Article written by Samuel Burnett.
So, I just saw Solo: A Star Wars Story only a few hours ago and my biggest takeaway from it was: I enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would.
This is not a movie that needed to be made. No-one was clamouring for the backstory of the smuggler with a heart of gold and many pegged it as an obvious, cynical cash grab by Disney. They needed to make back that $4 billion that they spent on the franchise so clearly, they were going to churn out as many of these movies as they could to get that sweet, sweet box office gold. Thankfully, for a cynical cash grab, this movie was a lot of fun.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard about the behind the scenes turmoil that threatened to bring the movie to a halt. With seventy-five percent of the film already shot, Disney unceremoniously dumped directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, citing the old “creative differences.” Enter Ron Howard to shoot the rest of the film as well as reshoot several already completed scenes.
If you ever want proof that miracles exist, just consider the fact that despite everything this film is still as good as it is.
Alden Ehrenreich is in top form as the scruffy nerf-herder and easily captures the charm and scheming nature of the character. It is no difficulty imagining that this boy grows up to be the cynical outlaw that we will eventually meet on Tatooine.
Accompanied by Joonas Suotamo playing the mighty Chewbacca, the pair emulate the bond first created by Harrison Ford and Peter Mahew back in 1977.
Of course, the real star of the show is Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian. This man steals every scene he is in and is clearly having a blast for every second he on the screen. Injecting the right amount of suave sophistication into the role, do not be too surprised if fans start clamouring for the rumoured Calrissian spin-off in the near future.
Which, finally, brings us to Qi-ra, played by Emilia Clarke. Boilerplate disclaimer, I was really disappointed when I learned that she had been cast in a Star Wars film. It would be a lie to say that I am a fan of her work. While in most of her previous big budget roles, the Game of Thrones actress seems content to simply phone it in, never actually attempting to act, instead happy to make a series of bizarre facial expressions before claiming a paycheque.
Miraculously, she actually manages to emote in this role and shares a certain degree of chemistry with her co-stars. On occasion, she is even capable of creating a real sense of mystery to the character, making us unsure of what her final endgame is.
While I am not particularly eager to see more of this female Jared Leto, I am grateful that even she was unable to sink the film.
In addition to a colourful collection of supporting characters, from a droid campaigning for civil rights to the truly unnerving villain played by Paul Bethany, the cast is certainly memorable and I anticipate many of them getting novelised spin-offs any day now.
While Lucasfilm President, Kathleen Kennedy, described this film as a heist movie, I think it would be more accurate to label this a pirate movie in space. If Errol Flynn randomly appeared on the screen, swinging from a rope, no-one watching would have batted an eyelid.
The action is exciting, fast paced and, in the case of a truly memorable train sequence, incredible. There’s very little repetition in this film when it comes to the fight scenes. There are fistfights, car chases, shootouts and chase sequences and they all have something that makes them unique and stand out from one another.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is an exciting, action packed film that is definitely a must see for any Star Wars fan as well as any fan of fast paced science-fiction. This is not a film that needed to be made but I am very glad that it was.
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