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Chalk the original vision for Solo to the annals of “what might’ve been” cinema as their mid-shoot departure hinted at strife within the galaxy far, far away. As someone who generally enjoyed the new trilogy (it has problems, it has bold ideas), and found Rogue One to be the best modern Star Wars in quite some time, I knew Solo was going to be a meager entry from the word “go.” Did we really need an origin story for the beloved rogue?
I didn’t need to know where Han got his dice, how he met Lando or Chewie, or how he obtained the Falcon. Sometimes a little mystery in the narrative is a good thing. Yet here are all of those beats, and not much more. It is A Star Wars Story, alright. And it’s not much more.
At this point wondering if Disney will allow any of its mega-buster film events to evince something approximating a personality is a fool’s errand. Sure, we’ll be lucky to get a sneaky one under the radar, like Pete’s Dragon, but they are all largely nondescript paint-by-numbers affairs. These are films built and designed in the boardroom, and that can often extend to the MCU which can feel castrated by an aversion to risk until very recently.
The choice to replace Chris Miller and Phil Lord with Ron Howard is a concession to defeat. Howard has no overriding personality as a director, and his work is largely the province of low threat/minimum obligation to craft and art. Looking over his career and you’ll find numerous films that range from “bland” to “great,” but nary a masterpiece. He makes ersatz art built for reaping awards and box office while sending the audience out with a warm, fuzzy feeling.
It's not all terrible as Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge managed to leave a lasting impression as a young Lando and his robo-companion, L3-37 (sigh…). Glover finds a swagger and irony within the role that enlivens his scenes, and Waller-Bridge manages to turn L3 into another android with a hilariously untethered personality. There magic is almost enough to counterbalance the strained scenes between Solo and his childhood love interest, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), a good girl gone bad.
I say almost because Solo: A Star Wars Story was poor enough to derail Disney’s plans to produce a Star Wars movie every year until brand fatigue set in. Well, it happened much quicker than they thought, and the entire concept of anthology films quickly dissolved like cotton candy in water. Turns out fan service and brand extension for the sake of it aren’t always profitable investments. You must give us some reason to care.
