Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Review
Lord and Miller departed mere weeks before principal photography concluded, with Ron Howard taking over to re-shoot around 70% of the film to keep to an incredibly tight deadline. Howard's clearly done a terrific job, as the film doesn't feel nearly as patchy as one would expect, and the visual effects work is really top-notch - and I'd argue will age much better than Christmas' Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the previous year's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The whole thing has a muddy grey filter added to it akin to Rogue One, which works really nicely for the Corellia scenes but not as well elsewhere in the galaxy, where a brighter colour palette might have been more pleasing to the eye. However, we're meant to believe this is a galaxy is the midst of a civil war, so it makes sense within that respect.
Bradford Young - Solo's cinematographer - appears to have gone for a very digital look, which pales in comparison with JJ Abrams / Dan Mindel's 35mm film work on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but perhaps helped the visual effects artists with blending the live action and digital work together without looking a bit naff. John Powell, meanwhile, has composed a wonderful tribute to John Williams' classic Star Wars music in the film, managing to stay true to the themes of the franchise, whilst incorporating his own elements and a specially-composed Han theme from Williams, which is a lovely addition to the film.
After a very exciting prologue between the two leads, the film suddenly has to awkwardly time-jump with a transitional scene that forced me to suppress the loudest groan I've ever had from a film. Perhaps that would've been a charming Lord and Miller scene, but in Howard's less quirky final offering, it just comes across as quite pitiful. There's a terrific battle scene thrown in there though, creating a brilliant sense of chaos and the horrors of war, but it feels a little out-of-place in the film as a whole. We're then thrown from one fun action set-piece to another, and the film seems to trundle along quite well until we finally get the actual plot moving with the introduction of the film's primary antagonist, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany). Vos is a surprisingly charming villain in the Star Wars universe, with Bettany clearly having a lot of fun in the role with such little to work with.
Once the plot gets going though, it's understandably run-of-the-mill, although it throws in a curve-ball towards the end in a similar fashion to Firefly (which in itself took homage from Han Solo and the adventures of the Millenium Falcon). We do, however, get to meet Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian in a casting so perfect that Disney are actually considering a spin-off film. Personally, I'd just be happy with giving Glover a bigger role in a potential Solo 2 (which in itself could be their proposed Boba Fett film, and maybe even a Taika Waititi Star Wars entry...), as his part here feels far too small for a performance as brilliant as his. Woody Harrelson's given some nice stuff to work with throughout the film, but it's Phoebe Waller-Bridge's L3 that didn't work for me. Perhaps pessimistic Star Wars droids only work if they're given someone to bounce-off of, as both L3 and K2SO just come across as a bit miserable in their respective films as opposed to C3PO and his banter with R2-D2. Her character is also given a similar story beat to Chewie, but its the latter who's story actually has some weight to it all, despite it all being in Wookie.
Speaking of everyone's favourite fuzzball, Chewie is terrific in the film, and gave me plenty of laughs right up until the end. His blossoming bromance with Han is the heart and soul of Solo, despite the inclusion of Emilia Clarke's Qui'ra as a pre-Princess Leia love interest for Han. Her role is perhaps a stranger one than any of the other characters, with her ultimate reveal feeling like slightly awkward sequel set-up, complete with a cameo that left me baffled. It turns out that the animated kid's shows may or may not hold the answers, but I'd never thought I'd come out of a Star Wars film feeling as though I needed to do my homework first.
Looking at Solo: A Star Wars Story as one piece though, it's a mostly solid action affair. There's definitely a sense of "this is how Han Solo got his blaster", "this is where Han Solo met Chewbacca", etc., but some elements are subtler than others. The whole structure's a bit woolly though, and could've done with some refining at the scripting or editing stage, as the two hours and fifteen minute running time does feel a bit too long for a film like this. I also wouldn't have minded if certain "origin" aspects were saved for a film later down the line, considering that by the end of the film Han still has a little way to go until he becomes the Harrison Ford Han in Star Wars: A New Hope. Additionally, the film could've used more humour in the mix to add a bit of character to the piece as a whole. There's some cracking moments, but a Lord and Miller humorous approach might have made for a more distinctive and memorable film than Howard's slightly conventional - if admirably so - approach. Kudos to everyone who saved this film and put together a solid piece in the end, but I only wish the film itself was a bit more interesting. If you haven't rushed out to see Solo: A Star Wars Story - and the box office suggests you probably haven't - do so on a rainy day, and don't bother with a 3D or IMAX showing. It's a good film, but nothing too special. 7/10
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