SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY – Review

As the Marvel Heroes “space-hop” to thwart the master plan of Thanos, another Disney acquisition beckons film fans to return to that “galaxy, far, far away’, you know the one that doesn’t have Guardians. Wow, ease up on those thrusters, this is Spring (though it feels like Summer). Aren’t those high-tech fantasies released near the start of Winter, usually a dozen or so days from Christmas? Those clever movie marketers have decided to launch this flick on another holiday. Yes it’s Memorial Day weekend, but it’s also a special day near and most dear to film geeks and nerds the world over. You see, this May 25th is the forty-first anniversary of the (then limited) theatrical release of STAR WARS, now tagged as EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE. Movies would never really be the same after that Friday in 1977. This is apropos since the new release focuses in on the origins of a beloved character from that iconic flick. That’s because it’s not one of the canonical “episodes”, so no Rey, Finn, and Poe for another 18 months or so. No, it’s the second of the “Star Wars Anthology” films, the first being that critical and box office smash of 2016, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY. It was a “one-off”, a prequel expanding on an incident mentioned in Episode IV. This year’s “spin-off” isn’t really a “one-shot’, but possibly the start of a new franchise all set in the past of that smuggling “scoundrel”, or “scruffy Nerf-herder”, our man Han in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

After a brief introduction, we’re plunged into the action as teenage Han (Alden Ehrenreich) “hot wires” a “hover car” and tries to evades some crooks he’s just double-crossed. The young orphan, along with countless others, tries to survive under the thumb (or is it a tentacle) of crime syndicate boss Lady Proxima. After an altercation with her goons, Han escapes with his lady love Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), while more thugs try to prevent them from getting to the massive transport ship about to leave the planet. Ah but now they must get past entrance gate that’s manned by the Empire (you know, the one that struck back). But fate can be cruel to young lovers, and the two are separated. As she’s dragged away, Qi’ra pleads with Han to keep going on. Our hero vows that he’ll return to her after amassing a fortune as the best pilot ever. But where will he get the training? He signs up with same Empire (say it ain’t so). But Han is no model stormtrooper. On the battlefield he realizes that a fearless soldier is actually the boss of a smuggling ring. After escaping certain death and dismemberment at the hands, er paws, of a hungry wookie named Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), Han and his new furry friend join that same bandit named Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and his cohorts on a train heist. They’re out to steal a car full of power fuel on a snowy mountain-filled planet, then deliver it to the head of the mob called the “Crimson Dawn” that’s run by the ruthless Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Beckett’s plans are thwarted by a group of pirates and the cargo car is destroyed. Dryden is furious, and as his men are about to shoot Beckett’s crew, Han comes up with a new plan. They’ll steal the unrefined fuel from a less fortified mining planet, process it at another factory, and deliver it to the angry gangster. It’s a deal. As he begins this new job, Han rekindles a romance as he meets the legendary space swashbuckler, Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) and hops aboard his prized ship, the equally famous Millennium Falcon.

The big question for most fans has been, “How’s the new guy (or kid, depending on the fan’s age)?”. Followed by, “Can he fill Ford’s shoes?”. As if anyone could measure up to the coolest cat in the cosmos. Well, Ehrenreich’s really putting forth an effort. Yes, a near impossible task, and though he had charm to spare in 2016’s HAIL, CAESAR (his scene with Ralph Fiennes may be the highlight of that flick), Mr. E comes up short. I know this isn’t the same guy that was cracking wise with Luke and Leia in that golden trilogy, but there’s nothing compelling about this scrappy hustler. He works best in the film’s first act as the urchin yearning for greatness as the best “star pilot”. Unfortunately by the big finale’ his bluffing and bluster become tiresome. The lack of a real spark between Han and Qi’ra doesn’t help. Of course, it’s impossible to become really invested in this romance knowing that Han’s one true love is so many years in the future. Canon insists that it must end somehow. Clarke is convincing as the scared girl on the run that’s transformed by fate years later into a tough noirish femme fatale, but the script never really tells us what changed her. . Harrelson’s grizzled tough-talking mentor is a sober variation of his Hamish role from the HUNGER GAMES franchise, with a much better toupee, but he’s mired with conflicting motivations. At one point it looks as though he’ll make Han part of the family he’s creating with accomplice/lover Val (The terrific Thandie Newton in a far too brief appearance), but that’s tossed aside during the next big “score”. Bettany does his own take on the sophisticated gentleman kingpin who can turn on a dime into a brutal enforcer, his facial scratches giving us more of a hint of the ugliness within his heart. Phoebe Waller-Bridge provides some needed comic relief as pilot droid L3-37 who dishes out verbal put-downs as she tauts “robot equality” (though the similar K-2S0 voiced by Alan Tudyk had more of a brutal comic edge). So who’s good, no great, in this flick? Why that’s easy, almost “childish”. The casting of Glover as the smoothest dude in space was truly inspired. His drawling slow line delivery, with his eyes always at “half-mast”, Lando is the movie’s secret weapon, particularly when his curtain of cool is pulled back to reveal the devious con man beneath the colorful capes. Now here’s a character, and an actor, that truly deserves his own “spin-off” franchise.

This may be the Star Wars flick with the most turmoil behind the scenes. The media was put on high alert when original directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord (THE LEGO MOVIE) were shockingly ousted weeks into production and quickly replaced by Ron Howard. We’ll never know Miller and Lord’s spin on this space saga , but you can’t help but wonder. Howard has a had a rough last few years, but his work here is not in the same league as the dismal Dan Brown trilogy, nor the flops THE DILEMMA or IN THE HEART OF THE SEA. But it’s not close to the heights of RUSH or CINDERELLA MAN either. After an interesting opening half hour, the story chugs and sputters toward a big showdown full of annoying, aggravating triple and quadruple crosses. This is more the fault of the script from Lucasfilm vet Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jonathon, which tries to check off a list of Han’s future quirks and props much like the unending list of pop culture references in READY PLAYER ONE. Fans can revel in these (oh, that’s his blaster…and he speaks “wookie”) while the story bounces from one planet to the next, many in close to total darkness (can’t imagine how dull it’ll look upconverted to 3D). This is truly frustrating in the opening scenes. The credits are filled with loads of talented artists and craftspeople whose work can barely be seen! Despite the marvelous performance by Glover, this back story is nearly devoid of any real spark of life, though it’s an interesting break from the Jedi/Force subplot that nearly smothered the recent episode THE LAST JEDI (no Sith, though a couple of pseudo lightsabers flicker). Speaking of former entries, this is miles beyond that turgid trilogy, episodes one thru three, but nowhere close to the moving spectacle of ROGUE ONE. This title could be prophetic. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY may be solitary indeed, “one and done”. Ah, but we’ll always have the fabulous Ford’s four flicks.

3 Out of 5