Groucho

I had the same problem with this that I have with most prequels. The stakes were too low. We knew going in who would live and who would die (or at least be out of the picture by the time Episode IV comes around).

Artman

Yeah, one of the big weaknesses of all the new films has been the environments. They haven't been distinctive enough, particularly in the spinoff films. I remember Lucas talking about how the OT planets colors were important, you go from one color to another through the story, etc. I have to agree with him on that.

zero

This was fun and if this is indeed a trilogy, give me more!

nmr1723

It took a little while to really get going, but once it does it's an absolute blast. The cast was great and it was a quick 2 hours 15 minutes. I went with my dad, brother and my 9 year-old and we all left smiling and wanting more. I'd love to see the job that Han botches for Jabba that leads to the price put on his head as a follow-up film.

4/5 for me.

Orbi-Wan Techno

I noted tons of kids in the theater for this. Bet they don’t have the gripes about Solo us old timers seem to.

My quick take - We’ve gotten used to Star Wars being sweeping, epic tales, and this wasn’t. It was just an old fashioned space adventure that unnecessarily answered questions and asked a couple more. It reminded me a little of a few of the SW knockoffs from the 80's.

Jason

I just have to say, showing Lando's broken arm in the poster is one heck of a spoiler

asianxcore

Saw this yesterday.

Mostly enjoyable even though I felt Alden Ehrenreich's performance went from flat to uneven.

Loved Lando, Chewie, Tobias & Dryden.

Cameo was awesome.

Orbi-Wan Techno

From my review page ORBI-WAN GOES TO THE MOVIES:

SOLO: A Star Wars Story (PG-13) - Fun origin story of our favorite smuggler is less space opera and more heist caper

Interspersed between all the space battles between the Trade Federation and the Republic, the Empire and Rebellion, and the First Order and the Resistance, there are dozens, even hundreds of smaller stories that can potentially be told within the umbrella of the Star Wars universe. Solo: A Star Wars Story is the first to make it to the big screen. (Rogue One was firmly a STAR WARS space battle story). While the Empire’s presence and influence are certainly felt in this smaller, more agile and fun addition to the Star Wars catalogue, the Emperor, Vader, and the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire are nowhere to be found.

Instead, we have the origin story of Han (Alden Ehrenreich, terrific in “Hail Caesar”), the wayward son of Corellia, who escapes the oppressive confines of his homeworld, joins the Imperial Navy to become a pilot, meets Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), who becomes his Wookie companion for life, and learns that he’s destined to become a scoundrel in this smaller, more tightly focused Star Wars tale.

Along the way, Han and Chewie join the crew of Beckett (Woody Harrelson) for a exciting train heist that goes spectacularly sideways. The failed caper leads Han to suggest another that leads the “Firefly-esque” crew to the infamous spice mines of Kessel, and the legendary “Kessel Run”, which we finally see committed to film. Along the way, Han attempts to win the Millenium Falcon from Lando Calrissian (a charmingly delightful Donald Glover), who reluctantly joins them on the Kessel job. They are also joined by Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), the first lieutenant of gangster Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), and the girl Han had to leave behind on Corellia so many years ago.

Director Ron Howard took over Solo after Disney and Lucasfilm relieved original directors Philip Lord and Chris Miller, and it’s hard to say what impact that had on the overall final product. The screenplay comes from Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jonathan. Lawrence is responsible for The Empire Strikes Back and The Force Awakens, and probably knows the written character of Han Solo better than anyone else.

The result is a film that likes to keep reminding us that we are definitely watching a Star Wars movie, despite its smaller scope and scale. With the exception of a few scenes, the bulk of the movie is told primary from Han’s perspective, and Ehrenreich does a terrific job of embodying the cockiness and “let’s go for it” attitude of our favorite space flyboy.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is just a fun time, full of deep nerd surprises (the biggest one being near the film’s end) and sentiment that will make you say “okay, I’m happy enough with what I saw.” I am giving Solo: A Star Wars Story 3.5 out of 5 lightsabers.

NOTES TO PARENTS: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD - Solo: A Star Wars Story is rated PG-13 for expected space adventure type action and violence. There is some PG-level profanity scattered here and there. There is no sex, although some relationships are implied. Han is roughed up by some thugs. Later, after being declared a Imperial Infantry deserter, Han is thrown into a mud-filled pit, where we think he is in danger of being killed. The plot centers around Han and Chewie joining a crew that works for criminal organizations. Chewie is shown holding two arms he has pulled off. There are laser gun battles and some swordplay, but all deaths shown are fairly bloodless. The Millenium Falcon is fired on by the Empire, and is almost eaten by a giant space octopus.,

MID- AND AFTER-CREDIT SCENES: There are NO mid-credit scene or after-credit scenes.

LIKE and SHARE the page ORBI-WAN GOES TO THE MOVIES.

Orb-Wan Goes To The Movies is protected under Creative Commons.

