Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

[Joe]

So I've seen it. My least favourite of the good SW movies, though not terrible. It goes above the prequels, but below the other ones in my ranking. And you know how I said that Glover was too cool for Lando? I think he's actually trying too hard to be cool, and just comes off as fake. But so does pretty much everyone else. No one just kind of relaxes into it. Maybe they were on edge because of the whole director change, but it just doesn't quite work. The lead offender is Emilia Clarke, IMO. I haven't seen much of GOT, but I remember her being good there.

On the bright side, they don't go overboard with fanservice and shoutouts to what we've already seen. There's always a peril with that. See the prequels. But there is one weird moment, right at the end. You'll know it when you see it. Pure sequel bait. This bit I think I liked, it's just odd.

I'll go and see it again, yes. Just not right away.

[ApathyMonger]

That was fine. The early stuff is bad; it gets better as it goes but never reaches the heights of the better movies. None of the twists surprised me, though I wish I hadn't been spoiled on the thing at the end.

[SeanC]

I quite liked it, on the whole.  Given the troubled production, miraculously consistent.

Though on that point, all the discussion about Kennedy et al. being concerned that the movie was losing sight of Han's self-centered character or whatever...yeah, nice try guys, he's a total hero here.  He just doesn't want to enlist in a galactic rebellion.  Qi'ra outright tells him he's a hero toward the end, in fact.

Speaking of her, is the ending with Qi'ra meant to be setting up some sort of sequel?

It was a reasonable assumption given that we know it ends up being just Han and Chewbacca that much of the cast wouldn't come to good ends, but I was surprised by the timing of some of them.

L3 came close to stealing the movie.

[anyanka323]

For the behind the scenes troubles, it turned out to be a fairly cohesive and decent movie.  It was no Justice League where it was rather obvious that it felt like two different competing movies unsuccessfully melded together. 

The cast was good to excellent.  The standouts were Bettany, Harrelson, Glover, and Waller-Bridge as L3.  Ehrenreich did a decent job given the high expectations to live up to.  Thandie Newton was also excellent in her small role.  Even Emilia Clarke is decent. 

I thought that Beckett's reaction to the Cloud Riders had some personal animosity in addition to them being professional rivals.  I wonder if Val, Newton's character, had some relationship to Enfys Nest and the group.  If she did and left them to join up with Beckett, that could explain his aggressive hostility towards the group.

There's a decent number of references to both current Star Wars canon and some possible references to the pre-Disney Expanded Universe comics and novels.  The Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate could be renaming the Black Sun group from the EU.  That whole depiction of the shadowier side of the galaxy of the various smugglers and criminal networks were some of the more successful aspects of the EU.  If there is a sequel, some of those characters could be integrated into the new Disney Star Wars canon. 

[thuganomics85]

Hurray for low expectations, I guess?  Because I ended up enjoying it overall.  On some levels, I think I even had more fun with it then I had with Rogue One or The Last Jedi, since their wasn't so much darkness in this one and, of course, you generally know that Han, Chewie, and Lando are all going to turn out fine.  The rest of the cast are obviously more expendable, but outside of L3-37's death (sniff!), nothing was too sad.

Definitely predictable though.  I almost laughed that I totally called Tobias/Woody Harrelson turning on Han, because it was so obvious to me that his betrayal is what leads Han to become of a pessimist and closed off kind of guy.  Same with Qi'ra too, although I got the sense that part of her leaving him to go to Crimson Dawn was to protect him.  But assuming this does well enough to get sequels, their story has to end in tragedy as well.

While I will always be curious to see how Miller/Lord's version would have turned out, Ron Howard was capable enough behind the camera.  Certainly didn't feel as awkward as Justice League did with the two different directors.  I still find it interesting that despite winning an Oscar, Howard is still basically known as a competent, but uninteresting director.

I thought Alden Ehrenreich was decent and certainly not bad to the point for it to be rumored he actually needed an acting coach to come in.  Same with Emilia Clarke, who I've come to accept that while I do like her a lot, she does have limited range as an actress.  But she was fine here.  Harrelson was awesome and Thandie Newton made the most of her limited screen time.  Not familiar with Phoebe Waller-Bridge, but she was hilarious as L3-37.  Paul Bettany did his thing as the villain and Joonas Suotamo actually had some great reaction shots underneath all the prosthetics.  I love how you could tell when Chewie was just "Dude, this is a bad idea!  Why did I agree to team up with you?" about Han's next big move.

Still, as I suspected, my favorite part was easily Donald Glover as Lando.  I really want more Lando.  I demand a spin-off featuring him and L3-37 before all of this started! And I want to see him wear every single one of those magnificent capes of his!  Those are totally why he ended up getting to debt enough that he came out of retirement for that "score."

Fun seeing Warwick Davis again.

So, since this is suppose to be taken place after Revenge of the Sith, I'm going to assume that Darth Maul survived getting cut in half and falling in one of books or other extended universe things, and that's why he's apparently in charge of the Crimson Dawn.

So, yeah, basically not a classic, but I had a fun time at least and I wouldn't even be against revisiting this particular story in the Star Wars universe.

[methodwriter85]

It wasn't great but it was a pretty fun time. I wish Woody had not turned on Han but they made a nice fluffy movie.

