Solo - A Star Wars Story [Trailer, Spoilers]

[Deleted]

...To talk about something positive, for a change:

I like that they seem to reference Han's old canon/Legends beginnings from this one:

starwars.wikia.com/wiki/The_Han_Solo_Trilogy


(Those books, actually pretty good, at least for youngsters.)


I like that they show a bit of what supposedly is the foot-soldier sphere of the empire.


I like that Lando finally makes a prominent appearance.



But, oooooooh, I am not holding my breath this time.

[Deleted]

Looks nice. In Ron Howard I trust. I like that they're apparently going for a lighthearted take on the universe.

The Daly novels, I read some 20+ years ago, and with great delight - those were the pre-ESB books, where Han is a swashbuckler in the truest sense, right? - For a 90s kid like me, though, the Crispin trilogy was much more interesting, though, because it was so firmly rooted in the then-expanding EU canon. Regardless of any in-universe connections, though, those novels are still holding up as well, at least IMO. Pure fan service, but charmingly packed.

[sixdemonbag]

I don't really need the official Han Solo backstory, but this does look fun. It's so hard to replace Harrison Ford though. So iconic.

I also like Ron Howard and Donald Glover, so this might turn out to be a blast. And more Chewie is never a bad thing!

[Falconer]

I have a really good feeling about this.

[geoffrey]

"I feel...cold."

[Deleted]

Couldn't help myself, watched this one. Good news, it's pretty great.

That said, it feels like a "Clone Wars" episode made real-life movie, which is about the best post-prequel SW has been able to muster. That means it's also full of many fairly bad Kinberg-isms, with one particularly cringe-worthy moment at the end that I consider worthy of a thousand hard facepalms. In sight of that moment in particular, I think the idea of the movie is, more than anything else, to supply fans - modern fans only - with an origin story of the SW universe makes "The Phantom Menace" somewhat obsolete. I also think that the characters introduced in this one are clearly going to see more development. - Of course, with SW's aggressive multi-level marketing, you never know whether it won't be in the form of a comic book, a book series, or a gazillion of cross-platform video games, but the recent announcement that the next "Star Wars Story" after this one will be about the Boba Fett character certainly points towards a certain direction. If this movie does well, I would be very surprised if we didn't see a "Solo 2", of sorts, any time soon. Apparently, all of the lead actors have already signed for two sequels.

Overall, the movie is the closest so far we get to a "quality" Star Wars movie since 1983 that, ugh, normal people can enjoy without someone else telling them why the movie doesn't suck. Ron Howard brings the class, and the cast has been well chosen, especially Ehrenreich, Clarke and Glover. Rey, Fin and Rose don't look too good next to those seasoned pros.

The problem with this one come with the story, but more on a meta-level than by itself. While the movie's first two thirds are mainly about checking off all the iconic moments in Han's personal backstory, the movie's third act is mostly an introduction to another side-story that, again, culminates in the stupidest Disney-era twist yet. Like, maybe I am making too much of a small scene, but this was the terrible terrible. - Furthermore, this movie easily eclipses "The Force Awakens" and "The Last Jedi". And, if the inevitable sequels are as good, the "Skywalker Saga" will be equally eclipsed by the "Solo Saga". Not sure if I like this perspective, especially with Han and Quira's (?) love story getting way more attention than Han and Leia's relationship in the Disney era.



In sum, though, a movie that brings a tiny bit of the magic back, in that we get intelligent dialogue, able actors, and, in general, a space Western that doesn't simply rely on epic visuals. I am pleased - so pleased that I haven't mentioned how the A. C. Crispin novels are still way better as a Han backstory. Until now.

[Finarvyn]

I liked it, and so did my wife and daughter.

[Falconer]

I liked it okay. If it was the start of a new franchise, I would be quite excited about it. The real funny thing to me is that it totally resembled the pilot (the second pilot, but the first one aired) of Firefly — “The Train Job”. Actually, there was an early foggy battle scene right before Han meets Chewie which reminded me a lot of the first scene of the first pilot of Firefly. But yeah, from the actually train job, to the Niska-like guy who hired them, to the part where they end up not giving the stolen goods to their employer but rather to some downtrodden types who really needed it, it was uncanny. To be fair, I always thought Firefly was like a Han Solo TV series, so it’s kind of a chicken-and-the-egg situation.

[sixdemonbag]

I saw Solo once at the theaters at a local Alamo Drafthouse. I was entertained. The biggest issue was that it didn't feel very essential. Also, replicating Ford's performance is an impossible task, but the lead did better than I feared.

I think it's biggest sin is that I don't remember much about it, which can't be said of TFA, TLJ, or R1. The last act of R1 is what I want more of from all these movies. Combine that with characters like Rey and Finn and I think things will turn around.