Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) by Ken G — 30 May 2018

I thought the Han Solo character was the best part of the Star Wars movies, but I must be in the minority, because I think this is Ron Howard's worst movie. It was devoid of suspense, and Ron forgot that starting out with action and keeping it up for 2 1/2 hours does not really allow us to develop any real emotion for the characters.

He lost the cowboy spirit of the original trilogy, when we met Han Solo, and there wasn't enough humor. I think I laughed a couple of times, and mostly, it felt forced.

But the worst part was the lighting. Every scene, from beginning to end, is in shadows, silhouette, or if it is outdoors, it is shot through filters and a haze, combined with shadows and silhouette, that makes it impossible to ever see anyone's face clearly. It is as if Ron decided to make a movie and save 75% on lighting costs. I simply don't understand why he chose that style.

This is one film that will never take another moment of my time. After the movie, I asked my 10-year old grandson if he liked it. He loves Star Wars. His reply: a shrug and "Eh.".

They might as well have shot it in black-and-white, the colors were so muted because with no light, there is no color. You could hardly tell it was Rance Howard who popped up briefly in one scene, as he always does in Ron's movies, because he could scarcely be recognized through the shadows. A huge disappointment.