[Joe]

2 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Joonas Suotamo actually had some great reaction shots underneath all the prosthetics.  I love how you could tell when Chewie was just "Dude, this is a bad idea!  Why did I agree to team up with you?" about Han's next big move.

So, since this is suppose to be taken place after Revenge of the Sith, I'm going to assume that Darth Maul survived getting cut in half and falling in one of books or other extended universe things, and that's why he's apparently in charge of the Crimson Dawn.

It must have been pretty nasty, covered in mud in the Chewie costume.

And yes, Maul survived. He spent some time leading a group of Mandalorians, then crime lord, then evil mentor. Every scheme kind of fell into a heap before Obi-Wan finished him once and for all.

[blueray]

I saw this yesterday. I went to an opening release party, people were dressed in costumes which was fun (mostly for kids) and they had a wookie contest.  Anyhow to the movie:

 

It was okay, there parts that I just missed as the dialog got drowned by the explosions/music. Did anyone else have this problem? It was better then rogue one in my opinion, but not by a lot. I feel like it was hard to get invested in this like his relationship with Kira who clearly doesn't end up with him as he is signal in a New Hope. And we already know he wins the ship in a poker game.  I did like seeing how he met Chewie, that was interesting. Overall, I would say that the exprience of seeing this in the theatre was fun but the overall movie is toward the bottom for me, but better than the prequels.

8 hours ago, SeanC said:

L3 came close to stealing the movie.

I liked her and was sad when she died.

[benteen]

I saw it last night and I really ended up enjoying it.  It was perfect by any means but it was fun and I liked it better than Deadpool 2.

The Kessel Run scene in particular was a LOT of fun and maybe the highlight of the movie for me.

Alden Ehrenreich wasn't terrible as Han and he was fine but he's no Harrison Ford.  Someone noted that he looks like a young Jack Nicholson and I would agree with that.  Glover is definitely the standout as Lando.  He even sounds like Billy Dee at times.  A lot of Chewbacca and that is a good thing.  L3 is definitely a fun character too.  I thought the rest of the cast was good and I liked Emilia Clarke's character.  While a Game of Thrones fan, I've never been a great fan of her acting but I thought she was good here.

Loved getting to see the Falcon when she was all new and polished.

I'm glad they kept Han's Imperial background from the EU though I wish they had kept the whole "Imperial pilot who freed Chewbacca from slavery" angle more like the original EU stuff.

The Darth Maul cameo legitimately surprised me.  I very much enjoyed it.  I was a big fan of The Clone Wars and Rebels animated series so knowing the character was alive wasn't a surprise to me although I imagine a LOT of people are going to be really confused by it (I know my boss was).  Considering that Maul likely won't be in any sequel, I do question the logic of putting him in here.  But I did not mind though, I thought it was cool and thrilled that Sam Witwer voiced the character.

A lot of references from the old and new EUs in this, including the fate of Aurra Sing.

Quote

Though on that point, all the discussion about Kennedy et al. being concerned that the movie was losing sight of Han's self-centered character or whatever...yeah, nice try guys, he's a total hero here.  He just doesn't want to enlist in a galactic rebellion.  Qi'ra outright tells him he's a hero toward the end, in fact.

LOL, yeah.  I imagine he becomes more jaded and cynical as the years go on though I don't know if they laid the best foundation for that and that's important.

I thought this was a success and a fun movie.  I don't know about a sequel though.  To me it would be just another standalone movie with smaller stakes.

[VCRTracking]

Have not seen it yet but a week ago someone who had tweeted there was a cameo that would confuse a lot of people but not those who had seen Clone Wars or Rebels and it took me about two minutes to realize who they were talking about!

I personally think it's cool.

[afterbite]

Meh. I spent most of the movie wishing it would end already. It had a really paint-by-numbers feel for me, like they were moving by rote through a list of things they thought the fans would like. I mean, I might have liked them, but even the movie didn't seem excited about them. I was excited when I saw there was more than one female character. I was less excited by the end, when they'd fridged 2/4. The movie both tried to tell me they were important and meaningful to their male counterparts while also not having anyone mourn them for more than a hot second.

Chewie was cool, though. 

Edited May 25, 2018 by afterbite

[Browncoat]

I liked it quite a lot, even though some of the "twists" were telegraphed miles ahead.  Chewie and Lando were definite standouts, of course, but I thought everyone did fine.  It was a bit slow to start -- lots of exposition and getting Han off Corellia, and, while being in the infantry set up the rest of the movie, it maybe could have been shortened slightly.  Not sure how or where, since we needed every minute of the "When Han Met Chewie" story.

I loved the Kessel Run sequence, though I hated how battered the Falcon got.  I know, I know, it had to happen, but still.  That ship seemed almost brand new when they started!

I am looking forward to seeing it again.  There were lots of little things (as there always are) that I feel like I missed. 

[MrsR]

Enjoyed it very much. Doesn't have the emotional content of the others but that's okay. This was more of a space romp.

 

I loved that it was basically a galactic hive of scum and villainy and just about everyone was going to betray/screw someone else over.

 

Was touched by Chewie and his Wookie comrades. Surprised by the evil cameo at the end.

