Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) by Lynne W — 29 May 2018

I was ready to pan this movie because I didn't see how it could be made well, but after seeing Solo today, I have to say that I found it charming. There were moments when I felt I was really watching a young Harrison Ford channeled through a warm, very likable Ehrenreich. I found the narrative setup intriguing enough to draw me into this prequel world and pique my curiosity about how the story will unfold and dove-tail with the more familiar Star Wars oeuvre.

Emilia Clark surprised me as well. I did not recognize her until it was over. I didn't follow the media buildup and went in without pre-conceived notions or expectations. Every actor and character was a fresh surprise, and I really liked the movie.

This movie, being a prequel, will have (and should have) a tone differing from the flash and action of the later stories. We saw this with Roque One, and it made the story plausible as one chapter in a long series. And not to spoil anything, but Ron Howard does give us flash and action, and it is well done. He also gives us characters that share the stage well with each other. No single actor dominates this talented cast and so I was charmed by each actor's performance. Howard must be so enjoyable to work with and I think his generous work style comes through in the balanced performance landscape.

I think they did a great job with the backstory, created a Han Solo I really want to know more about and set up a continuing narrative that I look forward to seeing. Well done.