Solo: A Star Wars Story

Release Date: May 25, 2018

Watch Date: June 15, 2024

“Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an epic action-adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, beginning a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.”

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   We sat down and Bob was extremely excited to watch Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. We even turned it on for a second. And then I remembered. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope is not the next in the canonical watch through. And Bob groaned. But we said we were going to watch it canonically, so watch it canonically we will.

   And that means watching Han Solo’s backstory.

   So look, if I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. I don’t like prequels. Because you already know where the story ends up. So will he get together with Qi’ra? It doesn’t really matter, because he doesn’t stay with her. Will he continue running with his new crew? Well he keeps Chewbacca, doesn’t he? Will he do the Kessel Run in under 20-parsecs? I mean, he brags about it enough. Will he join the Rebellion? Well we know his opinion about that by the fourth movie. Will he make off with the Millennium Falcon? Well, Lando complains about it when they meet again, so what do you think?

   I like backstory, don’t get me wrong. But I like backstory when it’s interwoven into the main plot line, not when it’s added later. Because then all it feels like is points you have to hit. We have to introduce Chewie, we have to explain how he met Jabba, we have to show him doing the Run and getting to keep the Falcon. The plot that exists is just there to make all the things on the checklist possible to tick off.

   With all that said, that doesn’t mean I think that this is a bad movie. It’s not. It has L3, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about myself, it’s that I might have been a Separatist sympathizer during the Clone Wars because I love me a good droid. I think the actor portraying Han did an excellent job, considering he had to stand in Harrison Ford’s iconic shoes, and make those two performances link up. I thought the heist was fun, albeit a bit rushed. I thought the lives of most of the crew were also a bit rushed. I loved the portrayal of Lando, and wish this hadn’t performed so poorly so that he could have gotten his own movie – because I would have watched the hell out of that.

   Maybe it’s because I’m new to the Star Wars fandom, and so I’m not as extreme in my opinions, or I’m more open to new things, but I don’t think this takes away from Han, or ruins the universe in any way (don’t even get me started on The Acolyte for which Bob and I have extremely different opinions), and it does, I imagine, deepen his character once he’s introduced in the main movies. But I can see, especially based on my memories of Rogue One, why a box office performance that relied particularly heavily on the fandom, might not have been up to par. But it is a shame that this is the movie that killed the standalone Star Wars movies, because it really shouldn’t have.

   So if you’re new to Star Wars like me, don’t believe the lack of hype and make the decision for yourself. And if you’re an old hand at Star Wars, maybe try to look at it and enjoy it for what it really should be. A fun romp with Han and Chewie.