When it was announced that a
movie featuring a young Han Solo was in the works, the Star Wars fanbase took to the Internet to complain, their
collective outrage came on two fronts: the casting to Alden Ehrenreich as Han,
the role originated and made iconic by Harrison Ford, and the very existence of
this movie would ruin the mystique of the character. Much like the other
non-saga Star Wars movie, Rogue One (2016), Solo (2018) had a well-documented troubled production with the
original directors replaced midway through principal photography by Ron Howard.
While the movie garnered
strong reviews, it underperformed at the box office – the lowest of any of the Star Wars movies, which led pundits to
speculate that its poor performance was due to it being released too close to Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) and
people were sick of Star Wars movies
(and yet Marvel doesn’t seem to have this problem). Was it merely a matter of
timing, its thunder stolen by superhero movie juggernauts Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Deadpool 2 (2018) or were audiences simply not interested in a Han
Solo movie that didn’t have Ford reprising the role? Ultimately, all of this is
meaningless in the face of a much bigger question: is Solo any good?
We meet a young Han
(Ehrenreich) struggling to survive on the dangerous streets of Corellia with
his girlfriend Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke). They live by their wits, scamming and
scheming a way off this dead-end planet. All Han dreams about is being the best
pilot in the galaxy but he has very few options except for the Empire. He
enlists in the Imperial Navy and finds that he doesn’t take orders too well and
this lands him trouble. It also puts him in contact with two people who will be
the important figures in his development as an outlaw – Chewbacca the Wookie
(Joonas Suotamo), a prisoner of the Empire, and Tobias Beckett (Woody
Harrelson), a veteran criminal who becomes a mentor to Han, schooling him on
how to be an outlaw. They introduce the young man to an exciting and dangerous
world populated by colorful characters, none of whom he can trust.
Director Ron Howard wastes
no time jumping right into it as Han and Qi’ra try to escape local gangsters
via an exciting hover vehicle chase that shows off not just his piloting skills
but also his willingness to take chances and press his luck. That being said, Solo starts off a little awkwardly with
Han and Qi’ra’s downtrodden street urchin beginnings coming off as Charles
Dickens by way of Blade Runner
(1982). It isn’t all that interesting but from a story point-of-view I
understand its purpose. It establishes the unbreakable bond between them. They
grew up on the streets together and learned how to survive by sheer cunning
and wits. It also establishes Han’s legendary lousy negotiating skills. Perhaps
the movie should’ve started in medias res with Han and Qi’ra on the run from
Lady Proxima’s goons. It would’ve been a bolder move to just drop us right in
it and establish Han’s formidable piloting skills. In addition, getting
separated at the Imperial checkpoints is an excellent way of showing how close
they are and how painful it is for them to be torn apart (Han giving Qi’ra his
lucky dice is a nice touch) by the Empire. Although, the moment where we learn
how Han got his surname is clumsy and unnecessary as it awkwardly references The Godfather Part II (1974). I do like
how this scene ends – with Han alone and afraid, which is a scenario we rarely
see him in.
Solo
really gets going when we catch up with Han three years later fighting for the
Empire and meets Chewie and Beckett. It is also a brief albeit fascinating look
at the Empire from the P.O.V. of the foot soldier: they are cannon fodder in a
dirty chaotic battlefield that Han is lucky to survive. As bonus to film buffs,
there’s even a nice visual nod to Stanley Kubrick’s World War I film Paths of Glory (1957). Once free of the
Empire and in the employ of Beckett, Han enters a bigger world and the movie
opens up as well.
It doesn’t take long for
Ehrenreich to slip effortlessly into the role and make it his own. He doesn’t
really look like Ford and doesn’t try to imitate the actor either, but instead
adopts a few choice mannerisms of the character. He captures Han’s swagger and
smartass disregard for authority brilliantly and in a way that shows the
beginnings of the man we see in Star
Wars: A New Hope (1977). In Solo,
Han still trusts people and has a sense of wonder, which Ehrenreich conveys
quite well when he witnesses his first jump to hyperspace aboard the Millennium
Falcon as he finally realizes his dream to see the galaxy. The actor is playing
Han at an age that we never saw Ford play the character. It isn’t like
Ehrenreich is replacing Ford but instead playing Han at a young age much like
River Phoenix played a young Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).
When Han, Chewie and Beckett
arrive on infamous crime boss Dryden Vos’ (Paul Bettany) “yacht,” Ehrenreich does
some of his best work with low-key comedy as Han tries to follow Beckett’s
advice only to quickly abandon it. He’s told to keep his eyes down and not look
at anyone. For a few seconds he does and the actor’s slightly embarrassed look
is amusing. This quickly gives way to a romantic vibe when he’s reunited with
Qi’ra and Ehrenreich does an excellent job of showing the rush of emotions that
play over Han’s face. This entire sequence shows Han clearly out of his depth
and trying to convey a confident front. The humor comes from the brief moments
where we get glimpses of cracks in this façade.
