Review of Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) by Reviewer1138 — 25 May 2018

As someone who despises The Last Jedi, I really loved this move. I went in with low expectations thanks to TLJ. I didn't watch any of the Solo trailers and I didn't read any news about the movie beforehand. This movie was made for the existing Star Wars fanbase and I enjoyed it because of that. I felt like TLJ was made to gather a new Star Wars fanbase while letting the past die, killing it if it has to.

I have always had a difficult time figuring out exactly what it is about Star Wars that I love so much. There are so many elements to the movies, I'm not sure I can put my finger on just one of them. If I had to choose, I would say the movie's ability to take me to a galaxy far, far away is the core element. The Last Jedi didn't do that for me, but Solo did. I love the feeling of wonder and fantasy. The "lived in" environment, full of used machinery and living spaces, is ever present. We get a better feel for how the Empire has truly permeated its presence throughout the galaxy. We get to see how lawlessness reigns in some galactic territories. We get to see new and familiar alien species. We get to see planets that are mentioned in previous Star Wars films, but not seen in a movie until now. For the most part, I felt like I was in the Star Wars universe throughout this film. No, the film isn't perfect, but that's true of all the previous Star Wars films so far. I didn't feel like this movie was trashing Star Wars, it was merely building on what already exists. Considering the setbacks Lucasfilm faced during production, I think this movie turned out quite well. I never really wanted a movie about Han Solo, but I'm happy with what we got.