Movie Breakdown: Solo: A Star Wars Story (Noah)
Pre-Screening Stance:
It’s Star Wars, so I’m excited. But I’m also wary because, well, it’s Ron Howard and it feels like Disney has gone safe with an iconic hero who could’ve probably used a little flair. Also, I’m excited for another romp in the Star Wars mega-verse, but for the first time, I’m not actively slavering at the thought of seeing the LucasArts logo sparkle on to the screen. Star Wars fatigue? Say it isn’t so.
Post-Screening Ramble:
It’s hard to tell what’s wrong with Ron Howard’s Solo, but there is definitely something wrong. From the first action sequence on Correllia – a speeder chase through the dingy industrial streets of the slave city – the pace feels off, the intangible chemistry between characters non-existent, the ability of Ron Howard to choreograph an exciting set piece clearly not the reason why he replaced Chris Lord and Phil Miller. Instead the audience is treated to a chase that feels like a film from the 1930s, with new (young) Han Solo, Alden Ehrenreich, spitting out clunky lines while his orphan girlfriend, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) vomits up exposition. It isn’t that the scene feels wrong, it feels forced, as if Howard and his team were so intent on making this a “HAN SOLO MOVIE” that they pushed the needle too far and the easy charisma of the original trilogy’s smirking rogue got lost in the process. Part of this is Ehrenreich who looks the part but lacks in the casual charm of Harrison Ford, and part of this is that even if Disney decided to axe Solo in the future, no one on Earth will ever be able to claim anyone but Ford as their Solo. Ehrenreich isn’t great, but he’s not terrible, but not terrible doesn’t work if you’re going to be compared to one of the more iconic anti-heroes of the last century. And if the character your film is named after isn’t thrumming, isn’t powering the energy of the entire cast, you’re in a hole you probably aren’t going to come out of easily. In the case of Solo, it’s as if Ehrenreich’s inability to stick the landing (and don’t get me wrong, the soul-sucking hole in the middle of Solo isn’t Ehrenreich’s fault entirely) leaves a vacuum that pulls the facade of charm off just a little so the whole audience can see how damn hard everyone’s trying, how much glue Howard had to shellac on to the bones of this thing to make it lumber forward at the off-kilter shuffle it moves at. Donald Glover is fine as Lando even if he affects a sort of intercontinental accent that reeks of stage acting; the now ubiquitous “funny robot” character voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridges is entirely superfluous; and Woody Harrelson’s bad-ass crook jumps between slapstick and danger so quickly, he never gels into whatever thematic point Howard is trying to make. Emilia Clarke, well, she’s just there with a performance so lacking in impact, anyone could’ve played the part. But here’s the thing: at the end of the film, I still felt pretty entertained, I still felt like I’d got a nice dose of new Star Wars’ worlds and even if Ehrenreich wasn’t the Solo I was looking for, he wasn’t bad per say. Instead, I walked out trying as hard as I could to not think about the film, to just enjoy the special effects, the occasionally funny jokes, the beautiful bromance between Chewie and Han – because if I spent even a second thinking, the whole thing would’ve fallen apart.
One Last Thought:
I don’t really know what the big cameo at the end of the film was intended to provide, the suggestion of a Marvel-like extended universe? A soft reveal of a television series? An easter egg for the dorks around us? Regardless, my guest looked at me and said, “Who’s that?” so I can’t say it worked out that well.
