New Release Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story

(2018. Director: Ron Howard. Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover)

SYNOPSIS:

A young man searching for a new beginning finds himself joining a gang of galactic smugglers on his journey to become the charming rogue we know and love from the original Star Wars trilogy.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Han Solo famously utters, when he finds himself in the Death Star trash compactor in the original Star Wars (later named Episode IV: A New Hope). It's not difficult to relate. Since Disney first announced that it's schedule of new releases would basically mean that we'd be enjoying (or possibly enduring) a new Star Wars movie every single year until the Earth is finally absorbed into the Sun, there were grumbles about how long it would take for the inspiration to run out and for the series to merely chug along on the fumes of familiarity. When it was announced that the second of the non-episode 'Star Wars Stories' would be yet another prequel, this time detailing the life of a young Han Solo, many felt that that day had come early. With much relief we can confirm that the moisture farm has not quite yet run dry. Solo: A Star Wars Story, much like Han himself, has a lot more good in it than would first appear.

Much like 2016's debut 'Star Wars Story' Rogue One, Solo eschews the classic John Williams score and famous opening crawl of text floating through space (although Williams did contribute one piece of music to the composition, to act as Han's theme throughout the film). Instead the film begins with a short onscreen paragraph to set the scene, written in the familiar blue font that is usually reserved for 'A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...' There is not much point to this other than as a reference to previous films. The text doesn't really tell us much that we couldn't already gather from the opening scenes. Worse still, those scenes are filled with the kind of cringeworthy, expository dialogue where characters remind each other of who they are and what their relationships are for no-one's benefit but the audience. Unfortunately that opening text is not the only gratuitous nod to the original trilogy. The most recent of Star Wars' 'Episodes' films, last year's bold and ambitious The Last Jedi, took clear pleasure in defying expectations and burning the sacred texts (both literally and metaphorically). However you can't help but get the feeling that Lucasfilm has been shaken by the more extreme, negative reactions which that film inspired from a small but aggressive section of fans and has instead taken the safer route to success, where fanservice holds greater priority than originality or inventiveness. Solo answers pretty much every question you might have about the early life of it's titular protagonist and then throws in plenty of other answers that you'd rather were simply left to the imagination. Of course it is of interest to see how Han first met his hirsute co-pilot, Chewbacca, and how they ended up being drawn into a life of high stakes crime. However was anyone really crying out to see how he first got hold of his blaster, his 'lucky dice' or, as revealed in the films most groan-worthy moment, his unusual name. (In a galaxy full of Skywalkers, Kenobis and Fetts, did anyone think that this required further explanation?)

There has been a lot of interest in Alden Ehrenreich's performance playing the young Han, after rumours that Disney were unhappy with his casting and ability. Although Harrison Ford would often talk down his role in the original Star Wars films, he brought a world-weary charm to the character that would be difficult for any actor to replicate accurately. In a smart move, Solo doesn't try to show us the Han we know, but instead gives us an innocent wannabe rogue who is yet to experience whatever made him the cynical and suspicious pilot found in a Mos Eisley cantina years later. Ehrenreich may not have Ford's twinkle in the eye, or have mastered his knowing smirk, but he does have a slightly smug arrogance and a twitchy energy that suggests he may eventually get there and which makes him an enjoyable enough lead regardless. (To steal a description given by a friend of ours, he may not feel like a young Harrison Ford exactly, but he does do a surprisingly good young Ray Liotta!) There is a certain joy to be found in seeing the inexperienced Han's childlike excitement when he first gets to sit in the cockpit of a spaceship, or to see him struggle to disguise his virtuousness while pretending to be the amoral crook he would eventually become (thus foreshadowing his inevitable return to the light during that iconic Death Star Trench Run scene from the 1977 classic). 

So, if Han is playing the 'Luke' role in this Star Wars story, who then will be the 'Han' of this film? The answer appears to be Woody Harrelson, playing Tobias Beckett, the leader of a small band of professional thieves who offers Han an escape from what would otherwise be a grim life, and likely early death, in the ranks of the Imperial army. Beckett is ruthless and self-serving but is also witty, likeable and undiscriminating of his ragtag band of accomplices and allies. He's the first character to challenge Han's worldview and force him to learn and change. In doing so, both Ehrenreich's performance and the film in general come alive as soon as he first appears on screen. The film's first act has Han only really interacting with his love interest Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke, solid yet unremarkable) and a handful of unmemorable goons. At this point the film struggles to gain interest and at times feels almost like the much derided prequel trilogy. However, once Han joins Tobias' crew, the film gains focus and momentum and becomes a much more enjoyable watch.

