Movie Reviews #61: Solo…
Solo. Ron Howard, dir. I went in with low expectations. Frankly, I’m tired of this light-saber fantasy series, with princesses and Jedi warriors, trying to be sci-fi. But this movie was much better than I expected. I liked it, even though Disney probably doesn’t, as they compare it to the Marvel Avengers movie, a huge money maker that’s a mixed-up mess with little plot. Is the Star Wars enterprise becoming like the Star Trek one with only die-hard fans extolling its virtues?
I don’t see why that should happen. Compared to Avengers, this movie’s plot, for what it is, holds together and is far better. It’s an origins story; I lov’em! And, for a Star Wars movie, there’s less fantasy and more sci-fi (if you can get past the hyperfuel plot device!). That’s a break in tradition. I didn’t see one princess looking for a protecting Jedi!
Besides learning how Han Solo ended up on Tatooine and other details about his early life including the origin of his last name, how he met Chewbacca, and won the Millennium Falcon, the plot gets right down to the point. Just cowboys and aliens from a galaxy far, far away at the shootout at the OK Corral most of the time—multiple times! With all those fancy laser guns Han et al possess, they’re just gunslingers, and you might think you’re lost in an episode of Firefly. (Nothing wrong with that and entertaining, but certainly not original).
The best acting was from Woody Harrelson as Beckett. Donald Glover was too much of a comic character as Lando, and it was hard to imagine him morphing into Billy Dee. (His role was akin to that other Glover’s stint with Mel Gibson in that other famous shootout series). Alden Ehrenreich was OK as Solo, but same comment when imagining him morphing into Harrison Ford’s Solo—I can’t make the transition. The rest of the cast was just OK. Of course, I’m biased by my memory of the original characters—sort of like seeing Roger Moore (no relation) instead of Sean Connery as James Bond.
There are great special effects, of course, and some of the ETs are great fun (multiple-eyed creature at the two card games, for example, but guess who was the cheater). Definitely worth a watch…and far better than the latest movies in the main series—sorry J. J. Abrams. It’s been a bad spring and summer for movies so far, but this one will entertain you…and maybe be worth the price of admission so you can make Disney happy?
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Great Spring Thaw Sale? Still on at Smashwords! My author page there lists all my ebooks there, and you’ll find at least two on sale to the end of June. My oeuvre contains both oldies (more current today than ever before) and new releases. Great late spring and summer reading.
In libris libertas!