 

Shiny new Millenium Falcon getting turned into a junk pile was hilarious.

 

And Han shot first.

[theredhead77]

I loved it! I was super hesitant to watch Solo after Last Jedi (hated it) but I came out of there with a huge smile on my face. That was 2.25 hours of fun. 

I did think a lot of the flight scenes were written so they could be inserted into Star Tours and rides in the new Star Wars-land at Disneyland / World. They just had too much POV action to not be.

I would love to see a Lando movie with this Lando, or spin off involving all his capes.

[Jediknight]

I was hesitant about this movie.  The changing directors, reshoots, putting it this close to Last Jedi, not much promotion for a Star Wars movie, and the fact that Ehrenreich had to follow Harrison Ford, but all that said, I enjoyed it.  I was not bored for one moment.

We need a Lando and L3 movie, this can't be the only movie that Donald Glover plays Lando.  Give him his own movie.

Han flying the Falcon for the first time, and the music, that was just awesome.

I know some don't like that Han wasn't a complete scoundrel, but the character has had the outward bravado of a scoundrel, but deep down was a hero.  It's something only those closest to him know, so it made sense for Qi'ra to call him a hero.  Remember he came back to save Luke and the Rebellion instead of paying Jabba, he stuck with the Rebellion instead of paying Jabba, he risked his life to save Luke, and he got Leia out of Hoth.  It was keeping with Han's character.

[Unusual Suspect]

My biggest issue was just how drab, washed out and dark the movie was. It was frustratingly dark.

Aside from that, eh. Mediocre movie. Still beats the prequels, but that just lands in the gulf between them and everything else.

[Browncoat]

8 hours ago, MrsR said:

 

 

And Han shot first.

That earned a cheer, a “YEAH!” and a “Han shot first!” from various audience members in my theater.  I may or may not have been one of those people.

[Scarlett45]

I thought that the young actor playing Han spent a good time studying Harrison Ford’s speech patterns and facial expressions. I could believe that was a young Han Solo after seeing the original trilogy. 

 

My favorite parts were Han meeting Chewy, L3, Chewy, and Donald Glover as Lando. Emilia Clarke was okay, I could see her as a woman who grew up in a similar situation as Han and took a darker path. Han’s upbringing shaped him but he chose to rise above it without abandoning what made him- HIM. The thing about Han vs Luke in the original trilogy, Luke was raised by his step uncle/aunt and by all accounts the loved and nurtured him; Han it seems was orphaned at an early age, forced into slave labor (a life of crime and abuse just to survive) and he lost his strongest emotional connection in Qi’ra. That makes a different kind of hero. 

[Robert Lynch]

11 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I loved it! I was super hesitant to watch Solo after Last Jedi (hated it) but I came out of there with a huge smile on my face. That was 2.25 hours of fun. 

I did think a lot of the flight scenes were written so they could be inserted into Star Tours and rides in the new Star Wars-land at Disneyland / World. They just had too much POV action to not be.

I would love to see a Lando movie with this Lando, or spin off involving all his capes.

Count me as one who saw The Last Jedi and Rogue One that didn't think they were all that special to begin with. This movie I personally loved and this was a breath of fresh air from the darkness that plagued the prequels. True, this movie had flaws and whatnot, but it was fun. That was missing in the recent franchise of Star Wars! And I think Ron Howard did a good job considering this is not his usual field of direction.

[raven]

12 hours ago, Unusual Suspect said:

My biggest issue was just how drab, washed out and dark the movie was. It was frustratingly dark.

Whew, I thought it was just me.  It was very washed out and dark.  We don't need bright Disney colors for the move but jeez, I'd like to see some facial expressions and background more than just once in a while.  I get that this was a seedy side of the universe and all that, but it was really drab.

13 hours ago, Jediknight said:

I know some don't like that Han wasn't a complete scoundrel, but the character has had the outward bravado of a scoundrel, but deep down was a hero.  It's something only those closest to him know, so it made sense for Qi'ra to call him a hero.  Remember he came back to save Luke and the Rebellion instead of paying Jabba, he stuck with the Rebellion instead of paying Jabba, he risked his life to save Luke, and he got Leia out of Hoth.  It was keeping with Han's character.

Yes, Han never struck me as a total scoundrel.   It would also make sense that a younger Han would have even more of a somewhat optimistic outlook, even given his upbringing.  I thought Alden and Emilia had a nice chemistry and I believed in her faith in him.   You knew she was never gong to leave with Han and seeing that she was ultimately reporting to Darth Maul - well, it would be pretty much impossible for her to get away from a Sith Lord. 

Overall I liked it.  I liked the train heist but thought it went on a bit too long.   The Kessel run was a lot of fun too; so was seeing Han come into his own as a pilot.  Chewie jumping in the co-pilot's seat was another favorite moment. 

I thought Alden Ehrenreich as Han was fine - his biggest issue was that he had to play off of Woody Harrelson's natural charisma and watchability; he held his own most of the time but occasionally faded into the background.    I enjoyed all the Han/Chewie scenes and Han/Lando was fun as well.   I also liked that "Solo" was a name given to Han by a random button-pusher.

