Film Review - "Solo: A Star Wars Story"

Solo: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller Ron Howard
Starring Alden Ehreneich, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover

The untold origins of Han Solo finally came to theaters last Memorial Day weekend, and after months of production troubles and rumors of it being a s**show, it turned out…okay. Not great. Not bad. Okay…kinda good maybe.

This story begins on the planet Corellia, where young Han (Ehreneich) and his love Qi'ra (Clarke) scheme to get out of town and start a life of adventure. Unfortunately things go south and Han is separated from Qi'ra.  Making it his life mission to return for her, he joins up with the Imperial Army, and shortly after that joins up with a band of criminals led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). A job to steal a large amount of the rare mineral coaxium for the crime lord Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) sets off a chain of events that will shape his future and transform him into the Han Solo we all know and love.

Oddly this film does not tell us much about the early life of Han Solo. It's more of a glimpse into one chapter of his past. At the same time though, it does check off a lot of boxes on a metaphorical origin-story checklist. We see how he got his name (Quite stupidly if I might mention.), we see how he met Chewbacca and Lando, and other things that some might consider spoilers. The pacing of the film is a bit off. There are parts of the story rushed through in the beginning that I wish they explored more but that's just me. It isn't until the second act where things really start to pick up, and strangely the climax of the film is rather tame, which isn't something one would expect from a Star Wars film. This is one of the Star Wars Story spinoffs so liberties can be taken.

This next part is where I get a little subjective. The whole film feels very average. It's a standard adventure film. Sort of predictable, and paint by-the-numbers. It's still quite enjoyable though, and I have no regrets seeing it. Yet, I still can't help but wonder what the final product would have looked like if Lord & Miller weren't fired...

The film is elevated by the characters and the actors that play them. Alden Ehreneich makes a great Han. Never once does it feel like he's doing a Harrison Ford impression. He brings a lot of charm, wit, and passion to the table and makes the character his own. Donald Glover is fantastic as Lando Calrissian. He does slip into a Billy Dee Williams impression once in awhile but he's still so suave and so cool. Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra, is lovely and equally charming as Ehreneich and she has great chemistry with him. Woody Harrelson turns in another solid performance as Tobias Beckett. His personality melded into this type of character fits almost perfectly into this side of the Star Wars universe. Paul Bettany grabs all the spotlight he can as the stable but not stable Dryden Voss. Also, Phoebe Waller-Bridge as "woke" droid L3-37 is an incredible scene-stealer. There I said it.

Solo is a fine Star Wars film, but it adds very little to the lore and universe. It's a harmless good time and I can easily recommend it to any Star Wars fan or adventure film fans, but you will not miss out on much if you don't see it. Considering all the production troubles, it could have turned out a lot worse. As it stands though Solo turned out to be an alright ride...for about twelve or so parsecs.

Film Review- "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Directed by J.J. Abrams
Starring Harrison Ford, Daisy Ridley, and John Boyega

This summer, I jokingly told my friend Tom that my favorite character from Star Wars was Jar Jar Binks. He then proceeded to try and suffocate me…

Point being, a lot of people are very passionate about Star Wars, and are still very bitter about the last trilogy. The franchise has never been at the top of my list of obsessions, but I was as excited for this as most people. I'm hear to tell you to wash away the pain of the prequel trilogy, Star Wars is back in true form.

Now to avoid giving anything away, I'll give you the barest of a bare bone summary of the film. Okay here goes…taking place thirty years after Return of The Jedi, a new threat has emerged in the galaxy known as The First Order, with the menacing Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as one of its key figures. Old heroes are joined by new faces, including scavenger Rey (Ridley), rogue storm trooper Finn (Boyega) and pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Issac), as the battle begins and a new chapter unfolds.

First off, the film uses the nostalgia of the original film heavily to its advantage, to the point where The Force Awakens is almost a retelling of A New Hope. Some would say the film plays it safe by doing this, but it's actually a winning formula that gives the film enough legs to stand on its own.

A lot of this is credit to the writers allowing the new characters to shine, and for the most part carry the film. Daisy Ridley is a charming and compelling lead as Rey. John Boyega plays the part of a reluctant hero perfectly with Finn. Oscar Isaac is sharp and charismatic as Poe Dameron, but isn't given as much to do as Ridley or Boyega. Driver is nearly perfect as our new villain Kylo Ren, and our new droid character, little BB-8, is a real scene stealer.

Then there are our old friends. Harrison Ford is our glue to the original trilogy, and is at his best once again as Han Solo. Carrie Fischer settles back into the role of Princess-now-General Leia Organa, playing her with just the right amount of attitude and wisdom. Old friends like R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca are as good as ever. What's that? Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker? Yeah I can't talk about that.

I don't often discuss sets or locations in my reviews, but the ones in The Force Awakens are beautiful. The filmmakers definitely took time and effort crafting the look of every scene on every world, so this would look and feel like a Star Wars film is supposed to. 

It's hard to review, let alone talk about the film when so much of its plot has been kept deep under wraps since day one. To tell you what happens in the first three minutes is practically a spoiler. Trust me when I say though, this is a really good, really fun film. Die-hard fan or not, you're going to enjoy it. I'll tell you when I was in my seat at the film's start, I felt as though I was transported back in time, and watching one of the original films back in the seventies. I had a huge smile on my face, and that's coming from a guy who never saw Episode II, only the important parts of Episode III, and had only just come to own his own copies of the original trilogy last month.

The force is strong with The Force Awakens. It's breaking all the box office records, it's probably going to be on hundreds of "Best Films of 2015" lists, and it just might walk away with a few awards by Oscar Season's End. This is a must see in my opinion, wether your a fan of Star Wars or just cinema in general. The force, it's calling to you dear viewers. Just let it in.