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Revisiting Star Wars: "Solo"
This week, in preparation for the premiere of The Rise of Skywalker, I'm rewatching all of the live-action Star Wars films. Some for the first time in years. As I go along I'm collecting some of my thoughts on how each film has changed in my own estimation, and how well I think they hold up overall in the story as it stands.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is the most recent film to come out and perhaps the one that is freshest in my mind, since it is on Netflix and I pivoted to rewatching it to break from the loop of Rogue One and The Last Jedi. I remember enjoying it just fine when I originally saw it in the theater, and this go around I still enjoyed the same things I originally enjoyed and had quibbles with the same things I had quibbles with, but honestly considering it's troubled production this movie is very well constructed. The massive reshoots and director changes were not at all obvious, which honestly speaks to the strength of Lucasfilm as a machine.
Most of why this movie works as well as it does is the strength of the acting. Even the minor parts in this are played by extremely capable actors, and with one notable exception this is no one's first rodeo. Alden Ehrenreich nails the very unenviable task of portraying Han Solo and making the role his own, and it definitely helps the time period is far enough removed from the original trilogy that he has the freedom to do so. Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian is a very impressive impression, and it never comes off like it is one. The other new characters in this movie are... largely... strongly defined and utilized well.
This movie does fall victim to unfortunate tropes with Val in particular, though aspects of L3 aren't great either. Overall, this movie does move through it's supporting cast rather quickly. Probably it's strongest new character is Q'ira, whose gravitas is entirely an accomplishment of Emilia Clarke since the script gives her almost nothing in order to keep her motives unclear. Honestly, she's the character I most want to see more of not just from this movie, but from the franchise as a whole. I think she has so much potential, and the cliffhanger ending with Maul is just begging to be explored.
Maul is where a very fanservicey movie becomes its most fanservicey. Maul's resurrection and post-The Phantom Menace storyline plays out entirely in the animated shows, so his appearance here was mostly met with confusion from the general movie audience. I was very much not a fan of this as I believe the movies should be able to stand on their own without needing to be propped up by source material. A follow-up film or show with Q'ira and Maul could help remedy this issue though, just saying. As far as the other fanservice elements go, nothing sticks out that really bothers me. I'm just glad they resisted the urge to put Boba Fett in this movie honestly.
A major way this movie succeeds is its aesthetic. It's unlike anything else in Star Wars but still feels very Star Wars. For a prequel property, it avoids revisiting any familiar settings and even goes with sequences like the train heist that have never been staged in live action Star Wars before. The music and color palette is also extremely good, though there were points where the movie was too dark - a problem that was especially bad in the theater itself. The design for Enfys Nest in particular was very delightful, and the character made a big impact despite little screentime.
Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this movie on a personal level are all the direct parallels and tie-ins to The Last Jedi. The dice is the obvious example, but Han and Q'ira's elevator ride, fight with Dryden Vos, and subsequent parting was very reminiscent of the throne room scene with Rey, Kylo, and Snoke, respectively. It adds a richness and relevance to the story it might not otherwise have, and gives what's essentially a side story greater emotional and narrative weight. The fact that Q'ira's fate is left ambiguous also makes us wonder about the ultimate fate of Kylo Ren, the son of the man she's leaving. However, unlike Kylo, Q'ira is more steadfast in her actions, while he is a mess of emotions.
I also watched the movie's deleted scenes for the first time, courtesy of the 'Movies Everywhere' from buying the 4K Bluray (which I can not watch because I lost the player's remote somewhere in my apartment). For the most part, they're all extended or alternate scenes of what's already present in the movie, and nothing sticks out as an unwise omission. I suppose it would've been nice if Han's brief time at the imperial academy was kept in though, even if it had disrupted the flow.
