Solo: A Star Wars Story

I’m decidedly in the “like” camp in regard to The Last Jedi, and while my enthusiasm for The Force Awakens has diminished a bit with repeat viewings, I won't deny I enjoyed it opening night. Where Disney has been fumbling the Star Wars property, though, is the spin-off films released between official Episodes. Rogue One was a terrific finale with a totally average sci-fi action movie in front of it. Solo is likewise as pedestrian as they come. And while Rogue One's shortcomings could possibly be pinned on reshoots resulting in a sometimes stilted, inconsistent final product, it's harder to make that case this time. Despite the change in directors and reported overhaul in tone well into production, Solo still feels like a full, cohesive film. Just, not a very good one.

Now that the story of the Skywalkers before the classic trilogy has been told, this film aims to do the same for the best character in the whole saga. Born into poverty and raised in a life of crime on the industrial planet Corellia, the young Han (Alden Ehrenreich) escapes by joining the Imperial military, intending to become a pilot. When that doesn’t work out as planned, the future smuggler deserts and joins a group of thieves out to steal valuable hyperspace fuel. Through these events, he goes on adventures and sees some faces all Star Wars fans know, such as the Wookiee Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), the charming con artist Lando Calrissian (Donal Glover), and a familiar spaceship.

Ehrenreich is no Harrison Ford, in both the sense that he’s nowhere near Ford's level as a leading man, and that he's not trying to do an impression of Ford's portrayal. Instead, he seems to be imitating Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord. But the overall tone is a lot less jokey than the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, so his cocky façade comes off as totally artificial instead of natural. Never does he seem like anything but a performer playing a character. Glover, on the other hand, is doing a bit of imitation of his predecessor (that being Billy Dee Williams), though peppered with his offbeat and self-deprecating comedic persona. It might be a stretch to say he would have saved the picture in the lead role, but he certainly carries scenes better even when he's relegated to co-pilot.

Though big name pros like Woody Harrelson and Paul Bettany do solid supporting work (Emilia Clarke, not so much), every new character seems like a well-worn archetype. The same goes for the plot, which hits so many beats of adventure and heist films that the viewer's almost never surprised by what transpires (save for one moment that comes way out of left field, obviously planting seeds for potential sequels). The writing’s focus appears to have been on cramming in as many pivotal moments in Solo’s backstory and references to franchise lore as the film could fit, leaving little room for an original story. And it mostly disappoints at that, too. That legendary moment Han boasted about in the Mos Eisley cantina? It's here, and it's the most underwhelming of several underwhelming action and effects sequences (the lone exception being a high-altitude train heist, which is pretty fun).

There’s undoubtedly fun to be had in picking out all the references (one line directed at a certain much-derided video game even elicited a hearty laugh out of me). But that should be a fun bonus for fans in the audience, not the best part of the picture. Solo may have been aiming for a lighthearted adventure yarn, like the supplemental comics and novellas from the old days before franchise canon became so rigid. It doesn't even clear that bar, in quality or even just being fun.