Movies: Solo: A Star Wars Story | Part II

[Osprey]

- Compare that to Rogue One, who was probably a lesser movie in terms of cohesion and characters interactions, but at least you could find a purpose, or something interesting that was novel and didn't really compromise what they couldn't touch. Sure that had some fan service - I still think the Vader scene was far more than that but you know, it kinda was - but fan service wasn't really the draw of the film, despite them being both quite for the fans and obviously less good at anything than the episodic films.

I think that Rogue One worked better than Solo in the following ways (among others):

1) All of the characters were new. Because of that, it wasn't bogged down nearly as much by fan service as Solo. It could just tell a good story, rather than try to explain how characters that we already knew got to be as they are. Also, because of that and because it was a one-off film, it could kill any characters off, whereas there was never any uncertainty about the fates of Han, Chewie and Lando.

2) The story fit snugly into movie canon, telling the story of the acquisition of the Death Star plans and ending immediately where Episode IV starts. Solo's story, about criminals working for and against one another out of nothing but greed, wasn't very familiar as "Star Wars" or connected to canon except by a few fan service threads (like the Kessel run). It didn't have the "big picture" of other Star Wars films, and some people may like that about it, but I think that it's a part of why so many weren't drawn into the film.

3) It had a clear villain: the familiar Empire. Solo didn't. Whether with the train or the mining operation, there wasn't any sense of whom they were stealing from and it didn't even seem to matter. We assumed that Dryden would ultimately be the villain, but, while they were on his good side, he wasn't really one and there wasn't much tension or a sense of stakes throughout the film. RO, on the other hand, had a tremendous sense of the stakes.

Watched it last night and it was okay, Rogue was better IMO. I have one question though, when Qi'ra kills Dryden, she is talking to Solo after. There is a guard in the background doing nothing - just standing there at attention. Why? I actually thought Clarke was decent in this movie vs. others she has been in.

I believe that it was just a suit of armor, one of the many decorative props in the room. I, too, thought that it was a guard earlier in the scene and wondered why Beckett didn't shoot him, so you weren't the only one.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Finally watched it at home. Have to say I am in the minority and really enjoyed it. It was what I thought it was going to be.....a fun, action movie / popcorn flick with Han, Lando and Chewy. I personally wasn't looking for anything deeper than an entertaining movie, as the Star Wars franchise has never produced a film with a lot of depth imo.

@Phillip The Third I asked for the movie... Im sorry.

I think that even though the Star Wars movies don't have a lot of depth, Solo had next to none.

Thought it was fine the first go-round. I was terribly bored the second. I think if I continue to keep watching it over time I will really start to dislike it.

 

[Jovavic]

Movie is on Netflix now

 

[Outofbodyinhungary]

I honestly don’t think it’s that bad, I just don’t really see Han Solo in that actor. Kinda just pretended like it was some regular outlaw.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

Just watched it. Hate it. It was okay up until about an hour, then it just barreled downhill after that.

 

[CTC]

I actually thought it was great, hope for more Solo stories with the actor. This probably isn't seen as great because of the TLJ being released so closely. I didn't like the mother of dragons in this though.

 

[Pilky01]

I didn't really watch it. Put it on in the background.

One line jumped out at me as being horrible and all the hockey fans here probably cringed as well.

"Chewbacca? You're gonna need a nickname"



Nobody has ever said "Youre gonna need a nickname". They just immediately slap an "ey" or and "er" to the end of the first syllable and that is your nickname. Its automatic.

 

[Baby Punisher]

When I saw this in the theater I didn't hate it and if you go back to some of my posts I was ready to hate it. I actually liked the film. I still wasn't sold on the kid playing Han.

Fast Forward to this weekend and I watched it again for the first time since seeing it in the theater and I was able to pick up on a few more things that the kid did in subtle ways that made his Han Solo performance a bit better and more believable, thus not tanking the entire film. Ron Howard got EVERYTHING he could possibly get out of this guy. Howard saved the movie and maybe Star Wars.

