Solo: A Star Wars Story (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
Rogue One was a successful standalone Star Wars movie from a few yrs. back. But now, just 5 months following the successful Star Wars: The Last Jedi ... we get 'Solo' (ultimately directed by Ron Howard after prior helmers - Phil Lord & Christopher Miller - parted from the project citing "creative differences"). And is 'Solo' a worthy film in the Star Wars canon? Umm, I don't know. It's ... okay. 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' takes place roughly 12 yrs. before teaming up with Luke & Leia during events of A New Hope & follows a young Han (Alden Ehrenreich, so good in 2016's Hail, Caesar!) as he goes from troublemaking street orphan on his gloomily oppressive home planet of Corellia to Imperial soldier/rogue pilot to intergalactic-smuggler.
As a youth, Han & his girlfriend, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke, of Game of Thrones fame), are separated as they try to escape a dangerous crime boss; he's able to leave, but she is captured {quite the wrenching, harrowing scene} -- and he vows to come back for her. 3 long yrs. later, Han is a soldier in the Imperial Army who chances upon "The Beast"; that would be a younger Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), as well as a motley crew of smugglers led by cantankerous Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) & his plucky cohort, Val (Thandie Newton). Han joins them on a mission for the 'Crystal Dawn', a mighty crime syndicate managed by the ruthless Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). They're trying to steal an explosive energy source called Coaxium that serves as intergalactic currency. Along the way, Han wins the Millennium Falcon in a high-stakes card game with notorious-but-suave gambler/smuggler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover, playing a younger Billy Dee Williams). Adventure ensues as our heroes try to elude double-crossings & dangers galore.
Nearly everything about this movie is 'fine'; workmanlike; gets the job done ... but you don't really expect or want that in an epic Star Wars movie. You expect & want greatness on some level. And I believe a lot of that greatness went out the window when there was such discord btwn. the producers and initial directors. Production problems are never a good thing. And while I praise Ron Howard for stepping in and executing this film as well as he does, 'Solo' already had these things going against it before critics & the public even had a chance to chime in.
So. How WAS Ron Howard's direction? Sturdy, but fairly invisible {like most of his works as of late}. I feel like the initial directors might've given us something more unique, but maybe too outside the box for Disney. The script? Well, it makes sense ... but it's not splashy or intriguing or fresh. I also feel that while it's a light-hearted script, it's also lacking in wit. The editing? A little sluggish in spots. Bradford Young's cinematography? While I love this man's previous work {Selma, A Most Violent year, Arrival, among others}, his work here is needlessly murky/muddy; the beige & dark grey color palette becomes cumbersome to watch. The production design/costumes/make-up work? Serviceable; good. The sound work? Crisp. Visual Effects? Good. John Powell's musical score? Probably the single most impressive technical component of this movie; the Han theme is wonderful.
Onto the performances. Most critics seem to think that the talented Alden Ehrenreich missed the mark a bit as young Harrison Ford, but I saw ALOT of Ford in the performance. To me, he ably captured Ford's smirky, mischievous charisma. Ehrenreich deserves praise for going beyond pure imitation. He & Donald Glover {who's everywhere, lately} make their legendary cocky, charismatic characters their own, even if we must suspend some disbelief that they could have changed that much those 12 yrs. or so. Probably the best narrative aspect of this movie involves Han's meetings & ensuing friendships with Chewie & Lando; that includes any romantic subplot with the Emilia Clarke character, or any big action scene, or the main plot thrust involving the Coaxium. As for Clarke, I actually liked her Qi'ra. She's strong. I just didn't completely buy her chemistry with Ehrenreich. There's something there ... but I didn't detect full-on passion. Newton is effective in her small role, but she's underused. Woody Harrelson is fine, but I expected more; love him. Paul Bettany makes for an interesting mob boss. And British comedian/TV writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge lends humor as outspoken android, L3-37.
