Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) by Stomypro — 26 May 2018

I was really conflicted about Solo: A Star Wars Story. On one hand I hate the direction Disney is taking the franchise and absolutely despise the Sequel films. But if I'm to punish movies I don't like then its only fair I praise movies I do like. And I did have a really great time with this flick.

It really is a Heist/Gangster film in a Space Opera setting. We see brilliant shots of the Corellian Slums, a muddy warzone on Mimban, and some really excellent sequences of the Falcon in space.

The humor was much more subtle and appropriate than anything from the sequel films. The characters, though a little one-dimensional at times make much more sense. The empire is portrayed as vast and intimidating whilst also not having infinite reach. Callbacks and references to the other films and to the EU (surprisingly enough) occur often but they rarely stand out as forced.

While the future of the franchise is pretty much a lost cause post-Endor, both of the side-stories have managed to seriously impress me despite extremely low expectations. If you're boycotting Disney for the travesties they've committed with Episodes 7 & 8 then I can understand not wanting to see another Disney-produced film. This idea cuts both ways however, if Lucasfilm start making Star Wars movies you actually like and you don't see them, it'll send the message that people really do want the adventures of MaRey Sue vs Cry-lo Ren and the Hitler Youth repeated every year for all time. Be consistent, or you'll never get the Star Wars universe you want to see.