Review: Solo: A Star Wars Story
"We'll find a ship. We've already got a pilot." With those words, and their cheeky delivery, Alden Ehrenreich finally and definitively finds his groove and swagger as the irrepressible scoundrel Han Solo about halfway through Solo: A Star Wars Story. Which is not to say that Ehrenreich hadn't exuded any charm prior to that scene but, up until that moment, he hadn't necessarily made the character his own.
Ehrenreich, of course, bears the burden of portraying one of Harrison Ford's most iconic characters in one of the most successful franchises of all time. It's a burdensome task, especially when considering the behind-the-scenes drama that plagued the production, resulting in Ron Howard taking over the directorial reins from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller after they were fired by Lucasfilm after having already done four-and-a-half months of filming. That the end result is not a disastrous patchwork is a testament to both Howard's skills and Lucasfilm's refusal to put out a product that would tarnish its brand.
Solo is nothing if not an energetic throwback to the franchise's space western roots, balancing rousing action sequences with warmth and humour. The film begins in the putrid sewer that is the shipbuilding planet of Corellia ruled by Lady Proxima, who forces runaways into a life of crime in exchange for shelter and protection. One of those runaways, Han, has stolen a speedster along with a valuable vial of coaxium in the hopes of using it as a bribe to get himself and his paramour Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke, whose presence is undeniably appealing but whose range is limited) out of their hardscrabble lives. Things don't go according to plan - Han manages to make it through the border, but Qi'ra is captured and he can only vow to return for her.
Cut to years later. Han is now a pilot that's been booted out of the Imperial Flight Academy - they expect unquestioning subordination, Han isn't exactly made for following the rules - and he gets himself involved with Tobias Beckett's (Woody Harrelson) gang of marauders. Beckett and his associate Val (Thandie Newton) work for fearsome crime boss, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany, expertly oozing menace), whose right hand woman happens to be Qi'ra. Without revealing too many specifics, Vos orders Beckett and his crew to steal some coaxium from the mines on Kessel, a mission impossible that requires a ship in order for the crew to pull off the caper.
Enter Lando Carlissian and enter Donald Glover, who is simply phenomenal from the get-go, managing to pay homage to Billy Dee Williams without compromising his own magnetic eccentricities. In fact, Glover is so memorable that one wishes that the powers-that-be would greenlight The Carlissian Chronicles. The first installment could chronicle his emotionally complicated relationship with his droid co-pilot L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose motion capture performance is an absolute gem of hilarity).
Glover and Waller-Bridge's scene-stealing turns also highlight an element that may be moot for most viewers: Han Solo is not necessarily the most interesting character to anchor a satellite origin story. Again, this is not a patch on Ehrenreich, and certainly Howard stages enough engaging action set pieces such as an audacious raid involving a dramatically elevated rail to distract from and prevent any doubts from creeping in. Yet, when all is said and done, there isn't anything depicted in Solo that deepens one's love, understanding or appreciation of the character. Though everything is designed to ensure that he is the undisputed hero of this film, Han feels more a secondary character than anything else, someone who diverts from far more compelling ones like Glover's Lando.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Directed by: Ron Howard
Written by: Jonathan Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan; based on characters created by George Lucas
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Billy Warwick
