Solo: A Star Wars Story
My hope for the “Star Wars” anthology films is that they, sooner rather than later, are able to get away from telling stories about pre-existing characters in the “Star Wars” Universe, away from the events around the Skywalker saga, and can expand the breadth of that galaxy far, far away while experimenting with the type of movies that can be told within the realms of the films. When Christopher Miller and Phil Lord were dropped from the Han Solo film and replaced by Ron Howard when the film was veering from the tone Lucasfilm and co-writer Lawrence Kasden envisioned, it’s fair to wonder whether it might have been cold feet on that idea by Lucasfilm’s part, and if we might see an expansion of the what type of film we might get from this franchise in the future with these anthology films.
All that being said, I’m very surprised with how content I am with how “Solo” turned out. I don’t know that I’ve been anticipating a “Star Wars” film less, at any time (even after “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones,” I still eagerly awaited “Revenge of the Sith”), but I feel as though my expectations were matched by the final product Howard has delivered. It’s not a film that blew me away, but I enjoyed thoroughly the energy and simplicity of the film Howard and writers Lawrence and Jonathan Kasden came across the finish line with. Is it as meaningful a film as “The Empire Strikes Back” or “The Last Jedi?” No, but it’s also a film that finds its lane and stays in it with confidence and swagger, not unlike the scruffy-looking nerf herder at the center of it. I’m really going to enjoy revisiting this film, and honestly, it’s hard to tell that this film went through the upheaval it did during production, which is probably the best compliment you can give Howard, at the end of this whole process.
Before we get too deep into the film itself, a bit of a word about Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo. Needless to say, this feels like a no-win situation for an actor, as he steps into a role so iconically portrayed by Harrison Ford in the original trilogy, along with 2015’s “The Force Awakens.” But is it any different than what the actors of JJ Abrams’s “Star Trek” film had to endure, in terms of scrutiny, or whenever a new James Bond is cast? As much as I love “Star Wars” as a franchise, I would argue no, and besides, anyone with a reasonable understanding of the franchise, and the character of Solo, would be able to tell you- if they’re being really honest with themselves- that the person most responsible for turning Han’s smuggler-turned-rebel fighter-turned-smuggler into an icon was not Ford, but actually writer Lawrence Kasden. Han Solo is a great counterpoint to Luke and Leia in “A New Hope,” but it was in “Empire,” when Kasden first joined the franchise, that he became the character we all know and love, and his return to the franchise in “Force Awakens” and “Solo” shows just how important his understanding of that character (and, more importantly, of Harrison Ford as an actor, because he also co-wrote “Raiders of the Lost Ark”) has been as the character was brought back to the franchise. There’s been a lot of skepticism of Ehrenreich being cast in the role, but as soon as I heard his casting (which came after his turn in the Coen Brothers’s “Hail, Caesar!”), I got excited, because I really enjoyed his work in the Coen film, and saw it as a solid primer for him playing Han. Forget about the fact that an acting coach was supposedly brought on to help him (it actually happens more than you realize); Ehrenreich doesn’t try to replicate what Ford did with the character, but be true to Kasden’s interpretation of the character, and while he may not look like Ford, you definitely feel like you’re watching Han Solo on the screen as he’s becoming the character we know and love. Relax, fans; Ehrenreich is solid.
The film begins with Han as a street hustler on Corellia after a crawl sets the stage, letting us know a bit about the criminal underworld Solo finds himself in with his lifelong friend, and love interest, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke). They are doing odd jobs and schemes on Corellia for a crime boss named Lady Proxima (Linda Hunt does the voice) when Han makes the wrong decision, and he tries to pull one over on Proxima so that he and Qi’ra can get off the planet and have a real life together. That goes awry as they are trying to get on a transport, leaving Han on his own in getting off the planet. Three years later, he is not getting anywhere in his dream of becoming a great pilot, but he crosses paths with Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and his crew (including Thandie Newton as his right hand, Val), as they are preparing a job that might be able to get him the money he needs to get the ship he wants, and go back and find Qi’ra on Corellia. As he discovers, though, he may not have to go back there to run into her again.
