Solo: a Star Wars Story

Expect the unexpected!

After the disastrous premiere of  The Last Jedi last year, and after all the fake postive reviews made by paid critics from big websites (too big to mention here) Rian "Jar Jar" Johnson created the most divisive Star Wars film ever made. Claiming his "daring vision" would expand the SW universe like you've never seen before, he spent the whole year after the premiere explaining every single thing he did, while on the other hand Mark Hamill apparently regreted himself for saying publicly how much he disliked the new take on Luke Skywalker (we all hated it Mark, don't worry!). In addition, The Last Jedi is the lowest ranked SW films by viewers at Rotten Tomatoes with a 46% (yeah baby! let the truth be heard across the internet!) While today's entry, that has only been out for 4 days, is already a solid 60% that I'm sure it will grow as days go by. 

Solo, a Star Wars Story, is kind of a prequel in a sense it tells how Han Solo got to be the Han Solo we all grew up with in the sacred original Star Wars trilogy. Directed by experienced B Movie  maker Mr. Ron Howard, the film has everything you need to enjoy a film from start to finish. Besides, it has all the Star Wars humor piece-of-shit-Johson failed to add to his "groundbreaking ball swallowing episode VIII". So right after the TLJ effect, people even started to talk about "Star Wars fatigue". A term, I even found myself agreeing with after all the incisively aggressive Disney marketing campaign to promote their new characters as equally interesting characters as the originals. Fuck no they aren't!

Larger than life friendship.

Lando Calrissian, the gambler!

However, Seeing that millions of people were sick and tired of the latest in the SW universe, it is only natural to think that a new side quest/side story would feel strictly unnecessary. Did we really need to see who stole the Death Star's plans in Rogue One? Maybe, maybe not. I for one, think that what made SW great, was precisely that: the curtain of mystery that not only surrounded most of the main characters, but also interesting sub plots and subtle appearances of background characters that were actually as interesting as the leads (Boba Fett, anyone?)

The day Solo premiered I checked at our local theater that there were only 25 seats sold! Which kinda led me into thinking this film would be a train wreck. Later, once I actually went to the movies with me wife, we found the theater to be almost empty, as if they were about to call it a day. Moreover, and to our sad surprise it was only us and around 10 people who actually showed up once the film began to roll. Luckily, this was a real Star Wars movie, one with the heart and spirit the original trilogy had, so in a way those who were there, were the lucky ones!

Dryden Vos, a mean motherfucker.

The mysterious Enfys Nest.

Obviously, Solo, expands its universe with an interesting selection of characters that not only look cool but that also are really relevant to the development of the main plot, sub plots and other shockingly surprising reveals the film feeds us off with every hour. The new additions are Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke), Han Solo's former girlfriend, Beckett (Woody Harrelson), a professional smuggler and double crosser from which Solo gets his now world famous blaster and apparently a lot more. Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), the mob boss who runs not only Beckett's life but also a powerful contraband company that seems to be working for the empire. Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman), Beckett's rival and last but not least L3-37 (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Lando's companion droid with a mind of her own. 

Plotwise, Solo is pretty straight forward. Han Solo quits working for the empire once he realizes he's on the wrong battlefield. As soon as he escapes, he meets Beckett's pose and gets a job as a pilot and smuggler with the one character we all know so much: Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). Their first assignment, seems pretty simple: steal a precious energy source from the empire to get a load of cash after delivering it to Dryden Vos. Obviously, things go south pretty quickly, and the smuggler team has to retry their mission in order to make it out alive. 

I need to get me a fast ship.

Long time no see Han!

Solo is a rollercoaster ride full of fan service, unexpected SW references, and a incredibly well staged set of plot twists that will reassure our faith in the SW universe. While the plot may seem a bit too simplistic, it's good enough to develop the many surprises and jokes the film comes packed with. For instance, L3-37 leads a unique war of her own on demanding rights for droids, and all of her scenes are done graciously in the likes of every SW joke you've seen in the classic films. In fact, most of the funniest jokes come from the many creatures and droids our heroes find in their way to survival. The jokes look and feel so natural, that you will gladly thank yourself for having bought the tickets to what I'd like to call the "latest hidden gem" in the SW franchise. 

Solo marks Lawrence Kasdan's fourth and final time working as a writer on the "Star Wars" film franchise. He was also a screenwriter for Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).  

Solo: A Star Wars Story takes place approximately 10 years prior to the events of Star Wars : A New Hope and 7 years before the Star Wars: Rebels TV series. Chewbacca and Leia Organa both made appearances in the Rebels series, but it is unknown who Chewbacca was allied with. Lando Calrissian also appeared and was voiced by Billy Dee Williams. 

Bad guys wear capes.

Run Han, run!

And now more spoiler-free cool trivia about Solo, A Star Wars Story:

-Dryden Vos has a set of Mandalorian Battle Armor in his collection on his yacht. This is the same style of armor made famous by bounty hunter Boba Fett.  

-During the train heist Val mentions the character Bossk(a personal favorite o'mine), who is one of the bounty hunters that is shown in Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. 

-While posing as slave traders, Beckett (Woody Harrelson) wears the same helmet and uniform that Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) wore while posing as a bodyguard for Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi (1983). 

-Just before attempting a very risky maneuver in the Millennium Falcon, Han says "I have a really good feeling about this." In previous 'Star Wars' films, characters (including Han) have said the exact opposite "I have a bad feeling about this." 

-The theme of the Imperial March can be heard playing on the recruitment film featured at the beginning of the film before Han signs up to the Empire.  

-With this film, Warwick Davis has been involved in 10 Star Wars related projects starting with Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983). 

-The Golden Idol (Fertility Idol) from the opening scene of Raiders Of The Lost Ark can be seen sitting on a table in the meeting room of Paul Bettany's character Dryden Vos. Harrison Ford who originally played Han Solo also played Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Director Ron Howard confirmed this Easter egg on Twitter. 

- In the mine elevator on Kessell, Chewbacca tears a guard's arms out of his sockets. This refers to a line spoken by Han in the original 'Star Wars.' 

It's not wise to upset a wookie.

Sorry, seat taken.

Overall, Solo is an unexpectedly good addition to the now divisive SW universe. The film delivers two hours of entertainment based solely on the premise of respecting the franchise, their fans and not going over its head with "groundbreaking twists". Solo actually learned a lot from the failure of TLJ and decided to play it safe but with many interesting yet, subtle twists that will have you cumming several times by the end of the film. 

Here's the movie trailer collection:

Teaser trailer:

Official Trailer:

Behind the scenes with the cast: