Solo: A Star Wars Story
starring Aldren Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Walter-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo and Paul Bettany
written by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan
directed by Ron Howard
Rating: ◊◊♦♦♦
I watched this at the TOHO Cinema in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Saturday, June 30, 2018, one week after it opened here. I happened to be in Ebina for a part-time job and when the job was finished I scooted over to the nearby theater to see how busy it was and if seating was available. No problem. So, I made a sudden, quick decision to watch it.
Generally speaking, I’ve had enough of the Star Wars series. The stories have become repetitive and boring, and unaddressed inconsistencies and anomalies seem to have crept into them. (Some say - and I see their point - that even at the start, in the 1970s, when the George Lucas creations were wildly exciting, innovative and popular, that the plots were actually not that sophisticated and the writing was mediocre.) The Solo plot takes place over ten years prior to the events of the original film, Episode IV: A New Hope (1977), and explores the early adventures of Han Solo (Aldren Ehrenreich) and Chewbacca, as the pair are involved in a heist within the criminal underworld and meet a young Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover).
I waited for the film to come out in theaters in Japan. Although I’m no longer terribly keen on Star Wars I wanted to see this film, and I wanted to see it on a big screen because of three great unanswered questions dating from A New Hope: How did Han Solo win the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in a lucky hand of cards?; How did the Millennium Falcon make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs?; and, How did Han and Chewbacca the Wookie meet and partner up to begin with?
1. How did Han solo win the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian in a lucky hand of cards?
2. How did the Millennium Falcon make the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs?
3. How did Han and Chewbacca the Wookie meet and partner up to begin with?
Solo’s production is checkered. It had director problems and Ron Howard was brought in as a replacement in mid-production. There was no recasting, rewriting or reshooting. Instead, Howard pushed forward with the script, the cast and the crew that he inherited to try to salvage the project. Howard is a high-profile mega-director, so coming to the film as a replacement was a professional risk for him. I think the result is okay. Not great, but okay.
There is nothing here about Jedi Knights, the Emperor, or the struggle between the Emperor and the Imperial Senate. We are given a glimpse of Darth Maul, a frightening and popular character from Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999), as a hint of what’s coming in the future, but …