 

[HanSolo]

I rewatched it the other day and honestly I enjoyed it. It's not on such a grand scale as other Star Wars movies such as Rogue One, nor was it a story that HAD to be told, but I think it's solid as a straightforward adventure. It suffers from some contrivances here and there for the sake of Han's backstory aligning with the OT. In particular the "twist" at the end that basically has Han ostensibly funding the Rebellion and allowing them to get off the ground. That's actually particularly annoying because I think it cuts into Han's OT value in being a rogue turned hero if you sit there and think "the rebel alliance might not have even gotten off the ground if not for Han." And then of course Maul being behind Crimson Dawn...like, I get they want to canonically bring Maul back into the cinematic universe but that's another thing when you consider the grand scope of the saga, it's another thing the awfully shrinks the galaxy down. A young Han Solo's first experience as an outlaw is with an organization run by a former lord of the Sith who was killed by Obi Wan Kenobi. Kenobi who was the master to Luke's father and who went on an adventure himself with Han.

But apart from that, I really don't have much of a problem with it. Woody Harrelson's mentoring character element almost bordered on annoying but it was resolved at the end quite nicely. I thought it was well paced, as well acted as you could reasonably hope for, and decently fun. Fun enough that I can definitely see myself going back to watch it, where with Last Jedi I keep seeing it atop my Netflix recommended list and can't bring myself to rewatch.

Also L3 was annoying but it was saved by the fact that no one around her took her seriously and she seemed to get on Lando's nerves.

 

[MadDevil]

It felt like a combination of the old Brian Daley novels and the more recent Han Solo trilogy, all of which I enjoyed reading.

The Maul thing (I loved them having Witwer do his voice) was pretty fan servicey (and kind of confusing to a few people I know who didn't watch TCW or Rebels), but I thought it was fine. The performances were all pretty decent too. It took me a few minutes to get past the fact that Han Solo was being played by somebody other than Harrison Ford, but I thought Ehrenreich did a pretty good job, considering what a tough ask it had to be to play such an iconic character.

I'd still probably put it last among the new films (yeah I liked TLJ, sue me), but it was still fun, which is really all I was hoping for after all the production issues it had.

 

[NyQuil]

I'd still probably put it last among the new films (yeah I liked TLJ, sue me), but it was still fun, which is really all I was hoping for after all the production issues it had.

I would probably go:

1. Rogue One
2. The Force Awakens
3. Solo




4. The Last Jedi

The Maul thing (I loved them having Witwer do his voice) was pretty fan servicey (and kind of confusing to a few people I know who didn't watch TCW or Rebels), but I thought it was fine.

It was definitely a bit over-the-top fan servicey.

You could tell they were worried people would think it would be a different Zabrak so they had him use the Force to grab his dual-bladed lightsaber and turn it on for some reason during the conversation.

 

[MadDevil]

They had to fill the lightsaber quota.

 

[Nizdizzle]

I rewatched it the other day and honestly I enjoyed it. It's not on such a grand scale as other Star Wars movies such as Rogue One, nor was it a story that HAD to be told, but I think it's solid as a straightforward adventure. It suffers from some contrivances here and there for the sake of Han's backstory aligning with the OT. In particular the "twist" at the end that basically has Han ostensibly funding the Rebellion and allowing them to get off the ground. That's actually particularly annoying because I think it cuts into Han's OT value in being a rogue turned hero if you sit there and think "the rebel alliance might not have even gotten off the ground if not for Han." And then of course Maul being behind Crimson Dawn...like, I get they want to canonically bring Maul back into the cinematic universe but that's another thing when you consider the grand scope of the saga, it's another thing the awfully shrinks the galaxy down. A young Han Solo's first experience as an outlaw is with an organization run by a former lord of the Sith who was killed by Obi Wan Kenobi. Kenobi who was the master to Luke's father and who went on an adventure himself with Han.

But apart from that, I really don't have much of a problem with it. Woody Harrelson's mentoring character element almost bordered on annoying but it was resolved at the end quite nicely. I thought it was well paced, as well acted as you could reasonably hope for, and decently fun. Fun enough that I can definitely see myself going back to watch it, where with Last Jedi I keep seeing it atop my Netflix recommended list and can't bring myself to rewatch.

Also L3 was annoying but it was saved by the fact that no one around her took her seriously and she seemed to get on Lando's nerves.

This is pretty much exactly my thoughts after watching the movie a second time.

To expand my thoughts on the bolded, it just makes everything seem so small that in the entire galaxy you have like 2 degrees of separation between all these persons.

Maul leading organization that gets Han Solo career started and the boss of his love interest.
Maul Killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi hires Han to fly them to Alderaan.
Han Solo funds the start of the Rebellion in his first job as a smuggler, which he later joins decades later.

To me, it just makes this massive Star Wars Universe seem so small since apparently every important character has been involved with the others in some way without even realizing it. I wish the producers would just be okay with making a unique backstory that doesn't have to intersect other characters.