I'll stand alone as really being annoyed by L3.  I mean, I LOVED K-2SO in Rogue One; I like smart-ass droids and liked that she started a droid rebellion.  Maybe it was the cadence of her voice or something but I just wanted her to shut up. 

Loved Lando's collection of capes - his whole colorful wardrobe was great.   "It's custom made" when Qi'ra is using a cape to put out the fire was a good, funny moment.

On 5/25/2018 at 8:35 AM, benteen said:

Considering that Maul likely won't be in any sequel, I do question the logic of putting him in here.  But I did not mind though, I thought it was cool and thrilled that Sam Witwer voiced the character.

Ray Park played Maul here, which is another nice touch.   I read that if there is an Obi-Wan movie, it would make sense to include Maul in that, so he may show up again.  I could see him being in a Solo sequel, especially if Emilia Clarke is brought back.  I've not seen Rebels or Clone Wars but I know the basics of his resurrection; a sequel could have some brief exposition about what happened I guess.

18 hours ago, MrsR said:

And Han shot first.

Always and forever, damned straight.

[anna0852]

I'm majorly confused. We see Qu'ira talking to

Spoiler

Darth Maul

at the end and we know

Spoiler

Maul dies in Phantom Menace

when Anakin is 10 years old. At least 10-15 years before Luke and Leia are even concieved. Just how much older is Han than Leia? He's in his early 20's in this movie.

Edited to add: I am an idiot. We see Stormtroopers, Tie fighters and Star Destroyers in this. Clearly it is a post-prequel world and I did not think things through.

Edited May 27, 2018 by anna0852
I'm stupid

[Proclone]

1 hour ago, raven said:

Yes, Han never struck me as a total scoundrel.   It would also make sense that a younger Han would have even more of a somewhat optimistic outlook, even given his upbringing.  I thought Alden and Emilia had a nice chemistry and I believed in her faith in him.   You knew she was never gong to leave with Han and seeing that she was ultimately reporting to Darth Maul - well, it would be pretty much impossible for her to get away from a Sith Lord. 

2

I saw this last night and I overall enjoyed it.  I do agree that deep down even the Han of the Orginal Trilogy was a good guy.  And it makes total sense that a younger Han would be happier and more optimistic.  That being said, I kind of thought that this movie would show us how Han became the grumpy cynical person we all know and love came from.  Yes Beckett betrays him (but he expected it) and Qi'ra leaves, but neither of these events seems to "break" Han in any real way.  He seems just as happy and optimistic when playing cards with Lando at the end as he did throughout the rest of the movie.  I get that in real life that it's rarely one event that makes someone makes someone cynical and world-weary, but when you have a character kind of known for those things it seems odd when telling their origin story, not to show how they got that way.

I did like Ehrenreich as Han and I thought he did a good job playing the character without falling into an impersonation of Ford.  I also like Clark as Qi'ra and I like the character of Qi'ra.  She wasn't the femme fatale I was kind of expecting her to be, but she also wasn't naive in any way.  She had the right mix of world-weariness and hope that things might be better (even if not for herself) that I really liked.  Her connection to the Sith is certainly interesting and I'm wondering how it connects to the larger Star Wars Universe.  I also quite liked that she's not really that similar to Leia so, it makes it clear that Han fell for Leia for Leia and not as some replacement goldfish to his lost love. 

I have mixed feeling on L3...I feel like the message she was preaching raised interesting ideas that have been largely ignored by the Stars Wars Universe so far, such as are droids fully sentient? Are they slaves to their programming or to humans?  But it was treated as a joke by the movie in a way that left me a bit uncomfortable.  If you had a character railing against human slavery, would it be treated as "There goes L3 wanting people not to be slaves again, that scamp," like it was in this movie?  Anyway YMMV but I thought it didn't fit in with the rest of the tone of the movie and was inappropriately used as a joke.

That being said, I enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I would.  When I first heard they were making a Solo prequel I wanted no part of it but after Rogue One I softened to the idea, but they re-shoots and I was on the fence again.  But this was solid if not spectacular movie that I enjoyed.

[AimingforYoko]

1 minute ago, anna0852 said:

I'm majorly confused. We see Qu'ira talking to

  Hide contents

Darth Maul

at the end and we know

  Hide contents

Maul dies in Phantom Menace

when Anakin is 10 years old. At least 10-15 years before Luke and Leia are even concieved. Just how much older is Han than Leia? He's in his early 20's in this movie.

Spoiler

He gets better. They flesh out his story in Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels Until....

[anna0852]

@AimingforYoko I never saw either of those. So

Spoiler

Darth Maul survived being cut in half?

[AimingforYoko]

1 minute ago, anna0852 said:

@AimingforYoko I never saw either of those. So

  Hide contents

Darth Maul survived being cut in half?

Spoiler

Yep. So remember kids, when bisecting someone strong with The Force, bisect vertically, not horizontally.

[Browncoat]

37 minutes ago, Proclone said:

That being said, I kind of thought that this movie would show us how Han became the grumpy cynical person we all know and love came from.  Yes Beckett betrays him (but he expected it) and Qi'ra leaves, but neither of these events seems to "break" Han in any real way.  He seems just as happy and optimistic when playing cards with Lando at the end as he did throughout the rest of the movie.  I get that in real life that it's rarely one event that makes someone makes someone cynical and world-weary, but when you have a character kind of known for those things it seems odd when telling their origin story, not to show how they got that way.

