It's been a couple days now since I posted my first thoughts on Solo: A Star Wars Story. (You can see that video here.) Now that I've took some time to fully digest it, & I really didn't think I was going to enjoy as much as I did. All the problems it faced during production coupled with the long list of Star Wars characters & timelines I'd have rather seen, had me expecting a mess. What I got was a way better than decent film though. This totally lived up to the Star Wars name. The only other "anthology", or Star Wars Story I have to compare this to is Rogue One . That said, though I enjoyed Rogue One , I enjoyed Solo more. Not only does this film feel more rewatchable, it does things Rogue One tried to do, but better. For instance, it gives a better feel of what it's like to live on an Empire controlled world. For more than just our main characters. Not only that, I fell like it did a perfect job of feeling like something different, while still holding onto Star Wars . Breaking it down character for character, of course you start with Alden Ehrenreich as Han. He was my biggest worry going in. Obviously, he's the make it or break it of this film. He definitely made it. His performance is what really got me into this first. The movie's different from your typical Star Wars film, & I think his performance as Han is what steered in into the right direction early on. Next up there was Kira, Han's love interest, & really a driving piece of the film. I enjoyed seeing how her character, & all these characters for that matter, help shape Han into the smuggler we all know & love. No one more so than Woody Harrelson's Beckett. He was great as the mentor character. Harrelson was one of the only things I wasn't worried about going in, & he totally lived up to that. There were three more people that really impressed me in this film as well. One is Joonas Suotamo. He filled the mighty Chewbacca's shoes, & I feel like I've never seen this range out of the wookie co-pilot. In this age I don't know how much was digital & how much was him, but there was a level of emotion there that I've never noticed. The second is Paul Bettany as the villain. I couldn't believe he was a last minute addition, as he was amazing. I honestly couldn't think of anyone else in this part. Which is the same, exact thing I can say for the third, as he totally steals the show. Donald Glover, or Childish Gambino, as Lando was hands down the best part of this film. I went into this wanting a Lando movie, & came out wanting one even more. Glover channelled the essence of Billy Dee & totally delivered. However, his character came equipped with an example of how some parts of this film had to grow on me. His droid companion L3-37 had some good moments toward the end, but I wasn't the biggest fan early on. There were other spots here & there that had to grow on me, mainly the very beginning, but she was the biggest. There weren't any real deal breakers in here for me. I can't get over how much I did enjoy this movie. I'm really looking forward to not only giving it another watch, but seeing more. And the last thing I thought I'd be asking for were more Solo films going into this. Especially after the big reveals in this one. There's two characters put in just for us crazy comic & cartoon fans, & I want them to build on them so bad. All in all, I think this was a great start to the character driven "Star Wars Story" films. I not only hope that Boba Fett & Obi-wan wind up being this good. Part of me hopes there's a plan to all eventually end them all together on Tatooine. Leading into A New Hope . That's just hopeful thinking though. I really enjoyed this movie, I'd definitely recommend to see this at the theater. IMAX if at all possible. Side note, I went to the fan party at AMC. Which for a $25 ticket they threw in some dice like Han's, movie buttons, a movie poster, & free popcorn. Worth the extra. You also get to see the film an hour earlier, packed with a load of super-fans. Loved this movie though, want more. Let me know your thoughts. Put 'em in the comments, like, & share.
