June 2nd in Chicago, IL. Disney bought the rights to the Star Wars Universe in 2012. Since then, rumors of a stand alone Han Solo back story film started almost immediately. To say there were problems with production is quite the understatement. The original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were fired and replaced by Ron Howard who ended up reshooting 70% for the film. Lord and Miller, who've had success with animated and comedic films, wanted to make the film more comedic and were fired. If Lucasfilm didn't want this picture to be too funny then they should not have hired a directing with a track record for comedy.
The film traces Han's humble beginnings on Corellia as the elder hustler for a group of child hustlers in the employ of a criminal organization run by Lady Proxima. Sounds a bit like Oliver Twist doesn't it? Anyway, Han's dream is to squirrel enough away for him and his girlfriend Qi'ra to escape. Han and Qi'ra manage to bribe their way through an Imperial checkpoint but Qi'ra is caught at the last minute and the only means of escape is for Han to join the Imperial Navy. Han washes out of flight school for "having a brain" as he puts it and meets up with a smuggler named Beckett and his crew. Beckett,who's impersonating an Imperial officer, gets Han arrested for desertion which leads to a meeting with a certain Wookie from Kashyyk. Han and Chewie are able to catch a ride with Beckett and join his team.
Beckett has been hired to steal a load of the universe's most precious commodity but he runs into a rival gang and the job goes south. Beckett takes the group back to see Vos, the crime lord who hired him for the score. There Han reunites with Qi'ra but things look grim as Vos is none too happy about the score failing. In order to save their skins, Han comes up with an odds defying job that will probably get them killed. It involves the universe's most precious commodity and a place called Kessel. In order to pull this job off, they need to fast ship. Enter Lando Calrissian and the Millennium Falcon.
Despite a few setbacks, the team pulls off the job. Lando gets wounded, putting Han in a position to pilot the Falcon. Can you guess what he does in 12 parsecs? This eventually leads to a big showdown with Vos, Beckett and the rival smuggling gang. The film ends with Han beating Lando in a card game to win the Falcon where he and Chewie fly off to go work for a "big time gangster."
This is a fun movie. There are some funny scenes, Han and Chewie showering together after they escape with Beckett is really good. Qi'ra makes a nice comment about Lando having a lot of capes. It got a deserving 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating. The plot is very overly complex film. It's a heist movie but it tried to be a clever heist movie. It's good. There are a lot of references to the original trilogy that are fun. The acting is good. Alden Ehrenreich as Solo. Woody Harrelson as Beckett. Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra. Donald Glover as Lando and Paul Bettany Dryden Vos. The entire cast was very solid. As good as Ehenreich was a Han, Glover was better as Lando. Glover stole the show. Glover and Ehenreich had good chemistry. Han and Chewie together were really good too. I never bought Qi'ra as a love interest. It didn't work. This is my opinion but there's a scene at the end of the film where Han has a change of heart to help the rival smugglers who are actually members of the rebellion. In Episode IV, he famously said to Leia that he "ain't in this for your revolution" but his actions contradict the later statement. This is a classic scene that gets devalued.
I did not think it was necessary for a stand alone Han Solo film but I have over 40 years invested in the Star Wars franchise so I had it was a given that I had to see this film. It's a fun film for Star Wars fans but I cannot see it having a lasting affect on fans. The film took in only $84 million opening weekend and that was considered a disappointment. To date its grossed over $320 million but it had a budget of $300 million. This was probably the best film we were going to get with all the production problems. It's arguable the affect it had on the Star Wars Universe but there was a nice little Easter Egg at the end. If you're a fan of the franchise it's not a must see but it is fun. If you don't see the film, you're not missing much.
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