I am so excited! This year, for my resolution project, I’m rewatching the Star Wars franchise. I chose it because I love Star Wars, and I thought it would be fun to re-watch the movies in order of release date, with perhaps a bit more of a critical and appreciative eye than I have before.
This month’s installment: Solo: A Star Wars Story.
The Premise:
During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future co-pilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.
Spoilers for a 1-year-old film ahead.
This was one of those rare occasions when I thought I really didn’t need to see this movie in the theater. Until I’d started this Star Wars re-watch, I hadn’t planned to see Solo at all. I mean, did we really need an origin story for Han Solo? What kind of character arc could such a movie possibly offer? Han’s descent from scoundrel to greater scoundrel? Don’t get me wrong. I knew the actors were well cast, and it could be a fun movie. It just wasn’t crucial to my understanding of the Star Wars universe, and the Skywalker Saga in particular.
So I was skeptical when the movie started. While I still hold that this movie isn’t crucial to my understanding of the Star Wars universe, and it didn’t make me think any differently of Han, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Solo isn’t a super complex story. It’s essentially a heist movie. Han teams up with some criminals to steal some hyperfuel. Han wants to use his cut to buy a ship so he can go rescue his girl Qi’ra who is stuck on the planet Corellia. Han hasn’t seen Qi’ra and it turns out she works for the guy Solo and his pals are stealing the hyperfuel for.
Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo and Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian were fantastic. They portrayed the characters in their own way, and yet there were definitely times where I saw a resemblance in mannerism that came across as natural, not mimicking or impersonating.
Overall, the movie had a Firefly feel to it. The space western. In particular, I would say the episodes “Serenity” and “The Train Job” had similar plot elements to Solo. Like the Firefly episodes, the train heist goes wrong, and Solo and his comrades must find a way to make up for it or lose their lives. I would also say the world itself in Solo had a lot of the Space Western elements of Firefly, like outlaws and hard-luck worlds. By the way, for me, these are good comparisons.
Because they are just comparisons. There is no mistake that we are still in the Star Wars universe.
Another thing I appreciated about this movie was that even though there was no use of the Force or lightsabers or any of the typical fare you find in the Star Wars movies, it still very much belongs in that universe, much like Rogue One.
One thing that confused me was the appearance of Darth Maul. I thought he’d died at the end of The Phantom Menace, but here he was, just Maul, no Darth in front of his name. I’d thought, maybe hoped, that Ron Howard had decided to forget the entire trilogy of prequels. Apparently I was wrong. I looked it up. Maul survived and appears in a few of the Star Wars TV series.
In Conclusion: Solo was a fun heist movie. I enjoy heist movies, so I should have known I was going to enjoy this one. If the trend of branching off and telling other stories in the Star Wars universe continues, I’d love a movie about Qi’ra. She’s barely in this one. She was supposed to escape Corellia with Han at the beginning and is left behind. Then she appears later working for Dryden Vos, and ends up taking over his criminal-underworld organization. Her main purpose for this film is to be Han’s motivation for getting involved in crime, stealing the hyperfuel, so he can rescue her. Like Princess Leia, Qi’ra can take care of herself. I want to see her story. Not just how she got there, but how she survives, and how she thrives.
Up next: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. This one won’t be a part of the Resolution Project. I’m sure we’ll be doing a Sound Off on it, in which case I’ll be talking about it there instead of as a separate post. I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ve seen the trailers, and I must admit, hearing Luke Skywalker say, “May the Force be with you,” and Leia finishing with, “Always,” makes me tear up to hear her voice. Somehow in that context, it just gets me in all the feels.
What did you think of Solo? How important do you think it is to the Star Wars universe?
I ended up really enjoying this one, as it was a lot of fun. That said, I never wanted it, and I don’t feel like the franchise needed it.
I agree whole-heartedly. I enjoyed it, but it was totally unnecessary.