This movie puts him on the path to being the grumpy cynic we meet in A New Hope.  It ends ten years prior to the events of that one, and as Han is leaving (after having won the Falcon), he is headed toward Tatooine to work for Jabba.  If there are three of these, I suspect the last one will end with Han in the cantina in Mos Eisley, just before meeting Obi-Wan and Luke.  Ten years is a long time, and ten years smuggling for Jabba is enough to turn anyone cynical and pessimistic, even though, as we know, it doesn't destroy that core of hope and heroism that persists in Han.

[benteen]

Quote

Whew, I thought it was just me.  It was very washed out and dark.  We don't need bright Disney colors for the move but jeez, I'd like to see some facial expressions and background more than just once in a while.  I get that this was a seedy side of the universe and all that, but it was really drab.

Yeah, I had a big problem with this too.  This was particularly noticeable in the early Kessel scenes.  I think the dark quality of the scenes and the fact that it was too long were too negatives for the movie.

[ZoqFotPik]

On 5/24/2018 at 9:33 PM, anyanka323 said:

The Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate could be renaming the Black Sun group from the EU. 

Black Sun already exists. The organization appeared in both "The Clone Wars" and "Rebels".

Overall I thought the movie was OK. I didn't follow the production, so I didn't know anything about any of the problems. As others have already stated, most of the twists and turns were obvious from the start. I've loved Donald Glover since Community and thought he was the highlight of the movie as Lando.

[absnow54]

I didn't love it, but I liked it well enough. I thought all the action sequences ran too long, and they provably could have cut 30 minutes from the film without anyone noticing. What this movie did do well was callback to the classic Star Wars movie score. That got me way more pumped than a lot of the action.

I thought Alden Notevengoingtotryandbutcherhislastname did a good job at capturing Han's essence. He didn't have the same charm and charisma as Harrison Ford, but he still felt like Han. His easy chemistry with Chewie was by far the best part. 

I thought Donald Glover made a few odd choices when it came to Lando, but then I realized those were just Billy Dee Williams impressions. I did like the adversarial friendship between him and Han, and if we get more movies, I'm excited to see their characters grow more into the ones we met in the OT. 

I know Han was a little too chipper and optimistic in this movie, but I think the character we saw in this movie really shows how Luke and Leia became his people. Young Han was a lot like the Luke we meet in A New Hope. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by absnow54

[revbfc]

To all those complaining about how dark & smokey the movie looked: I agree with you.

What I’d like to know is how much of that smoke, mist and bad lighting was there to mask that they blew most of their budget during Lord & Miller’s time on the job.

[Joe]

5 hours ago, revbfc said:

To all those complaining about how dark & smokey the movie looked: I agree with you.

What I’d like to know is how much of that smoke, mist and bad lighting was there to mask that they blew most of their budget during Lord & Miller’s time on the job.

Okay, this is a deep dive, but stay with me. Way back in the 70s, Allan Dean Foster wrote Splinter of the Mind's Eye that could be adapted as a sequel to ANH if ANH didn't so so well. He came up with the planet Mimban that was all misty, to save money on sets. The planet with all the mist? Mimban. Sure they didn't have to make it misty, but Star Wars is funny about how they honour the past. George Lucas recycled his unused OT ideas all through the prequels.

Apparently the DOP was trying something clever with the lighting, and it should be watched with a properly lit screen. However, it seems that many screens aren't properly lit. I bet that Ep IX will be less fancy. Foolproof.

[dkb]

I really liked it. Was a light fun adventure film and I (only watched the Disney Star Wars movies) wasn't confused about much. Some of the references didn't have any impact on me cause IDK what they were talking about but the movie still worked, if that makes sense.

I wish that the Val and Rio characters had survived, they were interesting.  Also liked the little alien singer dude on Dryden's ship, that was cool.

[revbfc]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

Okay, this is a deep dive, but stay with me. Way back in the 70s, Allan Dean Foster wrote Splinter of the Mind's Eye that could be adapted as a sequel to ANH if ANH didn't so so well. He came up with the planet Mimban that was all misty, to save money on sets. The planet with all the mist? Mimban. Sure they didn't have to make it misty, but Star Wars is funny about how they honour the past. George Lucas recycled his unused OT ideas all through the prequels.

Apparently the DOP was trying something clever with the lighting, and it should be watched with a properly lit screen. However, it seems that many screens aren't properly lit. I bet that Ep IX will be less fancy. Foolproof.

I was thinking about Splinter Of the Mind’s Eye, too!  

[SnoGirl]

I thought it was okay. Not the best, not the worst. I thought it was a fun romp into the Star Wars World without Skywalkers. 

Wish they hadnt killed Thadie Newton’s character so quickly. Would it have killed them to have more than one female on screen at a time? Plus, I would have loved to see her either double cross Han too or be surprised at Beckett’s turn. Plus, they had said there’s going to be a possibility of a couple more Solo movies right? No need to kill off everyone so quickly. Watching her fire at drones did make me think of Star Wars games I’ve played...hiding behind things to shoot down the drones. I did chuckle to myself.

