldbuilding, and fantastic characters both new and old. While many were hesitant to get too excited about this movie, it delivers a fun time at the theater. Does it do enough to justify existing? It could be debated but what we’re given is something that I can safely say I would see a sequel to if it made the effort to be a bit bolder and riskier. It should build on the excellent world this one establishes with the shifty characters and deadly encounters with no holds barred.

Regardless of what happens in the future, I can safely say I was initially wrong about Solo: A Star Wars Story. I don’t know if I’d ever watch it again outside of the theater but it’s a film that exceeds a movie like Rogue One and feels like it has a unique sense of character and identity in the evergrowing space franchise. Hopefully, we’ll return to this smuggler’s early days and play around in the sandbox that is left open at the end of this film.