K E Y P O I N T S
- Alden Ehrenreich plays a young Han Solo in this standalone spin-off
- The cast also includes Donald Glover (as Lando Calrissian), Emilia Clarke and Phoebe Waller-Bridge
- Production has not been without its problems and filming was delayed when directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller stepped down midway through
- LucasFilm boss Kathleen Kennedy then drafted Ron Howard in to take over.
S N A P V E R D I C T
From HuffPost film reporter Matt Jacobs:
‘Solo’ is the definition of fine. It’s entertaining in fan-service sort of way. But that’s also the movie’s fatal flaw: There’s nothing necessary about it. ‘Solo’ is disposable.
That’s the problem with the ‘Star Wars’ spinoff films. Like 2016′s ‘Rogue One’, a bleak war drama about the Death Star blueprints, ‘Solo’ gets lost in minutiae we never cared much about in the first place.
When’s the last time you thought, “Oh yeah, I wonder what that Kessel Run thing Han Solo talked about once was like”? You didn’t. And ‘Solo’ doesn’t seem to care. It’s a fun sequence, watching Han learn to operate the Millennium Falcon to pull off a wild hyper-speed jaunt, but it doesn’t add much value to the overall franchise. Nor does Alden Ehrenreich’s performance. Ehrenreich is fine in the role, but the script denies him the chance to capture the smug irony of Harrison Ford. Maybe that’s too tall an order anyway. Still, ‘Solo’ flattens its title character to a cocky romantic hellbent on rescuing his girlfriend (Emilia Clarke) from the grips of the burgeoning Empire.
Oh well. ‘Solo’ zips along, and you’ll have fun anyway. Ron Howard, the ever-competent director who took over after Lucasfilm fired Phil Lord and Christopher Miller mid-shoot, has crafted a harmless movie whose biggest offense is the $250 million it took from Disney’s coffers that could have been spent on something else.
But at least it’s given us Donald Glover’s suave Lando Calrissian and a sassy droid voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. They alone are worth the cost admission.
W A T C H T H E T R A I L E R. . .