SOLO

SOLO is the tenth of the full-length Star Wars movies, set in the timeline between Revenge of The Sith, and Rogue 1.  If you were worried that after The Last Jedi, the Star Wars films were heading downhill, destroying traditional characters, and introducing poorly written new characters who lack pizzazz, fear not.  SOLO is a comeback movie for Lucasfilm and Disney.  Screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and his son, Jonathan know how to write a Star Wars movie.  I am happy to say that in SOLO, they have delivered something that traditional Star Wars fans can appreciate, without feeling like their childhood movie heroes are being destroyed.  The younger Han, Chewie, and Lando are all believable.  With the exception of a female droid, the new characters have pizzazz, too. 

 

Warning: Spoilers ahead.  Going into the movie, we know about certain spoilers, like how Lando Calrissian will lose the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo, “fair and square,” that the Millenium Falcon will make the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs, and that Han Solo survives, as do Lando and Chewie.  Beyond that, though, we don’t really know what to expect.

Breaking with tradition, we will not see R2D2 or C-3PO, although there is an R2 unit shown who could possibly be R2D2, but was never identified.  Anthony Daniels makes a very brief cameo as a different character.  There are references to a gangster on Tattooine, but we will not see Jabba the Hutt or Greedo.  There are no appearances from young Luke or young Leia.  No one from Rogue 1 appears either.  We won’t see Yoda or Obi-Wan, nor will we see the Emperor or Darth Vader.  There is no Bail Organa.  There is no young Biggs or young Wedge. 

 

Woody Harrelson gives an excellent performance as Tobias Beckett, a major character who has charisma, providing intrigue, even though we don’t always necessarily trust him.  It was a wise move to cast an established actor in this role.  The character is shady, but well written. 

 

Donald Glover does an amazing job as young Lando Calrissian.  He nails the Billy Dee Williams voice and mannerisms with precision.  He is very believable as a young Lando, an underhanded, untrustworthy person who nevertheless has no love for the Empire.  He also has some leadership skills that could later be used to run a coal mining industry.  He is furthermore a talented pilot. 

 

Alden Ehrenreich is also a convincing young Han Solo.  In some scenes, he even gets the Harrison Ford vocal tones and mannerisms down to a point where it genuinely feels as if a young Harrison Ford is performing the role.  Young Han Solo is more of an optimist, and a clever schemer.  He knows various languages which enables him to communicate with Chewbacca, who he makes peace with and rescues along with himself, after they were both pitted against each other in prison.

 

Young Han Solo has a love interest, Qi’ra, who is well performed by Emilia Clarke.  Qi’ra seems like the perfect match for Han Solo in the beginning of the movie.  She initially seems to be much kinder and more loving than Princess Leia ever was.  They get separated, against their will, and Han Solo vows to make it his mission to find her and rescue her from their home planet of Corellia.  When Han Solo in A New Hope uses the phrase, “big Corellian ships,” I always interpreted the term “Corellian” as referring to a type of metal used to construct the ships.  I now realize that it was in fact a reference to the planet upon which the ships were constructed.  Regardless, as the movie progresses, Han Solo meets back up with Qi’ra, in an unexpected place.  His feelings for her remain strong, but she has changed in a mysterious and shady way, a way that compromises her feelings for him, if they still even exist on any level.  This is an intriguing subplot that is well written and plays out well.

 

Some other cameos worthy of mention include the legendary Warwick Davis reprising his The Phantom Menace role as Weazel, and talented young actress Erin Kellyman as Enfys Nest, the leader of a gang of likeable pirates called Cloud Riders, a gang in which Weazel is a member.

 

The movie ends with the viewers wanting a sequel.  The Cloud Riders were an intriguing group who I would personally like to see more of.  The Han Solo and Qi’ra relationship needs official closure.  I furthermore get the impression from The Empire Strikes Back that the “friendship” between Han and Lando is more significant than what was merely shown in this movie.  Also, I would like to see the Han Solo negotiations with Jabba the Hutt and how he drops the shipment.  Even more significantly, (Warning: Read no further unless you want to see the spoiler of spoilers), the presumed deceased Darth Maul makes a very brief cameo appearance towards the end of SOLO.   This throws the force completely off balance as there are only supposed to be two active Sith at any given point in time.  I would definitely like to see the actual demise of Darth Maul, if that demise has even happened yet.  What if he had gone into hiding and could possibly reappear in Episode IX?  That would throw everything out of whack, but in a fascinating way.

 

In conclusion, SOLO is a movie definitely worth your time.  I would rank it as the seventh best of the ten official Star Wars movies.