L3 is the worst thing to happen to Star Wars ever, worse than Jar Jar Binks in my opinion. They need to stop trying to be culturally relevant with stuff like that. Its a science fantasy, and putting modern day issues (like the war profiteering Casino scene from TLJ) just takes me right out of the movie.

 

[Shockmaster]

I honestly don’t think it’s that bad, I just don’t really see Han Solo in that actor. Kinda just pretended like it was some regular outlaw.

It made more sense than The Last Jedi.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

L3 is the worst thing to happen to Star Wars ever, worse than Jar Jar Binks in my opinion. They need to stop trying to be culturally relevant with stuff like that. Its a science fantasy, and putting modern day issues (like the war profiteering Casino scene from TLJ) just takes me right out of the movie.

A robot you found annoying in a one-off feature was the worst thing to happen to Star Wars? Sounds a bit hyperbolic.

Also why does even basic political commentary (which is a common occurrence in sci-fi anyway) take you out of a movie?

 

[Nizdizzle]

A robot you found annoying in a one-off feature was the worst thing to happen to Star Wars? Sounds a bit hyperbolic.

Also why does even basic political commentary (which is a common occurrence in sci-fi anyway) take you out of a movie?

What would you say was the worst thing to happen to Star Wars?

And yes, shoe-horning in issues that have almost no relevance to the current narrative takes away my suspension of disbelief. Any scene with L3 was obnoxiously filled with the robot yelling about "robot rights" and whatnot, a thread that isn't led up to, explored, or expanded on in any way. Its literally just inserted into the movie for no discernible reason.

 

[HanSolo]

This is pretty much exactly my thoughts after watching the movie a second time.

To expand my thoughts on the bolded, it just makes everything seem so small that in the entire galaxy you have like 2 degrees of separation between all these persons.

Maul leading organization that gets Han Solo career started and the boss of his love interest.
Maul Killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Obi-Wan Kenobi hires Han to fly them to Alderaan.
Han Solo funds the start of the Rebellion in his first job as a smuggler, which he later joins decades later.

To me, it just makes this massive Star Wars Universe seem so small since apparently every important character has been involved with the others in some way without even realizing it. I wish the producers would just be okay with making a unique backstory that doesn't have to intersect other characters.

L3 is the worst thing to happen to Star Wars ever, worse than Jar Jar Binks in my opinion. They need to stop trying to be culturally relevant with stuff like that. Its a science fantasy, and putting modern day issues (like the war profiteering Casino scene from TLJ) just takes me right out of the movie.

I mean on the other hand I suppose you can justify it if you think that these just happen to be the biggest players in the galaxy. But i still would agree that fresh faces are needed.

As for L3 she was definitely the most annoying part of the movie but I think people need to chill with "more annoying than Jar Jar". I feel like people who say that about L3 and Finn are worse than Jar Jar are forgetting just how trash Jar Jar was. At least L3s desire for Droid rights makes sense. It's not like 3PO never had a quip here and there about mistreatment.

 

[HanSolo]

What would you say was the worst thing to happen to Star Wars?

And yes, shoe-horning in issues that have almost no relevance to the current narrative takes away my suspension of disbelief. Any scene with L3 was obnoxiously filled with the robot yelling about "robot rights" and whatnot, a thread that isn't led up to, explored, or expanded on in any way. Its literally just inserted into the movie for no discernible reason.

How was it not expanded? It led her to cause the prison break that resulted in the biggest gun fight of the movie after being specifically instructed not to deviate from the plan.

L3 may have been annoying but at least her cause was something to think about. Jar Jar was literally just a blithering idiot with Star Wars' first and only unnecessary fart joke.

 

[Nizdizzle]

I mean on the other hand I suppose you can justify it if you think that these just happen to be the biggest players in the galaxy. But i still would agree that fresh faces are needed.

As for L3 she was definitely the most annoying part of the movie but I think people need to chill with "more annoying than Jar Jar". I feel like people who say that about L3 and Finn are worse than Jar Jar are forgetting just how trash Jar Jar was. At least L3s desire for Droid rights makes sense. It's not like 3PO never had a quip here and there about mistreatment.

I just think they went to an obnoxious extreme with L3, and it really overshadowed every scene it was in. Maybe, I'm less critical of Jar Jar because I was younger (and cared less about movies) when I first saw the prequels. I don't really have a big issue with Finn other than some odd writing choices for his character.

