Solo Solo: A User Review Thread

[Sithborg]

I quite enjoyed it. The soundtrack is much better than Rogue One's.

 

[Grootster]

I thought it was...meh?

I enjoyed watching it and I'm glad I went to see it. It has a lot of fun moments and was decently entertaining. At times it felt like a big EU novel (in a good way). At other times it felt like the worst of the brand.

Positives

I loved the Kessel Run, it was the highlight of the movie for me. Was it necessary to show? No, but it was handled as well as it possibly could have been. They did a great job conveying what was going on through the visuals. It's probably the only movie in which you'll ever see a [BLACKOUT]space octopus get sucked into a black hole![/BLACKOUT]

Lando was great, almost a perfect performance. I never once doubted him as the character.

I liked a lot of the individual elements. The train heist was tense and fun. The western inspired shots were cool, although most of them were shown in the trailer. I was surprised by the little twist at the end (with the fuel), I didn't see that coming (I skimmed some of that stuff when I read the spoilers.

Negatives (oh boy)

Alden was...okay. His acting was good, and there were brief moments I saw Han in him. But overall you just can't replace Harrison Ford. This entire movie should have just been reworked into a movie about some new smuggler character.

The supporting cast wasn't very strong. Tobias was meh. Qi'ra was meh. Bettany's character was...okay? L3, was...well, we'll get to L3. The four armed guy was entertaining, but we didn't see much of him. I felt like any of the actors could have been interchanged with someone different, and it wouldn't have mattered.

L3 was atrocious!!! I could have lumped this in with the above section or the below section, but I think she deserves a section of her own. This may be the most annoying character ever put in Star Wars, below Jar Jar. This character makes Rose Tico look tame! She's like an obnoxious protester! The constant droning about "droid rights" was just horrendous. [BLACKOUT]The fact that they put this droid's brain in Han's ship now makes it the Millennial Falcon![/BLACKOUT]

The politics. Okay, I understand Star Wars has always had political themes, and that's fine. But this was more on the nose than even TLJ! "Droid rights". [BLACKOUT]Qi'ra beating Han's rear-end and then saving him[/BLACKOUT]. There were tons of lines and themes that were just hammered in, and so tastelessly executed.

It felt kind of long, it kind of dragged. I will argue to my dying day that Rogue One is well-paced and interesting, even if it has a slower pace towards the beginning. This movie should have ended thirty minutes before it did, it felt like it had five different endings.

Overall Thoughts

Unlike The Last Jedi, this movie wasn't terribly offensive or didn't ruin anything about the brand. It's mostly harmless, almost so much that I feel like it will be considered the most substance-less Star Wars movie, it may even end up being kind of forgotten in the future.

Would I recommend it? If you love Star Wars and want to see a lot of cool planets, aliens, and a ton of references (to the point that it stops being cute) yeah, go see it. If you're not into worldbuilding and you want a story that has substance, I'd skip it.

If I had to sum up the movie in a sentence, I'd say it's disposable, but relatively harmless. It's the film equivalent of a plastic cup!

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I am back from outer space, and I had a very good time. t:

 

[Man in the Suit]

Probably my second favorite Star Wars movie released under Disney. I had some problems with clunky editing/pacing early on, but it worked it self out. Bradford Young's low light cinematography is perfect for the criminal underworld. I was worried about Alden Ehrenreich because the first trailer made him look bad, but he was actually really good.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

I like Alden's earnestness. I thought he pulled it off extremely well.

 

[danoyse]

I like Alden's earnestness. I thought he pulled it off extremely well.

I thought he captured his spirit perfectly. He's the good guy.

 

[TheVileOne]

I don't think he pulled it off perfectly, but I think he did a good job and has generally good chemistry with everyone. And he does it without all the stilted awkwardness of the prequels.

 

[titansupes]

Just coming back to this after my post yesterday, because usually the morning after a new movie is when my feelings on it really solidify themselves-- Yup, if anything, I like it even more today. Maybe even loved it. Like I said before, in spite of some clunky aspects, it's just a really breezy, energetic action-adventure film with a good heart, and the nicely highlights different aspects of the SW universe. Definitely my second favourite SW movie of the new era (after TFA).

