Posted on ANDPOP:
Ask most fans who grew up with the Star Wars films who their favourite character is, and more often than not you’ll probably hear Han Solo. Sure Luke and Leia are the hero roles in those old films, but Han is the most relatable. Much of that is thanks to Harrison Ford’s swaggering natural charisma, but part of it too is that in a universe built upon archetypes, Han was the one character who seemed to exist outside of the boxes of good or bad. In the original trilogy he chose to fight for the good guys, but in Ron Howard’s new origin story we get a look at Han before he made his fateful decision, back when gang disputes replace galactic wars and the biggest issues on the smuggler’s mind is getting his own ship.
The film starts on the ship-making planet of Corellia just as Han and his partner in crime Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) are desperately trying to get off planet to escape the wrath of a bug like slaver named Lady Proxima. A bittersweet escape sees Han join the Imperial army and sets him off on his quest across the galaxy. It’s a quick and efficient opening that doesn’t trouble itself with the normal origin story background. Han isn’t given parents or even a wise mentor, in fact the first place we see him is behind the wheel of a ship. In other words, he’s the same old Han Solo, only younger…and with Alden Ehrenreich’s face.
Disgusted by the illogic of the Imperial army invading backwater planets in the name of “peace”, Han joins up with a criminal named Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and his life of crime truly begins. We are introduced to Chewbacca, and see how his partnership with Han forms quickly out of mutual necessity. Lando enter the picture too, with Donald Glover stealing every scene he’s in and wearing the hell out of a bunch of capes. There is also a handful of new characters, like Lando’s smack-talking droid L3-37 who is fighting for robot liberation, or Thandie Newton’s cutthroat criminal Val, who would rather shoot Han on the spot than have him on the team. The freedom to create new and interesting characters has already become a great strength of the Star Wars “story” films, and Solo takes full advantage.
Rumours of reshoots around Alden Ehrenreich’s performance seem largely unfounded as the young actor makes a perfectly suitable Solo. Though the performance is by no means electric, he slaps on a sideways grin, clips the blaster to his thigh and lets the action take over. It is a great relief that he doesn’t try to do a Harrison Ford impression, with the only moment of cringe coming near then end, when they decide to stick Ford’s wispy 70s hairdo on his head for some strange reason. And that hairdo really sums up the main issue with the film. Despite its originality and charm it still feels the need (or likely, studio mandated obligation) to cling to the past. The choice to tie the film so firmly to its predecessors ends up dampening the excitement of it all, and seriously restricts what could have been half a dozen awesome Han and Chewie adventure films.
Despite this however Solo still proves is how fun it is to be free of the oppressive seriousness of the Star Wars universe. If the original films were space westerns, and Rogue One was the war film, Solo is the first swashbuckling pirate adventure of the franchise. It frees its characters up for fun, and shows flashes of what an expanded Star Wars universe could become: pulpy and unthreatening space adventures with all the depth of dime store novels. Kathleen Kennedy et al should let the main story line do the heavy lifting, and really let out the leash for these side stories. It’s tempting to imagine what Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had in mind for Solo, or what Taika Waititi would do with a Chewbacca origin story, if ever Disney would be willing to relinquish control to a true auteur. Nevertheless, while Solo isn’t perfect, it represents a step in the right direction. Here’s hoping the steps continue as the Star Wars film universe continues to expand.
Read more at ANDPOP.
