Solo, the second stand-alone Star
Wars anthology film from Disney/Lucasfilm since Rogue One (2016) features a young Han Solo that’s set exactly ten
years before the events of A New Hope
(1977) and his famous encounter in the Mos Eisley alien cantina with Luke and
Ben Kenobi who hire him to pilot them to Alderaan to meet their destiny.
It’s also ten years after the end of the Clone Wars when all the Jedi have been
killed or exiled by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious and his fallen Jedi apprentice
Darth Vader. It’s a lawless time when powerful crime syndicates like Crimson
Dawn are competing for resources and a few pockets of resistance are starting
to rise up against the Empire’s authoritarian rule.
Solo is a solid coming of age adventure ride that harkens back to the Old
West/cowboys-in-space vibe of the original films, taking us on a hyperspace
journey through the darker underbelly of the Star Wars universe; from the industrial shipyards on Han’s home world
of Corellia, to a war zone on the mud planet Mimban, to the dingy gambling
hide-out of Fort Ypso on the snowy mountain planet Vandor, to the oppressive spice mines of Kessel, and
ultimately a stand-off at a deserted oceanside refinery on a sand dune wasteland
called Savareen.
Much has been made in the media about Solo’s production problems and questions
of the need for a film about Han Solo’s backstory, but in the end none of that
matters because the movie, like Solo himself, beat all the odds and works amazingly
well showing no evidence of the behind-the-scenes turmoil. The story is
exciting and emotionally engaging, giving us new insights into the Star Wars universe with many fun nods to
the classic films and the expanded universe books.
Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon are of
course major characters in the Star Wars
saga, and we get to see how these two iconic characters bonded and became synonymous
with the Han Solo legend. For Chewbacca fans, we haven’t seen the Wookie fuzz
ball get this much action since The
Empire Strikes Back (1980).
Solo, which I suspect will be the first in a series of Han Solo adventures,
stays generally, if loosely, faithful to some of the Han Solo lore that was established
in the various expanded universe novels while also exploring new directions. It’s
encouraging that Solo is proving new filmmakers
are still able to find inspiration from the Expanded Universe stories and are not
completely ignoring the non-canon books.
I’m happy to say that Alden Ehrenreich’s
interpretation of Han Solo is in perfect keeping with the tone and spirit of
the character created by Harrison Ford. He embodies the younger space pirate
wonderfully giving a solid fun performance as the charming ambitious idealist smuggler
who wants to make his mark in the universe with plenty of swagger.
Another standout performance comes from
Donald Glover as the suave gambler and entrepreneur Lando Calrissian. Glover was
able to channel Billy Dee Williams smooth attitude with uncanny resemblance. In
fact, the duo of Ehrenreich and Glover have great on-screen chemistry.
One of the coolest side-splitting sequences
in Solo was the filmmakers’ attempt
to explore droids’ rights issues, given that androids are generally treated as
slave labor in the Star Wars galaxy.
One droid in particular plays a fantastic role in Lando’s navigational co-pilot
L3-37 played by Phoebe Waller-Bridge who has more personality than we’ve ever seen
from other Star Wars droids.
The music score by John Powell ties Solo most closely with A New Hope (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) with John
Williams’ familiar themes being re-used here and there to instantly recall
situations from the earlier films.
For fans, Solo has a revelatory ah-ha moment with the re-appearance of a
popular villain long thought to be dead and who was resurrected in the CG
Animated tv series The Clone Wars
(2008 – 2014) that will be discussed for years to come and promises more
intriguing stories in future episodes.
Solo can also be enjoyed immensely by the casual viewer as a retro/futuristic
adventure heist film set in a galaxy far, far away that feels like a Western in
space with memorable characters who seem strangely familiar. So, bring your
best Wookie roar, your quickdraw blaster and enjoy the ride.
JP
