Solo: A Star Wars Story (review)

Released: 2018
Grade: B

Five months ago, I wasn’t sure I would like this movie. There were so many negative things said about it – there was a sudden change of directors, lots of re-shoots, completely different story, problems with the actors, etc. Plus it seemed Disney hardly even marketed this movie at all. But since I’m a huge Star Wars fan, I knew I would see it anyway, even if I wasn’t expecting too much.

I saw it on opening night, with some pretty low expectations. But it turns out that I really enjoyed it. The best way to describe this movie is “fun”, and that’s what movies are all about.

If you’re familiar with Han’s backstory, you really won’t see many surprises in this movie. We already knew that he would win the Falcon from Lando in a game of Sabacc. We knew he was an Imperial pilot before he turned to smuggling, and we also knew he would meet Chewbacca who had been enslaved.

As far as the acting, there was some fantastic work by Woody Harrelson. I usually hate the movies he’s in, but he did an awesome job here. Chewie was great, but I wish he was 7′ 2″ like the original actor. And this movie wouldn’t work at all if it hadn’t been for the actor playing Han Solo. In some parts, he did exactly what Harrison Ford would have done. I say bravo.

I’m still not sure if I’ll ever own a Blu-ray of Last Jedi. But I’m certainly picking one up for Solo.