A Review of 'Solo: A Star Wars Story'

The backstory to our beloved pilot Han Solo finally arrives. The film definitely isn't the best Star Wars film by a very large boundary but it proves to be a worthy backstory to our beloved character, fitting into Han Solo's nature like a glove. So without further ado, let us get into the review.

There are a lot of things that Solo: A Star Wars Story got spot on. From the very nature of the film to the excellent portrayal of qualities that we are accustomed to in Han Solo by Alden Ehrenreich. We get the Han Solo we love, the witty, cunning and courageous one, just with a different actor. This aspect of the film is made even better with the continuous action in the film. We get a dose of action and suspense right from the first scene, where we see Han Solo in a Car Chase—we receive a dose of extremely suspenseful car and spaceship chases throughout the film, sometimes being a little overdone. But the thrill is maintained in other ways as well; we get to see wondrous scenes where we see Young Han duel it out, scenes with extreme plot twists such as the point where Crimson Dawn is revealed to be Darth Maul.

The enigma built around certain characters is also extremely entertaining to watch, such as the Mysterious backstory behind Qu'ira, Han's love interest, the overall curiosity behind Tobias Beckett, etc. This curiosity and enigma often leaves the audience wanting more out of the film.

I also love how the film maintains a cover of classic Star Wars fantasy while really being a really suspenseful Heist Flick where instead of money we see the thievery of raw coaxium (Hyper fuel). The ingenious planning and humour involved make it all the more entertaining and suitable as a heist flick.

However, my absolute highlight of the film was how the film makes the movie like the character. Through the film, we can notice that it displays qualities that Han Solo has: Wit, Humour, Care etc. The film also provides an interesting backstory to how Han Solo got the things we most cherish, such as his friendship with Chewie, the Millennium Falcon, and the friendship with Lando.

There were some negatives to this film as well. I hated the fact that our new characters were not given a proper introduction. They were mostly introduced by their names only, leaving an extremely little chance for the viewer to get a decent character sketch of the newly introduced characters. The film, I also feel has been written to receive a sequel, with the way the ending came as a cliffhanger, which seems extremely unlikely so I feel that the film should have had a more complete plot. Lastly, I thought through the film that the filmmakers were just doing fan service and not really thinking of a very independent plot with more room for creative freedom. In other words, it lacked something fresh.

Overall, this film was a great way to give a prequel to one of the most cherished characters found in the Star Wars universe. I desperately hope that it gets a sequel with more fulfillment of Han Solo's energy and a revised plot with greater creative independence. Lastly, I would like to say that the film was a great way to display the sheer power that is Han Solo.

PS: I was a bit sleepy while writing this so I couldn't get my thoughts clear and I couldn't organise them so dear reader, I apologise for you having to read this very crappy review. I promise I'll do better when my brain's functioning.

- A Crazy Teenager