Did have a big smile on my face for some of the parts. The first time we see Han escape. First time Han is in the driver’s seat. All the Chewie/Han moments. Lando tossing the gun to Han, and then Han and Chewie getting Lando back onto the Falcon when he was shot. Actually, wish the camera hadn’t been so close to Chewie when he picked up Lando. Lol, wish I had a giphy of it. Even if Lando doesnt get his own movie, I do hope he will be back for the Solo films. I did enjoy their adversary friendship. Has any website put together an Easter Egg list yet? I know I missed stuff, would love to see a list.

Hated how dark everything was. Hope they lighten it up for the dvd release. You literally couldnt even see facial expressions at one point. 

[cynic]

I watched this in 4DX. I was wondering if that was why the movie was so dark, but I guess it was dark anyway. I liked it okay. Unlike apparently the rest of the universe, I always preferred Luke to Han, so I guess I just wasn't that interested in seeing how Han became Han. He was always enough as is for me. Maybe if I was more interested in his backstory, I would have felt more when the obvious betrayals happened, but I didn't find the twists either compelling nor particularly convincing as the reason for his Han-ness. I also wasn't moved by the movie showing us all the events that I had already imagined when they were explained in the OT. I mean, sure it's fun for the nostalgia factor, but it made the whole thing feel overstuffed and predictable. Maybe this should have been a Lando movie, since it wouldn't have been so pre-written.

I really wish the movie had settled down more and just focused too. I get what they were going for with both the mentor and first love thing, but I think I would have preferred just one of the other. (Preferably the mentor, because I am not a fan of Emilia Clarke or the idea of having this major lost love in Han's backstory.) With just the mentor, maybe we could have built up the relationship between Beckett and Han more so it wasn't like they just met when the climax happened. Plus, then we could've spent more time with the rest of the gang. Why even get Thandie Newton for such a throwaway role?  

Things I did like: the fleshing out of Chewie and Han's relationship with him, Donald Glover as Lando, Rio, Woody Harrelson (always welcome on my screen, even doing a role he could do in his sleep), the Enfys Nest reveal, and the train sequence. Plus, the kessel run was fun in 4dx even if I didn't like how muddy and cluttered the visuals were.

Another thing I didn't like: Can we stop with the dice? It was okay in TLJ, though super random since the vast majority of us had never spotted them before. Sure, it was kinda sweet for Luke to "give" that memento to Leia, but now that I know that it was a thing with Qira too, well, blech. 

Come at me bro: I kinda hated L3. I didn't find her particularly funny, especially considering her issues actually brought up kinda a squicky aspect of Star Wars. Are the droids sentient beings that are enslaved and used for labor/fodder due to their lesser status? Yup, that material is totally ripe for mining for jokes. Plus, the sequence when Lando tries to save her was the one time I really did not like Glover's acting. 

[DrSpaceman]

I thought it was an OK movie. Nothing great, but I enjoyed it.

I was expecting more though.  With Solo and Lando in the film and centered around them, there was a whole lot of fun potential for the film that just wasn't met. 

I didn't like L3.  Thought she was like jar-jar light in terms of annoyance.  I don't get the love for her character. 

Plus I found it odd she implied Lando and her had more than just a close friendship.  It seemed she implied there was a romantic relationship.  Maybe it was meant as a joke or overstating it on her part, but still, I'd rather not think about how that works. 

I liked Donald Glover though as Lando.  ANd I enjoyed learning how Han and Chewie met. 

FOr the most part though, lots of potential for the movie that went unmet. 

[Joe]

1 hour ago, cynic said:

Another thing I didn't like: Can we stop with the dice? It was okay in TLJ, though super random since the vast majority of us had never spotted them before. Sure, it was kinda sweet for Luke to "give" that memento to Leia, but now that I know that it was a thing with Qira too, well, blech.

The dice are actually in the OT. Look at the Falcon cockpit scenes. Admittedly they weren't a big deal back then.

[Proclone]

52 minutes ago, DrSpaceman said:

I thought it was an OK movie. Nothing great, but I enjoyed it.

I was expecting more though.  With Solo and Lando in the film and centered around them, there was a whole lot of fun potential for the film that just wasn't met. 

I didn't like L3.  Thought she was like jar-jar light in terms of annoyance.  I don't get the love for her character. 

Plus I found it odd she implied Lando and her had more than just a close friendship.  It seemed she implied there was a romantic relationship.  Maybe it was meant as a joke or overstating it on her part, but still, I'd rather not think about how that works. 

I liked Donald Glover though as Lando.  ANd I enjoyed learning how Han and Chewie met. 

FOr the most part though, lots of potential for the movie that went unmet. 

Well, to be fair she implied Lando wanted more than a close friendship not that there actually was a romantic relationship and I actually found that mildly amusing if only for Qi'ra's reaction to that implication. I think it was pretty clear it was meant as a joke that she was misinterperating his feelings towards her.

