Driving to the theater, I was talking to a friend about the breathtaking epicness of Star Wars and how the opening crawl, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” followed by the rush of John Williams’ Main Title Theme has been so ingrained in our cultural psyche that it’s impossible to not feel the rush. I half-jokingly ended the conversation with, “You know, if they don’t do that here, I may just have to walk out of the theater…” Well, I think that’s probably a pretty apt summary of what happens in Solo. Without the telltale John Williams’ rush, the movie starts off slightly off kilter and never truly regains its footing. Knowing that Solo, Chewy, and Lando all have to make it out alive steals much of the tension from the script and, like far too many films nowadays, too much attention was paid to showing off the state of the art FX and not enough was left on the cutting room floor to not make the film feel like it’s bloated with battles and chases at the expense of a tight story. I wanted to absolutely love Alden Ehrenreich as Solo, but although the kid nails the smarmy and swashbuckling, he never seems to dial into the underlying ache, paradoxically making Solo more one dimensional even as we’re learning his backstory. Most critically, it’s shocking that there are real losses that ought to be painful in the film, but are virtually forgotten by the next scene. That’s not how humans work and it’s certainly not how Star Wars has ever worked. And finally from a technical perspective, Ron Howard is far too accomplished a director for there to be several jump cuts in the film that leave the viewer wondering, “Um. How’d they just get there?”
Still, I have to admit (perhaps too late), I am a Star Wars baby and I love the franchise. I’m going to nitpick when it doesn’t soar and celebrate when it does. This film certainly isn’t the best installation, but it does give a lot of backstory to some of our most beloved characters. Donald Glover absolutely shines as Lando Calrissian (Is there anything this kid CAN’T do?) and Phobe Waller-Bridge’s voicing of L3-37 makes the android the most endearing character in the film. And, ohbytheway… It’s STILL Star Wars!!! With all the jumps to hyperspace, blasters, good vs evil, warring factions, and new aliens introduced to this incredible American space opera, it’s well worth surrendering a hot summer afternoon to the cool of a theater to immerse yourself in this Universe… And this quintessential American tradition. So, despite its flaws, go see it.