Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) (1 Viewer)

[TravisR]

I saw it in IMAX again today and it was a better presentation than my second viewing in a standard 2-D theater.

 

[dpippel]

Well, I broke down and saw a 2D presentation in a relatively small AMC theater. While it wasn't as bad as I'd feared (except for the first 15-20 minutes - I almost lost all hope), I found it very bland and forced (no pun intended). A few good set pieces with lots of references, and I'm sure I missed quite a number of them.

As I'd predicted after seeing all of the trailers, Ehrenreich didn't pull it off for me. Nothing against him as an actor, but he was NOT "Han Solo" in any meaningful way. His performance reminded me of something Robert Downey Junior's character in Tropic Thunder said - "I'm the dude playin' a dude disguised as another dude." I thought Glover was decent enough as Lando, but his part in this film seemed peculiarly inert to me for some reason. Emilia Clarke - meh. Paul Bettany - miscast and NOT menacing in any way as the antagonist. Woody Harrelson - another poor casting choice. He did his usual Woody Harrelson and pulled me out of the movie every time he was on-screen. Thandie Newton was dispatched FAR too early in the narrative for my liking. Phoebe Waller-Bridge did a great job with L3-37, but I thought that Alan Tudyk's K-2SO was far more effective in Rogue One, and Rogue One is a much better movie than Solo for me. Clint Howard NAILED IT, as he always does! Best performance in the movie! And like some others, I found the look of the film to be unappealing. It WAS dark, and the cinematography was, for the most part, uninspired.

All-in-all not an unpleasant way to spend a couple of hours, but for being the backstory for one of the most beloved Star Wars characters ever? It fell flat on its face for me. It was, for lack of a better word, mostly boring. And Han Solo was NEVER boring. Except in ROTJ.

Spoiler

And Darth Maul? Really? WTF???

 

[Tino]

Well after seeing it again my opinion of the film improved a bit. It flowed a bit better and wasn’t as disappointing as my first viewing.

But I still feel the writing was the weakest aspect of the film and still ranks last on my list of Star Wars films. Other than the train heist I thought the set pieces were kinda dull and uninspired.

Overall an OK entry in the SW series. But should have been great.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

One thing I didn't care for too much in Solo, which seems to go against popular opinion, is that droid. I liked C-3P0 and R2-D2 specifically in the originally Star Wars trilogy, but I think one of the missteps Lucas made in the prequels, and that Disney is continuing to make in the new films, is making droids front and center in nearly every film. It's just... when I think of what makes Star Wars important to me, having a sassy robot character just isn't on that list for me. It seems that each film wants to take their own spin on this idea, and I'm just so completely over it. I had no use for the droid in this film. I didn't really care for the one in Rogue One either. I think BB-8 is cute, but I could have done without him too. It just seems like it's become this really important touchstone to hit for everyone involved that there be some droid, and I find it unnecessary. If the plot demands that we have one, sure (and that's why BB-8 makes more sense, at least in TFA, compared to some of the examples), but I think it often seems like they're just going into these things with a preconceived notion that to be a Star Wars film, it must contain droids as leading characters.

 

[dpippel]

Sorry you feel that way Josh. Droids have been a huge part of Star Wars since the OT, and for me they're simply integral to that universe's DNA. They're also a big part of the culture portrayed in these films. It wasn't just R2-D2 and C3PO, they're EVERYWHERE in Star Wars. I kind of see your point, but their continued presence doesn't bother me in the least. For me it would be an issue if they were NOT central in some way.

 

[MielR]

what is this space noir?

Maybe they were going for a Blade Runner look?

One thing I didn't care for too much in Solo, which seems to go against popular opinion, is that droid.

I don't think you're in the minority --- I think lots of people found the character very annoying.