I don't want to get too down on 'Solo'. It's still fairly entertaining, on the whole. Like I said, no glaring weaknesses; just workman-like. There's a cameo that makes an appearance late in the game which made me scratch my head, a bit. But again, I realllllly can't say this is a bad film. I also really can't say that it's great. Did we NEED 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'? Not really. And though it's cool that is exists ... its lack of distinguishing qualities makes it feel like more of a blip on the cinematic radar rather than something essential to the Lucas film canon.
As a youth, Han & his girlfriend, Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke, of Game of Thrones fame), are separated as they try to escape a dangerous crime boss; he's able to leave, but she is captured {quite the wrenching, harrowing scene} -- and he vows to come back for her. 3 long yrs. later, Han is a soldier in the Imperial Army who chances upon "The Beast"; that would be a younger Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), as well as a motley crew of smugglers led by cantankerous Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) & his plucky cohort, Val (Thandie Newton). Han joins them on a mission for the 'Crystal Dawn', a mighty crime syndicate managed by the ruthless Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). They're trying to steal an explosive energy source called Coaxium that serves as intergalactic currency. Along the way, Han wins the Millennium Falcon in a high-stakes card game with notorious-but-suave gambler/smuggler Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover, playing a younger Billy Dee Williams). Adventure ensues as our heroes try to elude double-crossings & dangers galore.
Nearly everything about this movie is 'fine'; workmanlike; gets the job done ... but you don't really expect or want that in an epic Star Wars movie. You expect & want greatness on some level. And I believe a lot of that greatness went out the window when there was such discord btwn. the producers and initial directors. Production problems are never a good thing. And while I praise Ron Howard for stepping in and executing this film as well as he does, 'Solo' already had these things going against it before critics & the public even had a chance to chime in.
So. How WAS Ron Howard's direction? Sturdy, but fairly invisible {like most of his works as of late}. I feel like the initial directors might've given us something more unique, but maybe too outside the box for Disney. The script? Well, it makes sense ... but it's not splashy or intriguing or fresh. I also feel that while it's a light-hearted script, it's also lacking in wit. The editing? A little sluggish in spots. Bradford Young's cinematography? While I love this man's previous work {Selma, A Most Violent year, Arrival, among others}, his work here is needlessly murky/muddy; the beige & dark grey color palette becomes cumbersome to watch. The production design/costumes/make-up work? Serviceable; good. The sound work? Crisp. Visual Effects? Good. John Powell's musical score? Probably the single most impressive technical component of this movie; the Han theme is wonderful.
Onto the performances. Most critics seem to think that the talented Alden Ehrenreich missed the mark a bit as young Harrison Ford, but I saw ALOT of Ford in the performance. To me, he ably captured Ford's smirky, mischievous charisma. Ehrenreich deserves praise for going beyond pure imitation. He & Donald Glover {who's everywhere, lately} make their legendary cocky, charismatic characters their own, even if we must suspend some disbelief that they could have changed that much those 12 yrs. or so. Probably the best narrative aspect of this movie involves Han's meetings & ensuing friendships with Chewie & Lando; that includes any romantic subplot with the Emilia Clarke character, or any big action scene, or the main plot thrust involving the Coaxium. As for Clarke, I actually liked her Qi'ra. She's strong. I just didn't completely buy her chemistry with Ehrenreich. There's something there ... but I didn't detect full-on passion. Newton is effective in her small role, but she's underused. Woody Harrelson is fine, but I expected more; love him. Paul Bettany makes for an interesting mob boss. And British comedian/TV writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge lends humor as outspoken android, L3-37.
I don't want to get too down on 'Solo'. It's still fairly entertaining, on the whole. Like I said, no glaring weaknesses; just workman-like. There's a cameo that makes an appearance late in the game which made me scratch my head, a bit. But again, I realllllly can't say this is a bad film. I also really can't say that it's great. Did we NEED 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'? Not really. And though it's cool that is exists ... its lack of distinguishing qualities makes it feel like more of a blip on the cinematic radar rather than something essential to the Lucas film canon.