From the moment this movie was announced, I had zero interest in watching it. Now, a friend of mine came by with the BluRay, so - what the heck, right ? Nothing too lose. Should have listened to my gut feeling.

Han Solo is not only my favorite SW character but one off my favorite characters at all. Harrison Fords portrayal made me a fan off both, the actor and the character. So the bar was very, very high. For me Ehrenreich doesn't have it. I don't see Solo in him and making him say some well known quotes is not enough. And the love struck young man that does everthing to get back to his girl - that is not Han. Yeah, I'll get it. It's a younger version of the same person but I don't see it. It's the Disney-Love-Story. The rest of the characters are shallow and not well crafted. It does not matter who plays them if there is not much to play with. And don't even get me started about that stupid L-3. The political correctness installation that every movie nowadays seems to must have.

What about the story ? It felt like the writer had a checklist he had to work off. Han getting off Corellia, Han meeting Chewie, the Kessel run, winning the Falcon - everything the fan wanted to see for a long time. Problem is, it is all cobbled together by a very generic blockbuster story. It is also very convenient. Han trying for years to get back to Qi'ra only to meet her by a chance encounter. It also lacks logic. For example, when Han released the container at the raid it smashed into the mountain with a giant explosion, taking down said mountain. Yet, only minutes before the whole train went down the valley and nothing seemed to have happened. Another example, at the end when Beckett left with Chewie, how can Han already be there? The ship is in the distance, there is no short cut yet he stands there fresh as the early morning. Convienient writing again. It's a movie, a fanatsy, but a little effort would my much appreciated. Plus there is the biggest prequel problem there ever is - there is nothing at stake. You know the hero is not going to die. You need something really good to cover that fact and it just isn't there. Pulling out Maul at the end feels like a desperate move, more so that a lot of people will not understand how he can even be there in the first place and what he has to do in a Solo movie. That is Disney saying: go and watch the other stuff we put out And Han's choices leading to the start off the rebellion is, again, exactly the kind of thing that I would expect from Disney.

As you can gather I did not enjoy this, not as a SW movie, not even as a scifi action adventure in general. And I seem to not be alone in that. The Marvel formula does not work here at all. I don't know what the plan is going forward with the SW franchise but I know I won't be a part of it.

Please keep in mind, again, comments are personal opinions. You like the movie, I am happy for you and enjoy the next.

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2 replies

Ciao @finfan,
I am really happy you remembered to write me because I wanted to know your thoughts. I watched the movie in Italian at first and I had the chance to watch it in English again. I usually prefer the original language, but this time I had a different experience, because in English everything seems undertone, starting with the voice of the characters. This ruined my experience. I think I'll watch it again in Italian when the Bluray comes out.

I had a great time because I like the Han & Chewbacca duo and I appreciate how they created a story about their origins. I love the soundtrack that calls to a wonderful adventure. Too bad it didn't paid off at the box office because I wanted to see more, maybe a movie with young Lando as the protagonist and Han in background, but still present with Chewie.
Han Solo wasn't my favorite when I grew up, I liked Luke and the Jedi teachings. This movie helped me to appreciate the "old" Han.

The love story
I think it's nice to see a naive Han who falls in love and ends up alone with Chewie. I love when Han sees Qi'ra go and Chewbacca comforts him. I am sure Qi'ra wanted to protect Han from his new boss. I don't know if she is still a slave and needs to work with Maul or she is just really ambitious. I want to know more about this story.

The train scene
It doesn't explode because there is no Coaxium left in the train. I think it was all in that container. I might be wrong, of course :)

Han being already there
I agree with you, a speeder near him would have been a good way to explain how he got there.

Maul
Maul is the only thing I didn't like. He had a nice arc in the animated series and I think bringing him back it's not a nice touch. Jabba or a mysterious figure you can't really see but you can speculate about would have been better. Maybe an alien with a different language than basic\English.

Overall I had a lot of fun because this movie reminds me of Episode IV. It's not a great movie by itself, it can't stands on his own, but it's a good piece from a part of the galaxy where the end of the journey was a serious thing (blowing up the Death Star) but the journey itself was fun. Since it's an origin story, it's OK for me to see things I expected. But I think they were thinking to create a series of films with interesting turn of events.
I still don't know if the public wants to see new stories with new characters or if Star Wars isn't special anymore to a loto of people. I am not sure.

I enjoyed this movie, the first act of The Force Awakens and most of the Rebels episodes.

@andreas1138 I've never forgotten. Just wasn't sure I'll ever watch this.

From my point of view Disney faces a big problem. They have no clue how and why SW worked. The bought the rights for big money and probably thought they would turn it into a profit fast. And so far it backfires. Each movie made less than the one before. Either a SW movie each year is too much or they just aren't good enough. In reality it is a combination of both. The blockbuster blueprint does not work with SW.

Granted, the original trilogy wasn't deep in terms of story. It was simple good against evil. Characters were clear cut and aproachable and the Jedi Myth added a bit of mystery. Lucas took parts from all over and molded it into something new. But the movie was epic. As I said before it was the movie that couldn't be done until they did it. When that opening score went off it smacked me in the head and my eyes were glued to the screen until the last second. What a ride !

Now the movies have become generic, yes even pale. They aren't special any more and they have a lot to compete against. So in order to stand out they have to be better. They tried to emulate Marvel and other stuff and it just isn't working. They are adding cool factor and comedy because that's what everyone seems to be doing. I wanted to quit Solo after 15 min because of that car chase scene. That's just not SW. And the dilemma is: the old fans seem to think alike and for the younger audience a SW movie is just a movie amongst many. Sure, they like it, but not because it's SW.

Han Solo was established in ANH as a swashbuckler, a smuggler and adventurer that only was looking for his own gain. He wasn't a hero. Than he came around because he saw something in the rebels he thought was lost. We only learn about his past from what little info he gave and for me that was enough. I had a picture in my mind and that picture does not fit with the Han Solo portrayed here. He is not the prince out of Disney's fairytale archives. While the idea of an origin story is not bad the problem is you have a well established character that in theory you know everything about - you just haven't seen it. And if you want to show us, just do so but don't add stuff like giant space monsters and black holes because it is not nessessary.

Now I am reading about a possible Kenobi movie and if that happenes it will face the same problems. We already know Obi-Wans way from being a Padawan to his seclusion on Tatooine and as far as I am concerned he was very low profile until he met Luke. Made perfect sense. Where could be a story to tell in between that? Or in a Boba Fett movie ? We know where he came from, we saw him die. The stories in between that are good for books not for 200m $ movies.

You know how much of a SW fan I am and I was thrilled when new movies were announced. When they hinted all those "A Star Wars Story" stuff I know it was over and done. It was Disney trying to milk the cow. Now I have come to the realisation that some things should be left in the past.

I will always go back and watch the original Trilogy and even the prequels over and over again. While I can imagine that there are people that might do just that with the new ones I don't think I ever will.

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