 

[Steve Christou]

For those of you have seen Solo a spoilerized observation -

Spoiler: spoiler

Darth Maul, head of a crime syndicate, boss of bosses, capo dei capi, later becomes the Emperor's apprentice and lead henchman, was that a great career move? Subservient to a deranged Sith Lord? Just seems odd to me. Presumably he wasn't called Darth Maul here.

 

[dpippel]

For those of you have seen Solo a spoilerized observation -

Spoiler

Darth Maul, head of a crime syndicate, boss of bosses, capo dei capi, later becomes the Emperor's apprentice and lead henchman, was that a great career move? Subservient to a deranged Sith Lord? Just seems odd to me. Presumably he wasn't called Darth Maul here.

I think you have the timeline wrong Steve...

Spoiler

Solo takes place LONG *after* Darth Maul is killed (cut in HALF) by Obi Wan in The Phantom Menace, which is why his appearance here is so problematic.

 

[TravisR]

As I'd predicted after seeing all of the trailers, Ehrenreich didn't pull it off for me. Nothing against him as an actor, but he was NOT "Han Solo" in any meaningful way. His performance reminded me of something Robert Downey Junior's character in Tropic Thunder said - "I'm the dude playin' a dude disguised as another dude." I thought Glover was decent enough as Lando...

In terms of the cast, I felt that thanks to the dialogue that I was hearing Han Solo by way of another actor. No one can ever match Harrison Ford and it's a thankless task to try but I thought Ehrenreich did a pretty good job of making the character his own as much as possible. He wasn't merely imitating Harrison Ford but put his own thing while reprising one of the most well known characters in history. I actually had a much harder time to reconciling Donald Glover's Lando with Billy Dee Williams'. Other than saying 'Haan' and wearing a cape, I felt like that could have been another character.

Clint Howard NAILED IT, as he always does! Best performance in the movie!

Can't argue with an immutable law of science.

Spoiler

And Darth Maul? Really? WTF???

It's just

Spoiler

Maul now. Like Cher or Madonna. He dropped the Darth since he's no longer a Sith now.

 

[Robert Crawford]

As Doug stated. It's quite confusing to me as I never watched the TV series which might have something to do with his appearance in this film.

 

[Robert Crawford]

In terms of the cast, I felt that thanks to the dialogue that I was hearing Han Solo by way of another actor. No one can ever match Harrison Ford and it's a thankless task to try but I thought Ehrenreich did a pretty good job of making the character his own as much as possible. He wasn't merely imitating Harrison Ford but put his own thing while reprising one of the most well known characters in history. I actually had a much harder time to reconciling Donald Glover's Lando with Billy Dee Williams'. Other than saying 'Haan' and wearing a cape, I felt like that could have been another character.


Can't argue with an immutable law of science.

Spoiler

And Darth Maul? Really? WTF???

It's just

Spoiler

Maul now. Like Cher or Madonna. He dropped the Darth since he's no longer a Sith now.

Travis,

I edited your post because the spoilers were showing.

As to Glover, I liked his performance a lot more after my second viewing as he did a pretty good imitation of Billy Dee.

 

[TravisR]

For those of you have seen Solo a spoilerized observation -

Spoiler: spoiler

Darth Maul, head of a crime syndicate, boss of bosses, capo dei capi, later becomes the Emperor's apprentice and lead henchman, was that a great career move? Subservient to a deranged Sith Lord? Just seems odd to me. Presumably he wasn't called Darth Maul here.

I think you have the timeline wrong Steve...

Spoiler

Solo takes place LONG *after* Darth Maul is killed (cut in HALF) by Obi Wan in The Phantom Menace, which is why his appearance here is so problematic.

As Doug stated. It's quite confusing to me as I never watched the TV series which might have something to do with his appearance in this film.

Anyone looking for something of an explanation can read my dorkish take in multiple posts starting here: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/co...r-wars-story-2018.351489/page-60#post-4614838

 

[TravisR]

Travis,

I edited your post because the spoilers were showing.