Soon after this, we are introduced to Han's future friend and rival Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover.) Glover is having something of a renaissance right now with both the success of his music career, under the name Childish Gambino, and of the comedy-drama series Atlanta (where Glover stars as well as writes and directs) so his portrayal of the intergalactic gambler has been one of the most anticipated aspects of Solo. Even in-universe, his appearance is hyped up with an uncomfortably long list of complimentary descriptions before he appears on screen. Thankfully he lives up to these lofty expectations and is one of the movie's highlights. His Lando is a preening narcissist, full of bravado and casual flirtatiousness, but with hints of an underlying vulnerability, especially prominent in the affection he shows towards his robotic co-pilot, L3 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge). L3, herself, is an interesting character who challenges some of the awkward themes of previous Star Wars movies. 

The droids of Star Wars have often been used as a symbol of prejudice in-universe. Villainous characters tend to objectify the mechanical characters, refusing them entry or services and treating them as merely tools while our heroes, in contrast, are able to laugh and joke with their robotic friends. However, despite this, even the heroes seem incapable of realising or acknowledging that their metal comrades are still, to all intents and purposes, slaves. It's one of those uncomfortable side-effects that can be caused when a film series is keen to tip it's hat towards the difficult social conflicts of the real world, but not willing or able to fully explore them enough to fully do the concept justice. L3 bucks this trend in thrilling ways. Being the first of her kind (at least onscreen) to be 'woke' to the oppression of the automated, she tries to single-handedly start a droid rights movement much to the confusion and embarrassment to the oblivious characters around her (who are unable to accept that they may be capable of being as cruelly unsympathetic to others as the evil empire they fight against.) It's a ballsy idea, especially in a lighthearted adventure movie, which is why it's so disappointing that this particular storyline ends in a way that seemingly undercuts it's own central message solely inorder to set up yet another unnecessary reference to a mostly forgotten moment in The Empire Strikes Back. (In fact the film in general does poorly by it's female characters. Thandie Newton's Val is interesting but underused and Qi'ra is fairly underwritten, feeling more like a plot construct required to affect Han's journey than a fully realised person herself.)

However, this is a Star Wars movie. So maybe it's unfair to expect much more than an entertaining adventure film with solid action sequences and a cast of iconic looking characters begging to be turned into highly collectable toys. On that front, Solo delivers comfortably. An early action sequence built around a great train robbery is a particularly exciting and clever bit of 'heist movie' enjoyment and the film's final act, full of surprise reveals and double crosses feels almost like a spaghetti western in it's cynical gunslinger morality and unexpected hopefulness rising from the sand and ashes. Most of all, it's fun. Ditching all conversations regarding the Force, the Jedi or the wider political or military world of the Star Wars galaxy, Solo keeps the stakes low and personal and in doing so keeps the atmosphere light and friendly. It's quite possibly the most simply entertaining of all of the Disney era Star Wars movies.

It's not all good news. The film is uneven tonally and both the plot and character arcs sometimes feel rushed and muddled (for example, at one point, Han reflects on the inspiring memories of his father teaching him about spaceship engineering but at another he doesn't seem to even know what his parents names were). The obvious cause of this is due to a troubled production where the original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) were fired halfway through production and the film was completely re-written and mostly finished off by the more trusted hand of Ron Howard. However it's also possible that this clash of styles is what makes the film work most of time. The dafter jokes and buddy movie banter which keep a smile on your face throughout (especially in scenes involving Lando or Chewie) feel more like the work of the anarchic pair of cranks responsible for giving us 'Korean Jesus', but it also feels more likely that it was Howard, who has similar love of classic cinema, cars and old adventure serials as a certain George Lucas, who kept the overall feel of the film on-message with the rest of the Star Wars galaxy.

Much like Han himself, Solo makes up for what it lacks in depth and intelligence or moral complexity with sheer likeability and good humour. It's action packed, at times thrilling, and takes some unexpected turns in it's later scenes which make for a much more satisfying moviegoing experience. In fact, a better metaphor for the film might be the Millennium Falcon as it appeared back in 1977; it's a bit thrown together, even appearing like a piece of useless junk at times and it really struggles to get off the ground and up to full speed. However, when it flies, it really flies and if you're willing to accept it, flaws and all, you're in for a fantastic ride.

Review by The Mogul.