Solo

Solo

I went into this with absolutely no positive expectations whatsoever.  Han was never my favorite part of the Star Wars universe, while taking nothing away from Harrison Ford’s iconic performance.

Let’s start there.  I compared everything Alden Ehrenreich did on screen to my mental image of how Ford would have looked.  Which isn’t really fair to Ehrenreich, but Ford defined that role in a way that other recast actors in the universe did not; My mind didn’t have the same problems watching Ewan McGregor play a young Alec McGuinness, or Donald Glover nail Billy Dee Williams’ Lando.  

It also didn’t help that Ehrenreich looks like a cross between Leonardo DiCaprio and Emile Hirsch.  So my brain was really processing Leo and Hirsch playing Ehrenreich playing Ford playing Solo.

Emilia Clarke was her usual looks-vulnerable-but-makes-you-regret-fucking-with-her self.  (I also liked her as Sarah Connor, despite the public reaction to Terminator: Genisys.)

They will all mess you up.

Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca stole the show.  His physicality communicated everything the audience needed to know.  He’s a fine successor to Peter Mayhew.

Tangent: Why does everyone, even Han, treat Chewie like a second class citizen?  Chewbacca’s always relegated to the role of porter, carrying all of the heavy equipment and trailing a few steps behind everyone else.  He rarely walks side by side with Han, as you would imagine a partner would. People usually talk as if he’s not in the room and his opinion doesn’t matter.  Just because he doesn’t speak your language doesn’t mean he’s stupid. He deserves better treatment. And a medal. He deserves that, too.

That gripe did nothing to diminish my excitement at seeing Han and Chewie take the controls of the Falcon for the first time.  

Chills.  Chills, I tell you.

Not a fan of hearing Wookieespeak coming out of Han’s mouth.  After the initial amusement, it just sounded stupid.

L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) had her moments of humor, but her revolutionary schtick was a little too obvious and in-your-face at times.  

Ray Park (Darth Maul) must have been thrilled beyond belief when Lucasfilm came calling again.  I’m sure he thought Darth Maul would have opened tons of doors back in 1999, but that was not to be the case.  I hope this leads to more appearances for him in future Solo movies.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  Standard summer blockbuster fare, but with the added bonus of the best IP ever.  

Regret Watching: No

Would Watch Again: Yes

Would Buy: No

Rating: Nice