Looking Back at ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’
The second standalone Star Wars movie had a good bit to live up to. The previous standalone, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, was positively received and set the bar for what a non-Skywalker story could be. And while Rogue One had its issues during its filming, it doesn’t compare to the whirlwind, or to be more accurate HURRICANE, of issues that Solo: A Star Wars Story had.
For the first time in my life I found myself not very excited to see a Star Wars film. Not only did I not feel this movie needed made, I felt that Lucasfilm was going for those dollar signs instead of treating the fans to something they deserved.
Was I wrong?
Well, despite all the turmoil Solo found itself in during development it turned out to be a surprisingly fun movie that while it doesn’t necessarily do anything spectacular it does build on the Star Wars lore and finds new ways to excite fans. Hence the #MakeSolo2Happen movement that many fans are behind.
Solo is filled with twists and turns and while some of them were predictable, others, like the Maul cameo, is just downright awesome! It’s pretty impressive that Maul’s appearance was kept under wraps prior to the film’s release.
Alden Ehrenreich‘s portrayal of Han was a little rough at first but as the movie rolls along you begin to see why they chose him for the role and by the end you are all in with him playing the hot shot smuggling pirate we all meet in Episode IV.
Musically this film was different, there are a few moments that stick out to me which I really enjoyed, but without a doubt John Powell’s first Star Wars outing is my least favorite of all the scores in the franchise.
Overall, this movie was a lot better than I, or most people, was expecting. With all the issues and rumors of directorial problems and horrendous portrayals of characters I saw no signs of any of that. And while a couple characters were maybe under utilized or some being slightly over bearing (both done for effect I believe) This movie is solid and absolutely ranks in the middle of the pack with Star Wars films.
If you haven’t yet checked it out yet I say give it a shot. If you have seen it I say give it another watch. You may be surprised at how much you actually do enjoy it.