Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dustin Chase
While there is nothing inherently wrong with the latest “Star Wars” film, there is nothing intrinsically right with it either. “Star Wars” fatigue has set in for many fans a few episodes back. Fatigue that is likely to continue because the franchise which used to debut films once every few years, now delivers a new one every few months. Disney, which now controls both the Marvel and “Star Wars” universes, serves up these bombastic films like a fast food drive-thru. “Solo” is the second addition to their ongoing backstory/prequel series. It doesn’t match the visual quality or creative risk-taking experienced in “Rogue One.” Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), the first Oscar-winning director to helm a “Star Wars” film, replaced original directors Phil Lord/Christopher Miller (“21 Jump Street”) who spared with producer Kathleen Kennedy.
“Solo” begins with a young ambitious teenager named Han (Ehrenreich) desperate to escape his Dickensian life on the planet Corellia. His girlfriend and partner in crime Qi’ra (Clarke) find a way off the miserable planet, but through circumstances beyond their control are separated. Vowing to return for her, Han makes his escape by enlisting as a fighter pilot in the Imperial Navy. Years later Han finds himself teaming up with a wookie named Chewbacca and conspiring with a gang of marauders led by the man who would become Han’s mentor, Tobias Beckett (Harrelson). A high stakes robbery that involves stealing a shipment of highly combustible fuel will challenge Han and his new friends as he begins to understand that few can be trusted in this every changing galaxy.
Nothing inherently wrong with the latest “Star Wars” film, there is nothing intrinsically right with it either.
Like other Star Wars films, the hovercraft chase sequences, familiar jokes, and that all too common scene where the Millennium Falcon escapes its pursuers by flying through a narrow chasm are all here. What’s missing is any structural, emotional or visual originality. Ron Howard isn’t the most provocative or challenging director out there, and his direction in this movie feels especially safe and vanilla. As we saw with “Rogue One,” new characters invented for these prequel movies are easily expendable since they are limited to one story in the timeline. Of course, fans of the series are sure to flock to theaters to see their favorite heroes who are surprisingly well cast here with a new generation of talented young actors. Playing an iconic figure, one the audience knows well, is perhaps the most difficult role for an actor. Not only are Ehrenreich (“Hail Caesar”) and Donald Glover (“Spider-Man: Homecoming”) playing Han and Lando, but that have the added burden of playing Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams’ interpretations of Han and Lando.
Fusing three different director’s visions into one is probably a film editors worst nightmare. Perhaps this is why “Solo” really drags in some areas. Delivering more of the same might be enough for die-hard fans, but isn’t enough to entice audiences simply looking for a great film. Like many modern prequels, “Solo” spends too much screen time dropping Han and Chewbacca into dire scenarios that the audience already knows they will survive. This false suspense, the result of bad writing, is a waste of plot time. Why not put characters we are not familiar with in the more suspenseful moments? Also, there is a scene near the end that won’t make much sense unless you have seen the “Star Wars: Clone Wars” TV series, which is also considered an official “canonized” part of the ongoing saga. The inclusion of diversity in the performances continues as an important element to this franchise and is noted again in “Solo.” “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke gives one of her best performances outside the HBO series, though that isn’t saying much with only two other films to her credit (“Terminator Genisys” and “Me Before You.”) “Solo” won’t make a fan of anyone who isn’t already there, it’s exhausting, and predictable action scenes will pacify fans, especially those dissatisfied with the liberties taken in “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
Final Thought
Solo doesn’t creatively amount to much more than Disney’s latest summer cash cow.