 

[Quasimod0]

I think Han himself was the best part of this movie. Alden did a really nice job, and it was no easy task.

 

[Frodo]

I really enjoyed it. Alden did a great job. I'd actually look forward to seeing another Solo adventure with Alden in the lead and Howard directing.

I think the spin off films are going to be more my jam than the new saga films, because Solo and Rogue One have turned out to be my favorites of the new films so far.

I was pleasantly surprised when

Spoiler

[BLACKOUT]Darth Maul showed up. [/BLACKOUT]

.

I can see this film won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I had a good time with it even with its flaws.

I give it an 8/10.

 

[def28]

Really liked this! Just a solid adventure flick. Had much more fun with this then TLJ and TFA.

 

[Frodo]

I consider Solo Han's Casino Royale in terms of origin stories. Some of the lessons he learns reminds me very much of CR actually, even though they're drastically different films.

Like Alden, Craig had alot of skeptics and people rooting against him, and both actors defy expectations an inhabit the character in a way that's familiar, but is their own at the same time.

 

[Snow Queen]

I liked it a lot, but I'm tired so my thoughts are a bit scattered. The first act feels very awkward. I really like all the ideas with Corellia and Mimban but it feels truncated and doesn't get a chance to breathe, which then makes the much too long train heist feel endless. I'd rather cut down the train heist in exchange for more time on Corellia or Mimban. Especially Corellia, which is a beautifully grimy setting. The score was good, sometimes it felt out of place but I thought a number of parts were quite memorable and it was a huge improvement of Giacchino's awful Rogue One score and Williams' uninspired Last Jedi score, though not up to part with the Force Awakens score, as far as this new era goes. Most of the cast was solid, with the exception of Emilia Clarke. I have never seen her in a role where I have thought she was the best pick for the part, and that does not change today. She's very flat, and it makes a lot of the more romance-heavy sequences feel awkward. I liked a lot of the world building and how authentic it felt, the Kessel Run, L3, Han, Lando, Chewie, Beckett, Enfys Nest, much of the humour, and Bradford Young's cinematography. Easily second favourite from the Disney era of Star Wars.

 

[Broseph44]

Saw it tonight, really enjoyed it. I thought Alden did a nice job, Donald Glover was perfect - I wish he and Alden had more scenes together. Chewie was awesome, and the action sequences felt like a Disney theme park ride, and I'm all for that.

I thought Alden perfectly captured Han's ability to plan things that just don't pan out, and react accordingly.

Tonally it was a bit all over the place, you could definitely tell there was another movie in there somewhere that got replaced by this version, but it still worked.

But it's a lot of fun. It's nothing like the saga movies, and that part worked too.

I am back from outer space, and I had a very good time. t:

I am glad to hear that you both enjoyed it and had fun with it t:

 

[wampa1]

I'm glad they never mentioned any of the Chewie 'life-debt' stuff. That was always such a terrible idea. It was basically exchanging one form of slavery for another.

 

[titansupes]

^ I totally forgot to mention Chewie in all this-- Easily his best movie so far. Loved the way he and Han met, loved him going off and doing his own thing for a bit and messing people up. Great job with him.

 

[Ipodman]

- The most interesting thing is that you can see how it's been reshot. There are a lot of moments which were clearly written to be comedic, yet bizarrely played straight. One scene with Lando, Lando's droid, and Chewbacca should be comic gold, and yet it's done as if it's high drama. You'll know it when you see it. Also Paul Bettany's character was obviously written to be comedic, yet he plays it all with menace.

I like that this movie doesn't have that corny Marvelised humour that plagued TLJ

 

[Elayis]

Eh, it was fine I guess, about what I expected. I had a very low bar for the movie (just be better than R1 & the prequels), and it managed to do that so I'm satisfied.

