Solo

There’s a lot to consider when looking at a Star Wars movie these days. As part of a, pardon the pun, movie empire that stretches across 40 years, millions of fans, and billions of dollars, anytime a new Star Wars picture comes out, it’s not just a matter of “Is it a good movie or not?” It’s a discussion about canonicity, fandom, nostalgia, continuity, marketing, authorship, and a million other things. Lucasfilm’s decision to create spin-off prequels called Star Wars stories has been an interesting one. George Lucas’s official prequel films are the least loved and most derided works to come out of that galaxy far, far away, and yet these newer films are essentially the same thing – telling the stories that lead up to the stories that created all these fans in the first place. It’s a risky move to mess with something that people love, and the latest prequel spin off, Solo, takes a huge gamble in telling the origin story of the one of the series most popular characters, gambler, smuggler, and scoundrel, Han Solo. 

The stakes were decidedly lower for Rogue One, the first spinoff, because its main characters were complete unknowns and the story, while important, was obscure. Han Solo, on the other hand, is beloved and iconic. To recast him and explain how he came to be the rakish mercenary with a heart of gold everyone knows was a bold choice.

If Solo was simply its own film and wasn’t tied to all the mythology and nostalgia, it would stand up pretty well. The production values are high, the performances are engaging, and the story, while not exactly a bastion of originality, moves along nicely and is fun to watch. It’s an enjoyable sci fi adventure.

As an addition to the Star Wars cosmos, things become a little less straightforward. On the whole, I think the film is more successful than the joyless Rogue One. Solo has some of the rollicking lightheartedness of the original trilogy, a tone that was largely set by Harrison Ford’s portrayal of the character.

Alden Ehrenreich, the new Han Solo, is an immensely charming actor. He’s been the liveliest and most interesting part of the last couple of films in which he’s appeared. Here he brings a loose, boyish enthusiasm to his character that adds some of that aforementioned joy. But at times, even though he’s supposed to be the YOUNG Han Solo, Ehrenreich gives off almost too much of a winking “Can you believe I get to be Han Freaking Solo?!” vibe. He doesn’t exude much of the danger or ruthlessness Harrison Ford brought in the original trilogy.

The film tells the story of how Han met Chewie and Lando, got the Millennium Falcon, and managed the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs. Most of that feels organic, but there are certain moments that seem contrived. My personal pet peeve is the presence of the gold dice that appeared The Last Jedi. According to eagle-eyed superfans, the dice do appear in the original films but in the same way that trees and sand dunes appear in them. They are a minor background detail, and it’s a little bothersome that they have become some kind of important artifact in the last couple of movies. Seems a little desperate to create meaning that’s not really there.

Anyway, Solo is a fine addition to the Star Wars universe. Not great but fine. Better than Rogue One, not as good as The Force Awakens.

Independent of its contribution to the larger fandom, it is important to point out how great the supporting cast is. Emelia Clarke as Solo’s boyhood love, Qi’ra; Donald Glover as the big-talking ladies’ man and gambler, Lando Calrissian; and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Lando’s navigation robot and droid equal rights activist, L3-37 are wonderful. Solo the film doesn’t really add anything earth-shaking to the world of Star Wars, but its stars do add a lot to this fun and good-looking film.