 

[HanSolo]

I just think they went to an obnoxious extreme with L3, and it really overshadowed every scene it was in. Maybe, I'm less critical of Jar Jar because I was younger (and cared less about movies) when I first saw the prequels. I don't really have a big issue with Finn other than some odd writing choices for his character.

I don't disagree that they made her overly obnoxious. The character trait could have been done without taking it to the extremes they did. Especially if they wanted to add legitimacy to a character being a vehicle for equal rights, it really cheapens the whole move when you have said character constantly be an asshole about it.

All that being said though, it doesn't really ruin the movie for me. It's a movie I don't take seriously as an episodic chapter in the saga. It was meant to be a fun adventure movie and i think it accomplishes that. It just could have done so without overdoing it with L3 and some of the plot contrivances.

For the purpose of the poll above I'd say this was a C+, B- movie.

 

[ArGarBarGar]

What would you say was the worst thing to happen to Star Wars?

Midichlorians, or having Anakin murder children within an hour of choosing to fight for Sidious. There was a ton of just awful stuff packed into the prequels, and an annoying robot who was part of a side-movie really isn't that big of a deal.

And yes, shoe-horning in issues that have almost no relevance to the current narrative takes away my suspension of disbelief. Any scene with L3 was obnoxiously filled with the robot yelling about "robot rights" and whatnot, a thread that isn't led up to, explored, or expanded on in any way. Its literally just inserted into the movie for no discernible reason.

She is a robot who is more self-aware than the others. She is an activist in that sense. She then causes a robot uprising as an extension of her activism. This simply shows us there are probably a minority of robots who have this in their system, and in this case it is essential to them escaping in the end. That isn't too big of a deal and isn't making any kind of real political commentary that should take you out of the movie. Keep in mind within the first hour of ANH there is a civil rights allegory at Mos Eisley, but I can't imagine that did anything to negatively effect your enjoyment of the film.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Midichlorians, or having Anakin murder children within an hour of choosing to fight for Sidious. There was a ton of just awful stuff packed into the prequels, and an annoying robot who was part of a side-movie really isn't that big of a deal.



She is a robot who is more self-aware than the others. She is an activist in that sense. She then causes a robot uprising as an extension of her activism. This simply shows us there are probably a minority of robots who have this in their system, and in this case it is essential to them escaping in the end. That isn't too big of a deal and isn't making any kind of real political commentary that should take you out of the movie. Keep in mind within the first hour of ANH there is a civil rights allegory at Mos Eisley, but I can't imagine that did anything to negatively effect your enjoyment of the film.

That lasted an entire 15 seconds.

Barkeep: We don't serve your kind here
Luke: What?
Barkeep: Your droids. They'll have to wait outside. We don't want them here.

Boom, done. Doesn't divert the plot any, doesn't seem out of place for the situation.

Sure, my initial post was hyperbolic, and of course you can think what you want, but L3 was a big distraction for me in what I thought was a pretty fun film all in all. In my opinion L3 made each scene she was in worse, and I'm sure they could have written any number of things into the plot to start the prison riot without her.

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Midichlorians, or having Anakin murder children within an hour of choosing to fight for Sidious. There was a ton of just awful stuff packed into the prequels, and an annoying robot who was part of a side-movie really isn't that big of a deal.

two short scenes are the worst thing to happen to Star Wars? Sounds a bit hyperbolic

 

[Osprey]

I was prepared to be very irritated by the L3 character, much like I was at Jar Jar, but I ended up finding it hilarious... not because the writers pulled it off, but because they failed so badly. She was so over top that she couldn't be taken seriously, no one liked her, she arguably did more harm than good, she ended up getting herself killed in an unintentionally funny way and, yet, her death was supposed to be touching and sad. Basically, the writers made a joke of the cause and the character that they were trying to get us to sympathize with. If anyone should be mad, it should be those who really wanted to like her.

 

[NyQuil]

I was prepared to be very irritated by the L3 character, much like I was at Jar Jar, but I ended up finding it hilarious... not because the writers pulled it off, but because they failed so badly. She was so over top that she couldn't be taken seriously, no one liked her, she arguably did more harm than good, she ended up getting herself killed in an unintentionally funny way and, yet, her death was supposed to be touching and sad. Basically, the writers made a joke of the cause and the character that they were trying to get us to sympathize with. If anyone should be mad, it should be those who really wanted to like her.

It's quite a subtle difference between L3 and K-2SO.