DJariya

I saw a matinee yesterday. I thought it was good, not great. Fun for the most part and with some humor. It was an interesting take on Han's origin story. I did enjoy his dynamic with Chewie and how they became buds.

I gave it 3 1/2 stars. Not the best Star Wars themed movie, but it had it's moments. I enjoyed the Darth Maul cameo as well.

At the very end of the movie was Han referencing Jabba the Hut?

DJLinus

Thanks for that. When the cameo popped up it was cool to see, but also took me out of it. I kept thinking, "How? Didn't he...? When does this take place?" (I'm one of those movie-only fans referenced in that article.)

Another head-scratcher for me...



Regardless, this was better than I anticipated. Not great, but some fun. Donald Glover channeling Billy Dee was the best part for me.

Also I hadn't been following the casting and for a good chunk of the movie I kept thinking, "I KNOW the female lead, but I just can't place her. The face, the voice..." Then I realized it was Daenarys from Game of Thrones. I'm an idiot Ha. One of these days I'm going to have to get it through my head that in real life she doesn't have long blonde hair and isn't always nekkid. (The same scenario happened when I saw that Terminator movie she was in.)

dex14

The job on Tatooine is clearly a reference to Jabba. Whatever comes next will set up the conflict between Han and the Hutts.

I think 10-14 years is an over estimate. To me, it would be more like 6 to 8 before ANH. Say Han is 18 or 19 in the first scene, cut to 3 years later and he’s 21 or 22 Then 7 or 8 years later he is 28 or 29 ANH. 10 years older than Luke and Leia. As reference points, Lucas was going to have a 10 year old Han in RotS. And there was a book that took place 10 years prior to ANH (no longer canon) that had Han's age at 19.

DJLinus

Thanks. It's been a while since I saw episode IV.

mapasu

Watched it today. I really liked it, then again I liked Caravan of Courage & The Battle of Endor so I am easy to please.

Joe Schmoe

Big disappointment. It just wasn't all that fun or funny. The plot was largely by the numbers and predictable. L3's chip on her shoulder got old quickly, and the idea of Lando having romantic feelings toward a droid was a bit sad and creepy. Mauls' appearance was a surprise, but I hate that he was ever resurrected. I loved the character in TPM, but his "death" in that movie should have remained final. And there was no need for him to ignite his saber at the end of his transmission. Worst of the SW movies IMHO.

jeffkjoe

Guys, this movie is UNDERPERFORMING TERRIBLY at the box-office, at least by Star Wars standards.

Hollywood Reporter:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...ruggle-1114854

It's only going to earn only 115 million for the 4-day weekend, and it's CRASHING overseas.

Troy Stiffler

Seems like a tidy take. Not every movie can be expected to break more than that.

It was enjoyable. On the subject of Ron Howard, I’m more looking forward to Arrested Development this Tuesday.

It’s been 30 years and I still enjoy Clint Howard’s bit parts.

I like Miller/Lord’s style. I am curious where they would have taken it.

Bluelitespecial

I was planning on holding off, but I’m going tonight at 9:15. I got nothing else going on so that’s why I’m going.

Bandoman

It was Meh. It seemed like the entire point of the movie was to explain what “I made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs” means. I agree that this is the weakest of the SW universe movies.

Also, I didn't like hte Darth Maul appearance. First - that wasn't Ray Parks, was it? Second, Maul is already dead, and there are always only two Sith. I'm not sure exactly where this fits in the prequel trilogy timeline, but it would be either Palpatine/Dooku or Palpatine/Vader at this point, right?

mcnabb

The one good thing is we don't have to hear the snarky comebacks when fans say they are going to boycott a SW movie, "No you won't, you'll be there opening weekend!" Finally, SW fans actually lived by their words as somebody out there boycotted because these numbers are really bad in the context of a SW movie. When Rogue One does 155 million opening weekend, and Solo does 1/3 less then that, then something happened with this fanbase after TLJ and how the movie divided the fans.

Bandoman

OK, this somewhat explains Maul's appearance. Hmmm.

outcastja

I think it has more to do with the fact it was released in the summer going up against movies like Infinity War and Deadpool 2. I don't know what Disney was thinking, I personally liked the idea of having a SW movie every December. They had a legit reason to push it back when the movie switched directors. But maybe Disney is setting up to release two SW movies a year.

mewmartigan

I think blaming Solo's box office on the fanbase division of TLJ is silly. As others said, it was released when Deadpool 2 and Infinity War are both still going strong. It was also a questionable movie to begin with as Harrison Ford IS Han Solo for most fans.

It was never going to perform as well as the "episode" ones and Rogue One was a December release with much less competition.

Orbi-Wan Techno

Solo is to the Star Wars Cinematic Universe what AntMan was to the MCU....

RoboDad

If, by that, you mean they are both very good movies, I agree.

stingermck

I agree that they should have released in December. Star wars has become a Christmas tradition with my family the last few years.