I don't think L3 was quite to Jar Jar levels but yeah I wasn't a big fan. Like I said treating everything she said as a joke made for a muddy offputting tone.  I think after K2SO they were looking for their next funny droid,  but K2 would have been funny even if he was a human character,  L3's "humor" depended on her droid-ness and it just didn't work by in large.  I think mostly because she was the butt of most of the jokes instead using her to poke fun at the rest of the characters like K2 did.

[cynic]

1 hour ago, Joe said:

The dice are actually in the OT. Look at the Falcon cockpit scenes. Admittedly they weren't a big deal back then.

Oh, I know. It's just that they were such a tiny set detail that they meant nothing to the majority of viewers since most of us had never noticed them. It was a random piece of minutiae that TPTB suddenly decided to imbue with all this meaning that wasn't there before.

[Lantern7]

Not bad. Not as dreary as Rogue One, though we knew that three of the main characters would survive. That takes a little suspense out, but it was okay. Not like somebody prophesize [sic?] that Han would not get killed on the Kesel Run, but rather by his emo bitch of a son. I think Han would rather have Chewie snap his neck.

I am a little annoyed that everything happened to make Han Solo . . . Han Solo. Like the Kesel Run. And meeting Chewbacca. And getting the Millennium Falcon. Well, maybe just being in there. The bit where Han's surname was made up? That was . . . odd. Cut to the fanfic writers making him a second cousin of the Kenobi family. Hey, I would have made it "Djob" and called it a day.

L337 = "L33T" = "elite"? Bad news . . . it looks like tie-in movies are going to be rough on droids with personality. Sucks since we could use those guys/gals more than C3P0. I know, I know, that was the point of Threepio.

It is weird that I found Qu'ira to be hot? Not overtly so, but she looked good. I knew that her abduction would more or less jade her . . . but her superior is Darth Maul? That was something. Also . . . Darth Maul?!? I never got into the tie-in CGI series, so I figured his story ended in TPM. Seriously, if he lived, he wouldn't have made the prequel trilogy much better. Great visual, poor results.

That was Thandie Newton? Cool. I guess she wanted a role without total nudity. Seriously, after that first season of Westworld, I felt qualified to examine her. And yes, I know she hasn't gotten nude in the current season.

I can see the love for Young Lando. It would be interesting to see how he and Han would become friends. Liked the bit where Han threatened people with fictional troops on the Falcon, and Lando took that exact moment to take off.

For anybody not into Robot Chicken, I offer this and this. Billy Dee has done several skits for the series, including a twist on "This deal is getting worse all the time!"

[Cherpumple]

I had low expectations going in, but was happy to just see a fun Star Wars movie, without all the death and angst that have been dished up by the latest the saga films and Rogue One.

I liked L3 and her story arc with the droid rebellion and the “girl talk” scene with Qi’ra, but thought Lando’s reaction to her death was way over the top. It was sad that she died, but I actually started laughing at all his weeping and wailing.

Speaking of Lando, I loved the wardrobe, and loved that he consistently pronounced Han so it rhymed with “pan” rather than “con.” Nice continuity with Billy Dee’s performance.

I didn’t get a good read on Qi’ra. Was she playing Han the whole time? Did she really love him, but pushed him away out of shame, or to protect him from Darth Maul? Was she conflicted and didn’t actually choose her path until she grabbed the Crimson Dawn ring? I have no idea.

The ending confused me for a minute, since I haven’t seen Clone Wars and couldn’t remember if the “Darth Maul survived” story I had heard was real or just a fanfic someone told me about. At first I thought it was a different alien from his same planet, which would explain why he looked similar, but when the “Dual of the Fates” musical cue started playing, I know it was him. I love that music!

7 hours ago, cynic said:

Another thing I didn't like: Can we stop with the dice? It was okay in TLJ, though super random since the vast majority of us had never spotted them before. Sure, it was kinda sweet for Luke to "give" that memento to Leia, but now that I know that it was a thing with Qira too, well, blech. 

Yes, thank you! They are REALLY trying to make those dice "a thing" and it's just not working for me. After TLJ I assumed they would be play some key part in Han's development, but... not so much. It was very anticlimactic.

[Browncoat]

While it might be nice to have Lando in any future Han Solo movies, he shouldn’t be. When Han and Leia arrive at Bespin in the OT, Han implies that he hasn’t seen Lando since Han won the Falcon from him.

Lando’s capes need to get together with Dr. Strange’s cape.

[Morrigan2575]

11 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

For anybody not into Robot Chicken, I offer this and this. Billy Dee has done several skits for the series, including a twist on "This deal is getting worse all the time!"

I don't know if this was Billy Dee but, it's one of my favorite Robot Chicken Star Wars skits.

[Crs97]

I had no interest in seeing, but we all went as a family and we all enjoyed it.  Chuckled a lot at the “I hate you.”  “I know.” exchange.  I am curious to find out who Qi’ra becomes.

One disappointing nitpick for me was the Kessel run.  I wanted it to be because the Falcon is fast, not because they found a shortcut.

[Browncoat]

13 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

I had no interest in seeing, but we all went as a family and we all enjoyed it.  Chuckled a lot at the “I hate you.”  “I know.” exchange.  I am curious to find out who Qi’ra becomes.

One disappointing nitpick for me was the Kessel run.  I wanted it to be because the Falcon is fast, not because they found a shortcut.

