Solo: A Star Wars Story is a 2018 sci-fantasy film about an adventure into a dark criminal underworld where Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.
The same reason that I enjoyed Solo: A Star Wars Story is the same reason I feel like a lot of diehard Stars Wars fans might not, it doesn’t feel like a Star Wars movie. I’m not saying I would’ve disliked it had it given off more of a Star Wars vibe, but it was almost refreshing for the film to have its own unique feel. The entire movie is essentially a series of high-octane heists taking place with a bit of a Western vibe going on. We’re given some background into one of the most beloved cinema characters of all time, we’re treated to excellent visual effects, and it’s an overall enjoyable watch.
The movie begins on the planet Corellia with Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his love interest, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), attempting to escape the evil Lady Proxima’s criminal home for youngsters. They evade her goons and get to a flight station, but only Han is able to escape, while Qi’ra is recaptured. Han decides to enlist in the Empire’s pilot program so we can return to Corellia and rescue Qi’ra.
Three years go by and we pick up with Han in the midst of a war. He’s been demoted to a foot soldier, and is no closer to picking up his rescue mission. By a stroke of luck, he comes across a crew of bandits led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) who have snuck into the battle to steal a ship. After some serious convincing, Han and his newest pal, Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), join their team for an upcoming heist.
The heist consists of stealing a car from a train that is full of the very valuable hyperfuel, coaxium, to pay a debt that Beckett owes to the leader of the Crimson Dawn syndicate, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). The mission is nearly complete when a band of competing marauders attempts to steal the coaxium from them, resulting in its loss entirely. Beckett, Han, and Chewbacca then decide to go before Dryden, plead forgiveness, and ask how they can make it up to him. While on board Dryden’s yacht, Han runs into Qi’ra, and comes to find that she is now employed by Dryden.
In order to repay Dryden, Han strikes up a plan to steal unprocessed coaxium on the planet Kessel. Dryden accepts this offer, and has Qi’ra tag along to protect his investment. To complete their journey the team needs to commandeer a ship, so Qi’ra leads them to the charismatic gambler, Lando Carlrissian (Donald Glover). They’re able to convince Lando to join their mission for a cut of the prize, and in turn he’ll fly them on his ship, the Millennium Falcon. The team travels to Kessel, successfully steals the coaxium, and head to a planet where the coaxium can be processed.
While on the planet, the marauders show up once more to steal it from Beckett. The lead marauder, Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman), reveals that they are actually a group of rebels that want to use the coaxium in the rebellion against the Empire. This causes Han to have a change of heart, and question whether or not they should actually give the coaxium to Dryden.
So in the interest of spoilers, I’m going to stop right there. That gets you through about 3/4 of the film, and a pretty significant amount happens right at the end. As I said, I enjoyed this movie. While it suffers from an unoriginal plot, it makes up for it with exciting heists, plenty of action, and fun characters. The entire movie is essentially two main heists scenes, and the remaining makeup of the film is for character introductions and flying through space (then of course the ending). The Western vibe that the film has going on is a nice touch as well. Between a stand-off at the end, some fancy pistol work throughout by Harrelson, and the entire premise being about a gang of outlaws, you’ve got yourself a futuristic Western. That felt like the perfect setting for a movie entirely about Han Solo.
I was unsure going into the movie of how much of a Star Wars tie in it would have, and the answer is almost none at all. Sure, the Empire is mentioned plenty and there’s a surprise cameo at the end, but other than that it just feels like you’re watching a space-heist movie. While I could see that rubbing some people the wrong way, I enjoyed its uniqueness. I thought that Rogue One also did an excellent job distancing itself from the main franchise, because after all, these are called spin offs for a reason.
As far as the acting goes, I thought everyone did a solid job. I had my doubts about Ehrenreich, but I enjoyed his performance. Having said that, while I did like his character, it didn’t feel like Han Solo to me. Han Solo, as I said, is one of the most beloved movie characters of all time. Although we’ve seen actors upstage prior classic performances (Heath Ledger’s Joker), this was not one of them. Emilia Clarke was great and it was nice to be able to associate her with something other than Game of Thrones. Harrelson did an excellent job playing the reluctant mentor that takes Han under his wing. And Glover was a nice touch stepping into the shoes of Billy Dee Williams.
I really don’t have a lot of complaints. I think Solo fits the mold extremely well for a fun, exciting summer blockbuster. Notice I said it fits the mold because it by no means breaks it, but no one was expecting it to. While I won’t be surprised if this movie winds up being a bit of an outcast in the Star Wars world, I think that’s alright because it has its own feel to it. Plus, I’m sure most fans will just appreciate being able to see Han Solo back on the big screen, regardless of the capacity.