One of the problems the prequels had was that they tried to tie everything together into a neat little bow so that no stone went unturned in terms of explaining how things from the original trilogy fit together. (Did Anakin REALLY need to be the creator of C-3PO?) “Solo” has a bit of that, especially when we see Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) for the first time, but the film feels less predictable in how we get to certain landmarks of Han’s story we had come to know like the Kessel Run and how he comes to pilot the Millennium Falcon. One thing I did not expect was how he came to meet Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo, who has taken over the role for Peter Mayhew after Mayhew has become physically incapable of playing him anymore, and it’s like nothing has changed), his beloved Wookie co-pilot. I really enjoyed how the film got to that point, and how Han and Chewie are almost immediately locked at the hip and understand one another. And yes, “Holiday Special” fans, Chewie’s family is name-checked, although we haven’t quite seen them just yet. (Maybe in the next “Solo” film, if only so that my lasting memory of Chewie’s family is NOT his father getting turned on by Diahann Carroll or his son watching a surreal proto-Cirque du Soleil routine via hologram.) We see some hints of previously-existing elements in the “Star Wars” universe, as well as a cameo I did not expect when we learn more about Crimson Dawn, the criminal organization Qi’ra works for under Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos, but mostly, “Solo” goes about its own business. If you think about “Firefly” or “Cowboy Bebop” while watching this film (and seriously, one moment is straight out of the “Firefly” episode, “The Train Job”), I wouldn’t blame you, but the Kasdens and Howard understand how the “Star Wars” universe works, and what makes it unique, so you won’t be comparing it with those other sci-fi “westerns” for long, because the way “Star Wars” operates is pretty well-entrenched, by this point, and even if the film doesn’t feel like a typical “Star Wars” film entirely, it feels enough like one to be a part of the franchise’s legacy.
I rewatched Howard’s “Willow” before watching “Solo” because it was the last time Howard had made a film for Lucasfilm. (He was offered “The Phantom Menace” by George Lucas, but he declined, to that film’s detriment, in my opinion.) The two films actually have a lot in common in terms of how they go about their business- they’re basically “family friendly” entertainment with dark visual and narrative elements throughout- but I think he has better material here in the script by the Kasdens, as well as a cast that is better suited for the material. I’ve already talked about Ehrenreich and Suotamo, and they make that bond immediate and palpable between the characters. I love seeing Clarke in this film, in a role far away from her conquering Mother of Dragons from “Game of Thrones,” and Qi’ra and Han have a chemistry that is as immediate and meaningful to their characters as Han and Chewie’s is. She has a maturity beyond her years as an actress, which is important for this character, who has more going on than she sometimes lets on. Woody Harrelson is, basically, typical Woody Harrelson in this movie (who would have guessed he would still be around when he first debuted on “Cheers?”), and he’s just the right person to play a mentor to a cock-sure flyboy who is out to prove himself. As Vos, Bettany shows that dark side we don’t often get, but when we do, he gives us something that feels threatening and natural to his personality. But of course, let’s be honest, Lando was always going to steal this movie, and could they have cast the role better than Donald Glover? (The answer is no.) He has an uncanny ability to get into whatever a role is asking him to do, and you really could not have asked for a better stand-in for a young Billy Dee Williams than Glover- he positively oozes charisma in this film, and it’s no wonder people want him to get his own movie. But the thing that got me most about his character was the interplay with his co-pilot, L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and on the surface, yes, it is another “robot sidekick” in a “Star Wars” movie, but there’s scenes between the two here that really give off a more intimate take than just “subservient robot comic relief” we’ve become used to in these films. This is part of what gets me excited about the franchise as it moves away from the Skywalker soap opera- other voices being able to give us new takes on tropes that feel well-worn, by this time.
As with “Willow,” “Solo” has impeccable behind-the-scenes work in terms of production design, visual effects and costumes, all captured with an evocative eye by cinematographer Bradford Young (“Arrival,” “Selma”), with editor Pietra Scalia keeping the film moving at a breakneck pace through sequences like the Kessel Run that keep the movie moving and lively even when characters are talking. Taking the reins as composer this time out is John Powell (the “How to Train Your Dragon” films), and it might take a listen or two for me to really appreciate the work he does here working with John Williams’s themes, including one the composer wrote especially for this film, much like Michael Giacchino’s score for “Rogue One.” It’s disappointing that I didn’t immediately love the score, but once I’m able to appreciate it apart from the film, I don’t doubt that Powell’s work will be a worthy addition to the musical “Star Wars” franchise.
“Solo” is the first live-action “Star Wars” film I’ve seen where, the first time I saw it, I didn’t immediately love it; with the prequels, it took time and perspective for me to see their flaws more clearly than I did when I first got out of the theatre. Just because I didn’t fall head over heels with this film, however, doesn’t mean it didn’t deliver what I was hoping it would, which is 135 minutes of entertainment set in a galaxy far, far away. Sign me up for more of that anytime.