I think the Kessel run was a little of both.  That shortcut didn’t really seem to save much time.

[TVSpectator]

So I saw this yesterday and I guess it was okay. Not really something that was flat out terrible but also something that didn't grab my attention either. I liked Woody Harrison's character and also Emilie Clark's character among the newly introduced characters so far. But what I really liked was seeing Glover as Lando and that was what saved the movie for me. Personally, I liked that character and I could totally see that version morphing into the version we first see in Empire. Also, I noticed that there wasn't really any cinematography that stood out for me like there was in Rogue One. 

 

Okay, the rest I feel like nitpicks and not major issues but here they are:

 

- This may sound like a nitpick but I didn't really like  Ehrenreich as a young Han Solo. I just couldn't see how this version was supposed to become the Han we see in A New Hope. It' wasn't because of anything about poor acting (Ehrenreich did a great job acting) but that, the character I just couldn't see as Han. Maybe Han's long lost brother but that was about it. 

- Another nitpick, L337 was funny at first. The whole droid's rights was kind of funny (since I have read something similar on Cracked. com a few years ago) but as the character continued I just find her comments to be annoying. I think it would've been better for them to just have an HK47- esque droid instead of the whole, "droids' rights" act that never really came in handy and it was a joke that I thought was overplayed in the movie. I could've seen L337 just freeing those droids, at that mine, to cause a distraction, not because of droids rights but because maybe she was resourceful and thought on her feet in the heat of the moment, instead?

- I really didn't like Tobias Beckett's name. It just felt to Earth like for me and not something that a character from Star Wars' universe would have. Although, it wasn't dumb sounding like some other names that I have heard it was just too mundane, IMO. 

- Darth Maul appearing at the end. Didn't he die at the end of Phantom Menace? So does this mean that this all happens around the time of young "Anakin" (being only 9 or 10 years old) being discovered by Qui-Gon Jinn? I know that Han was older than Leia but if it was supposed to be at the time of the Phantom Menace then Han wouldn't be like in his the mid-40s to in his 50s once he meets Leia. If that was true (and I don't think so) then that would mean - ew. 

I think that is about all I can remember right now. Overall, not a bad movie but also not a great movie either. 

Edit:

- I was disappointed that the Kessel Run wasn't a race but instead just something that you have to regularly do to get to a mining colony. I always thought that the Kessel Run was some kind of race because the way Han (the Harrison Ford version) talked about it like it was such a great achievement and my assumption was that it was a semi-famous race that Luke didn't know about and Obi-Wan just doesn't care because he was a hermit Jedi. 

- I am also disappointed that the Kessel Run was a shortcut and not an actual "race" per se. 

- Also, I guess the new thing is that if the character doesn't appear in the Original Trilogies then that means that they will die by the end of the movie. I know that  Qi'ra surivived and went to talk to Darth Maul but I feel like her time is almost up.

Edited May 28, 2018 by TVSpectator

[Spartan Girl]

I know some people are going to find things to bitch about, but I liked it. By movie that's better than the prequels is fine in my book. As many already said, Lando, L3 and Chewie were the standouts. And I think Alden did a good job mimicking Han's swagger.

So beyond happy Qi'ra didn't get fridged!t

DARTH MAUL LIVES?! Never saw the Clone Wars or spin-off shows, so that was a shocker. But now he gets to be more than a lame one-shot character.

"I hate you." "I know." Ha!

And it cannot be said enough: HAN SHOT FIRST.

[Browncoat]

22 minutes ago, TVSpectator said:

- Darth Maul appearing at the end. Didn't he die at the end of Phantom Menace? So does this mean that this all happens around the time of young "Anakin" (being only 9 or 10 years old) being discovered by Qui-Gon Jinn? I know that Han was older than Leia but if it was supposed to be at the time of the Phantom Menace then Han wouldn't be like in his the mid-40s to in his 50s once he meets Leia. If that was true (and I don't think so) then that would mean - ew. 

See earlier posts on this -- Darth Maul was saved, and Han is only about 10-12 years older than Luke and Leia.

[TVSpectator]

14 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

See earlier posts on this -- Darth Maul was saved, and Han is only about 10-12 years older than Luke and Leia.

So he somehow survived the battle with Obi-Wan where it was implied he was gutted by Obi-Wan with Qui-Gon's lightsaber.

[Browncoat]

Per previous posts:

9 minutes ago, TVSpectator said:

So he somehow survived the battle with Obi-Wan where it was implied he was gutted by Obi-Wan with Qui-Gon's lightsaber.

On 5/25/2018 at 2:46 AM, thuganomics85 said:

So, since this is suppose to be taken place after Revenge of the Sith, I'm going to assume that Darth Maul survived getting cut in half and falling in one of books or other extended universe things, and that's why he's apparently in charge of the Crimson Dawn.

 

 

On 5/25/2018 at 5:14 AM, Joe said:

And yes, Maul survived. He spent some time leading a group of Mandalorians, then crime lord, then evil mentor. Every scheme kind of fell into a heap before Obi-Wan finished him once and for all.

 

On 5/26/2018 at 6:33 PM, AimingforYoko said:

He gets better. They flesh out his story in Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels