Solo, A Star Wars Story

Plot: Young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) try to escape their home planet Corellia, but get separated. Han ends up in the army, but he deserts to take up a life of crime with Beckett (Woody Harrelson). After a caper to steal the space fuel coaxium from a train goes badly, he meets Qi'ra again who now works for a crime boss. Han, Beckett, and Qi'ra link up with Chewy (Joonas Suatamo) and head out to steal more. They get a ship from Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), and head to Kessel and coaxium mines. What follows is lots of thieving and double-crossing that leads to the twist-filled ending.   [imdb]    [photos]

Review: There are some great scenes in a story that is easy to follow. Like James Bond movie there are big, showy scenes that individually are fun, and a story to string these together. Most of the characters are well acted, and the end was surprising.

This is a Han that shoots first, and the fans like that. He also gets to talk himself out of trouble just like in older movies, and he brags, but gets caught doing so, like in the older movies. These are welcome fun. Ehrenreich said he tried to incorporate Harrison Ford's mannerisms.

I liked the robbery scene on the train, and the theft of the ore. I did not care for the Kessel Run portion of the movie, because the space monster seemed silly.

 I liked to performance from Alden Ehrenreich, and the irreverent tone that the writers gave him. I loved Donald Glover, he instantly made a character right from the beginning. Emilia Clark was not so great, aside from her initial scene on Kessel, she doesn't show much emotion. Perhaps her coolness was to foreshadow her inner loyalty, or it was just poor acting. Woody Harrelson as Beckett is a central figure in that he is the big-hearted, seen-it-all, rascal that Han grows up to be. He does a great job with it.

The casting of Erin Kellyman as be-freckled young pirate/revolutionary Enfys Nest was a little odd. I can easily imagine a young woman revolutionary. She would be strident, active, and urgent, and that is not what Erin showed us. After she takes her mask off she wants a drink, which seemed out of character; more like a has-been older pirate.  On the other hand, she may be a message that a revolutionary can be anyone. That ties into the end of The Last Jedi with all the children readying for the fight.

Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover, Erin Kellyman

Directed by: Ron Howard

Written by: Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan who are father and son. Lawrence wrote Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Force Awakes. 

The Music: Orchestral music by John Powell with one song by John Williams. The music was familiar and briefly had themes from older movies, but was generally new melodies in the same style. 

The Visuals: Top notch throughout, except the Kessel run, which I didn't care for. 

Rating: 3.5 stars: It was fun to watch, and I'd like to see it again. Does it have a moral center? Maybe. Han did give his money away before he went thieving again.

Somehow this movie feels like a three and not a three and half, but the pieces are good. So I am staying with it. 

More: Veteren writer Kasdan says Han has a cynical, "I am going to survive this scene" attitude.

Spoiler: Han gave 99% of his treasure away to the photo-revolution, and stiffed his criminal partners. I'm not sure how true to the character of Han that is. Although it fits with winning the Millennium Falcon in a card game.

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