Today I went to see Solo!
Han Solo was to me, one of the big three. The original three characters that I and everyone fell in love with.
Watching New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back on MTVs blockbuster movie nights, early in the 90’s (didn’t watch Return of The Jedi till about 5, 6 years later) I never could relate to Han, I saw myself more as a Luke, because I was never that cocky and I was never that confident, but as a kid I wanted to be like him.
So when I heard the announcement for the Han Solo movie, and the cast, I said to myself: “Don’t look for Harrison Fords Han in the new movie, don’t go in to compare them, just go watch it as a new story, not related to Star Wars.” This was again the lessons I learned from the disappointment of the prequels, and to some extent, the revamped Star Wars had brought on me.
PS: Someone redid the Solo trailer with Harrison Fords face digitally swapped in.
I was further disappointed by Emilia Clarkes casting. I didn’t think she was very good in Terminator Genisys, possibly because of how her GOT character has been portrayed and how iconic it has been, it felt more like a celebrity casting, for publicity.
Memorial day opening weekend numbers didn’t look any better. Rotten Tomatoes had a 70% and IMDB was at 7.2/10. I even considered waiting for the Blue Ray and saving the money.
I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. The chemistry of the characters, fighting against the odds, clawing to surviving in the millennium falcon, felt like a Star Wars story. I Felt in some way nostalgic. A sense of nostalgia that I hadn’t felt with the last Jedi or Force Awakens. Every character hit their marks. The story was simple but entertaining, the plot twists were good, and you were rooting for the characters.
Lando Calrissian played by Donald Glover was great. As a character that connects to the original franchise, you see sparks of Billy Dee Williams, Lando in Donald Glovers portrayal. Lando meeting Qi’ra was similar to when Lando Meat Leia in Cloud City, The same suave creepy feel. The story also ties in with the relationship that Solo and Lando have, and how the millennium falcon fits into it.
Qi,ra’s story also seamlessly integrates with Solos origin story. And Emilia Clarkes portrayal has enough conflict, depth, and mystery to be interesting. Her character also has a dark past that we are not privy too, and possibly a dark future and maybe even a “dark side.” Her relationship with young Han explains a lot of the “solo” attitude he has as he grows up.
L3 is a new character in the movie. A female droid, they not only gave it a female voice, but her movements were noticeably feminine. It’s also noticeable that they attached L3’s brain to the falcon to chart a path for a hyperspace jump on the Kessel run, which means the Falcons computers are run by L3’s Brain. This explains Han banging on the falcon to get it working in Empire Strikes Back, similar to L3 needing a bang in the head to get it running. Noticed by Reddit user jokegoeshere. It also explains C-3PO describing the ship as having a peculiar dialect in Star Wars.
We also find out, that just like Thor knowing to speak Groot, Han finally speaks Wookiee, not that he just understands him, but speaks it. Also that maybe Wookies eat humans.
Another Easter egg you find is, why Han shoots first – some foreshadowing there.
You also get to see some real-world tie-ins, like what is used for fuel on ships, and how the minerals were mined. And where the Empire builds its ships. Which goes to explain the Star Wars Universe a lot better.
All in all a great movie!