Also, even though I'm basically a sucker for falling for it, I absolutely ate up all the Han and Lando queerbaiting in this movie. I love their dynamic and that pairing so I was completely here for it. But the abysmal onscreen queer rep in Star Wars is a rant for another day. For now, we have Lando fucking a funny robot who is a character I honestly enjoyed.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is the most recent film to come out and perhaps the one that is freshest in my mind, since it is on Netflix and I pivoted to rewatching it to break from the loop of Rogue One and The Last Jedi. I remember enjoying it just fine when I originally saw it in the theater, and this go around I still enjoyed the same things I originally enjoyed and had quibbles with the same things I had quibbles with, but honestly considering it's troubled production this movie is very well constructed. The massive reshoots and director changes were not at all obvious, which honestly speaks to the strength of Lucasfilm as a machine.
Most of why this movie works as well as it does is the strength of the acting. Even the minor parts in this are played by extremely capable actors, and with one notable exception this is no one's first rodeo. Alden Ehrenreich nails the very unenviable task of portraying Han Solo and making the role his own, and it definitely helps the time period is far enough removed from the original trilogy that he has the freedom to do so. Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian is a very impressive impression, and it never comes off like it is one. The other new characters in this movie are... largely... strongly defined and utilized well.
This movie does fall victim to unfortunate tropes with Val in particular, though aspects of L3 aren't great either. Overall, this movie does move through it's supporting cast rather quickly. Probably it's strongest new character is Q'ira, whose gravitas is entirely an accomplishment of Emilia Clarke since the script gives her almost nothing in order to keep her motives unclear. Honestly, she's the character I most want to see more of not just from this movie, but from the franchise as a whole. I think she has so much potential, and the cliffhanger ending with Maul is just begging to be explored.
Maul is where a very fanservicey movie becomes its most fanservicey. Maul's resurrection and post-The Phantom Menace storyline plays out entirely in the animated shows, so his appearance here was mostly met with confusion from the general movie audience. I was very much not a fan of this as I believe the movies should be able to stand on their own without needing to be propped up by source material. A follow-up film or show with Q'ira and Maul could help remedy this issue though, just saying. As far as the other fanservice elements go, nothing sticks out that really bothers me. I'm just glad they resisted the urge to put Boba Fett in this movie honestly.
A major way this movie succeeds is its aesthetic. It's unlike anything else in Star Wars but still feels very Star Wars. For a prequel property, it avoids revisiting any familiar settings and even goes with sequences like the train heist that have never been staged in live action Star Wars before. The music and color palette is also extremely good, though there were points where the movie was too dark - a problem that was especially bad in the theater itself. The design for Enfys Nest in particular was very delightful, and the character made a big impact despite little screentime.
Perhaps one of my favorite aspects of this movie on a personal level are all the direct parallels and tie-ins to The Last Jedi. The dice is the obvious example, but Han and Q'ira's elevator ride, fight with Dryden Vos, and subsequent parting was very reminiscent of the throne room scene with Rey, Kylo, and Snoke, respectively. It adds a richness and relevance to the story it might not otherwise have, and gives what's essentially a side story greater emotional and narrative weight. The fact that Q'ira's fate is left ambiguous also makes us wonder about the ultimate fate of Kylo Ren, the son of the man she's leaving. However, unlike Kylo, Q'ira is more steadfast in her actions, while he is a mess of emotions.
I also watched the movie's deleted scenes for the first time, courtesy of the 'Movies Everywhere' from buying the 4K Bluray (which I can not watch because I lost the player's remote somewhere in my apartment). For the most part, they're all extended or alternate scenes of what's already present in the movie, and nothing sticks out as an unwise omission. I suppose it would've been nice if Han's brief time at the imperial academy was kept in though, even if it had disrupted the flow.
Also, even though I'm basically a sucker for falling for it, I absolutely ate up all the Han and Lando queerbaiting in this movie. I love their dynamic and that pairing so I was completely here for it. But the abysmal onscreen queer rep in Star Wars is a rant for another day. For now, we have Lando fucking a funny robot who is a character I honestly enjoyed.