The story felt very slapdash, not a lot going on there; it certainly didn't justify its runtime. The opening 20 minutes or so (until Han meets the "beast", which was fantastic) were incredibly clumsy and uninvolving. The speeder chase lacked any sense of momentum or stakes, and the sound design was weirdly flat (maybe it was just my theater). Once Lando & L3 are introduced and they begin the Kessel Run the film hits its stride, but then again slacks off in the third act. The resolution of all the story threads was uninspiring and frankly boring. Say what you want about the prequels (I've said it all myself, believe me), but at least they understood how to end a movie. With the way they went through the motions there, it's hard for me to imagine anyone being excited for more Solo films.

Ehrenreich was fine; most of the time he did a good job, but there's just something about his vibe that's more overly comedic and less confident than Ford's Han. Emilia Clarke really surprised me, though; there hasn't been a need for range on GoT lately so I forgot she could act. Glover was of course perfectly cast, but Lando didn't have much of a role here, and L3 was pretty endearing, I hadn't expected that. The rest of the cast did their jobs well but didn't leave much of an impact. But I do have to call out Jon Favreau for an incredibly lifeless and stilted performance, not sure if that's due to it being VO or the poor dialogue.

The only major standouts to me were the visuals (both the cinematography and the VFX) and the score (too bad it gets lost in the mix more often than not). Makes me wish Powell had done R1 as well. Here's hoping he becomes the franchise's go-to composer after IX (if he wants the job).

6.5/10

 

[Kevin Roegele]

That surprise character appearance had my theater clapping, and me giddy but..

Spoiler

I can see anyone who hasn't seen the Clone Wars animated series or Rebels being surprised, and having many questions. Waiting to see what my friends say when they see it about his appearance.

I think they compensate for this somewhat by [BLACKOUT]clearly showing that Maul now has cybernetic legs. But yeah, the uninitiated will wonder what a Sith is doing as a crime boss. [/BLACKOUT] It's clearly a tease for future appearances.

 

[Sithborg]

Most of the cast was solid, with the exception of Emilia Clarke. I have never seen her in a role where I have thought she was the best pick for the part, and that does not change today. She's very flat, and it makes a lot of the more romance-heavy sequences feel awkward.

Agreed on Clarke. Not sure how much of it was the script or how much of it was Clarke, but she was painful in the beginning (though, a lot of the first half hour is painful).

 

[Frodo]

I think they compensate for this somewhat by [BLACKOUT]clearly showing that Maul now has cybernetic legs. But yeah, the uninitiated will wonder what a Sith is doing as a crime boss. [/BLACKOUT] It's clearly a tease for future appearances.

Yeah. Something tells me

[BLACKOUT]

Spoiler

Maul will be in the Obi Wan film, and further makes me wonder if a showdown with Vader is in the future as well. Either way I loved the cameo and hope they exploit the character to the fullest.

[/BLACKOUT]

 

[stillanerd]

Here's a review for Solo: A Star Wars Story I wrote up. And if there's one thing that I can best sum up about the movie, it's that it's very fun, but (ironically) very episodic. As I talk in the review itself, it felt like I was watching a condensed version of a big budget television series. Still, I enjoyed it.

Stillanerd Reviews: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) review

 

[Kevin Roegele]

. It's probably the only movie in which you'll ever see a [BLACKOUT]space octopus get sucked into a black hole![/BLACKOUT]

Clearly you've never seen Driving Miss Daisy.

 

[j0ke5ta]

Yeah. Something tells me

[BLACKOUT]

Spoiler

Maul will be in the Obi Wan film, and further makes me wonder if a showdown with Vader is in the future as well. Either way I loved the cameo and hope they exploit the character to the fullest.

[/BLACKOUT]

I thought that before

Spoiler

Rebels, and Maul not finding out where Obi Wan was until that series. Which is why I hated that they decided to let them have that meeting, and ultimately kill him in the animated series instead of saving it for a Obi Wan spin off.

Now it would be kinda pointless, and against canon for that to happen. So Vader May now be the only option unless they’re going to use Keira as a sith apprentice of Maul, and have her hunt him down. I’d prefer they use her in the future past TLJ as older Sith or something but we’ll see what their plans are.

 

[wampa1]

With the...

Spoiler

...Teras Kasi reference and all the crime lord stuff did anyone else think that the super-secret boss would be Prince Xizor? I know he's head of Black Sun but they always change stuff...