Han even comes up with an
unconventional solution to the coaxium they need to get for Dryden or risk
facing his wrath. The young man is bullshitting his way through the plan as
fast as he can. Fortunately, Beckett and Qi’ra catch on the help flesh it out.
The best moment comes when Han proposes that he’ll fly the coaxium to a
refinery before it destabilizes: “We’ve already got the pilot.” Ehrenreich
points to himself and flashes Han’s trademark cocky smirk. This is the moment
that Han starts to become the character we all know and love. The rest of the
movie sees the actor build the character of Han bit by bit, like when he first
boards the Falcon and begins to adopt Han’s trademark stance, even the way Ford
would lean against a doorway. These are little gestures but they all go towards
building the character up.
Another inspired bit of
casting is Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, a smooth operator that knows how
to invent his own luck, especially when it comes to games of chance. We meet him
plying his trade: fleecing people of their money in a card game known as
Sabacc. Glover exudes a cool sense of style and a confidence that is fun to watch,
as is the amusing interplay with Han, most notably when they verbally spar
while playing cards. Here are two arrogant smugglers facing off against each
other for increasingly higher stakes. Glover is funny as Lando treats Han with
whimsical condescension, much to Han’s chagrin, but his cockiness is put in
check when Beckett steps in to negotiate his percentage of the take from an
upcoming score.
Lawrence and Jonathan
Kasdan’s screenplay invokes A New Hope
and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) by
paying homage to its roots – the old serials from a bygone era. Solo is structured as a series of
cliffhangers as our heroes go from one sticky situation to another. The elder
Kasdan slips right back into Han and Lando’s familiar cadences with ease,
crafting a space western complete with chases, shoot-outs and showdowns.
The script also includes
several character building moments between action sequences, like when Han and
Chewie tell Beckett and his crew what they are going to do with their share
from the loot in an upcoming score. It gives us insight into what motivates
them. They’re not just mercenaries like Beckett and his crew. Han and Chewie
have personal goals – the former wants to buy his own ship and go back for
Qi’ra while the latter wants to free his people that have been enslaved by the
Empire.
This is not to say that Solo doesn’t have its action-packed set
pieces. The movie’s centerpiece is a thrilling train heist as Han, Chewie,
Beckett and his crew attempt to steal a shipment of coaxium, a valuable
commodity, from the Empire while also trying to fend off a gang of pirates led
by the mysterious Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman). There are plenty of tense moments
as our heroes have to deal with multiple opponents whilst atop a very volatile
and valuable shipment. This is the first time Han plays a pivotal role in
something and he almost succeeds. He’s faced with a dilemma that forces him to
take a risk or play it safe and he opts for the latter. It is an important
lesson and from that point on he fully commits to being a risk-taking smuggler
like Beckett who tells him, “You’re in this life for good.”
“You want to know how I’ve
survived as long as I have? I trust no one. Assume every one will betray you
and you will never be disappointed,” says Beckett to Han halfway through Solo. The young man replies, “Sounds
like a lonely way to live.” The veteran outlaw simply tells him, “It’s the only
way.” This exchange lays the down the foundation for the Han we first meet in A New Hope – a cynical smuggler that is
out for only one person – himself. There’s an argument to be made that this
movie is completely unnecessary and demystifies the iconic character. I
understand this sentiment as I was initially resistant to this movie and the
whole idea of it. Solo only sheds
some light on the character of Han. There is still plenty of mystery to the
character, like how does he go from this movie to what we see in A New Hope? What exactly went down
between him and Jabba? Did he ever cross paths with Qi’ra again? What is
Lando’s backstory? Or Chewie’s? We are only given small pieces of their story.
There are so many adventures he and Chewie had between this movie and A New Hope that leaves plenty of gaps
for us to use or imagination, especially since the disappointing box office
results all but assures there won’t be a sequel anytime soon. Solo creates such a rich, textured world
and introduces so many fascinating character that there are even more questions
left unanswered about Han and his future.
I find myself enjoying these
anthology movies more than the actual chapter movies. It might be that Rogue One and Solo don’t have to be too slavish to the style, tone and structure
of the saga movies and this gives them the freedom to be their own thing. They
also both explore the nooks and crannies of the Star Wars universe, showing us worlds we’ve never seen before and
introducing us to all kinds of new characters we’ve never met. I have fond
memories of reading the trilogy of Han
Solo Adventures novels that came out in the late 1970s and they made me
daydream about all kinds of adventures that Han and Chewie had pre-A New Hope. It was great to finally see
a movie that realized those dreams and brought them so vividly to life.