As to Glover, I liked his performance a lot more after my second viewing as he did a pretty good imitation of Billy Dee.

Yeah, sorry. I realized after I posted and edited it too.


I like Donald Glover and I don't mean to knock what he did here but it seems like the way that Lando is written in modern day Star Wars comics, novels, cartoons and this movie is more comedic than he was in the OT. That coupled with the recasting makes it harder for me to mentally bridge that gap.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Sorry you feel that way Josh. Droids have been a huge part of Star Wars since the OT, and for me they're simply integral to that universe's DNA. They're also a big part of the culture portrayed in these films. It wasn't just R2-D2 and C3PO, they're EVERYWHERE in Star Wars. I kind of see your point, but their continued presence doesn't bother me in the least. For me it would be an issue if they were NOT central in some way.

Yeah, I just don't see Star Wars like that at all. I also didn't love that Lucas was pushing for CGI creatures before the technology was really there; it just wasn't that important to me to have weirdly designed aliens at the expense of believable looking characters.

I think part of my issues is the insistence on having them always appear as main characters when the story doesn't demand it. I don't think the story of "Solo" really demanded for it; it felt like they were just checking off boxes. And the personality of this droid felt very similar to the personality of the one in Rogue One. It just felt like "been there, done that" to me.

As Doug stated. It's quite confusing to me as I never watched the TV series which might have something to do with his appearance in this film.

It doesn't bother me because I watch the shows, and as a fan of Clone Wars and Rebels, I was glad to see that the events in those shows (which are said to be A-level canon, as official as anything that happens in the theatrical movies) carried over into the series. For a long period of time, the only new Star Wars material we were getting in a film/television medium was "Clone Wars" so I'm glad that it did tie into the movie. I think about this the same way the Phil Coulson character was killed in the first "Avengers" movie but then resurrected for the "Agents of SHIELD" television show. If Coulson were to appear in a new movie, some of the audience might be surprised, but I don't think that surprise makes the inclusion any less valid.

 

[Steve Christou]

I think you have the timeline wrong Steve...

Spoiler

Solo takes place LONG *after* Darth Maul is killed (cut in HALF) by Obi Wan in The Phantom Menace, which is why his appearance here is so problematic.

Oh I see... thanks for clarifying...

Spoiler: spoiler

I never saw the cartoon series, cut in half and still survived? Wow! Okay now it makes a sort of crazy sense.. it didn't before... they just assumed we all watched the tv series.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Spoiler

I don't really have a hard time believing that he could survive. We know from previous Star Wars films and lightsaber battles that when you're cut with a lightsaber, the heat of the blade cauterizes the wound, and the victim doesn't bleed out. That was established multiple times in both the original trilogy and prequel trilogy. We also don't know much about the species that Maul is part of and where their essential organs are. We know that it's possible to survive in the Star Wars universe after losing most of your body parts - Darth Vader and General Grievous are the two most prominent examples of this. And Maul was given a compelling story arc when he returned in Clone Wars - it wasn't just a one-off clickbait sort of thing but an actual examination of the character and the consequences of his failure to defeat Obi-Wan and his feelings of abandonment. In a way, it was a perfect thing to explore just for the contrast of how Palpatine abandoned a damaged Maul while he would later go on to protect a damaged Anakin. I agree that it might not be the most obvious choice of plotlines and can come as a surprise if you've never seen the show, but I think it actually does hold up under scrutiny and fits in with what has previously been established in the films about these weapons and characters.

 

[TravisR]

I find it odd that everyone is assuming that it's

Spoiler

Maul. I mean it is Maul but I expected that most people would think it was another guy of the same species rather than thinking/wondering how he returned from the apparent dead.

 

[SamT]

Spoiler

He lights up his lightsaber

 

[Robert Crawford]

Spoiler

He lights up his lightsaber

Yeah, it's not much doubt who he is.

 

[SamT]

And you can't use it behind a hologram!