Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) (Movie Review)

   It’s become something of a “Star Wars” staple for me that the third instalments of each trilogy are my favorites, as both “Return of the Jedi” and “Revenge of the Sith” are my favorite instalments in their respected trilogies. However, this staple came to an end with 2019’s “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, which turned out my least favorite of the new sequel trilogy. It’s strange because I distinctly remember watching the movie on its premier, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience. Yet, when the movie ended, I wasn’t really thinking about it afterwards, nor did I have any real interest in re-watching it, which is something I’ve never really experienced with the series. Even a movie as simple as “Solo: A Star Wars Story” still stuck with me, and I was excited to watch it again. Still, I can’t say that I hated “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”, it was a fun watch, but it just felt very disposable, and that’s not how the final chapter of a trilogy, or nine-chapter saga should feel. Over time, the movie hasn’t exactly gotten better, but I can’t bring myself to say I hate it either … in fact, there are a number of things in the film that I genuinely love as a long time “Star Wars” fan. Is there more negatives then positives, and how did this final chapter leave me feeling about the series overall? … let’s find out.  

   Taking place a year after the events of “The Last Jedi”, Kylo Ren is in full control of the First Order, and their grip on the galaxy is almost secure. However, there’s one force out their who may pose a threat to Kylo Ren’s power … a mysteriously revived Emperor Palpatine, who’s on a secret Sith World, and has a giant fleet of ships at his command. 

The new resistance under the command of General Leia takes this news very seriously, and thus sends her Jedi apprentice Rey, along with her friends Fin, Poe, C-3PO and Chewbacca on a quest to find this mysterious hidden world, prevent the fleet from spreading destruction across the galaxy, and possibly even bring down the First Order in the process. Kylo Ren meanwhile learns of Rey’s true origins, and aims to use this knowledge as a means to convert her to his side, as only together can they topple this phantom emperor. Right off the cuff, this film feels like an uninspired retread of “Return of the Jedi”, but with nothing special to separate itself from its predecessor. While “The Force Awakens” obviously had parallels to “A New Hope”, I at least felt like it was trying to start something new, with new mysteries, and fresh new characters. “The Rise of Skywalker” however takes the established formula, runs with it, and has absolutely no courage to try something different, or even take risks. Also, this film is surprisingly kind of hard to follow at times, as it moves at a break-neck speed, with characters landing in different locations, and I frequently found myself asking what our heroes are looking for, why they’re in certain places, and there’s nothing of simplicity that flows with all the exciting action and set-pieces.

   As for Emperor Palpatine’s sudden revival, I have conflicting feelings. On the one hand, I’ll always love seeing Ian McDiarmid in this iconic role, and visually, the character has never looked more awesome. He still has an imposing presence, and his base is an awesome location, full of mystery and dread. Also, when viewing all nine films chronologically, it does make sense for the original threat to book end the films. Having said all that … Emperor Palpatine’s revival just feels like it diminishes the initial send-off to his character. While villains from the “Star Wars” universe, including Darth Maul and Boba Fett have come back from the dead, I felt it was justified in their cases, as both were initially disposed of with so much potential yet to be explored as characters. Emperor Palpatine by contrast had a perfect story, and one of the most deeply satisfying villain deaths, when Darth Vader turned on him in favor of saving his son. In this movie, he’s back for a little, doesn’t really do much, and is greeted with a far less satisfying death then what he initially had. Now, I would have been more excepting of the Emperor if he was more of a spiritual essence imprinted on Darth Vader’s helmet, as opposed to some kind of unexplained clone. In fact, with so much focus on Vader’s helmet, and the Emperor recreating his voice in Kylo Ren’s head, it almost seems like that was the initial idea.

   As for the revelation of Rey being The Emperors grand doubter … I would have excepted it if there was more of a built-up foundation to it. For instance, when the truth is revealed, I feel nothing … because Rey never met the Emperor before, he had never really been a presence in her life prior to this journey, and thus, it just feels underwhelming. Also, it could have been engaging if I ever once felt that Rey was at risk of becoming a villain. 

Yet, despite accidently shooting-off lighting, and fighting a dark-side vision of herself, I never once felt that she was in any danger of going bad. Granted, I never once felt that Luke would go bad in the original trilogy, but at least his conflicts, and sudden outburst of anger felt real … like there was genuinely something of internal darkness that he needed to concur. Quick side note, that duel with Rey’s evil double-ganger was way too rushed, and should have been more impactful … instead of just being trailer fodder. Of course, the final nail in the coffin is Rey changing her last name to “Skywalker” at the tail end of the film, which spoils the only good thing this arc had going for it. During an emotional exchange with the force ghost of Luke Skywalker, it’s established that no-one should be jugged by bloodlines or family names … it’s simply what the individual dose with their own lives that has substance. Thus, she absolutely should have kept the name Palpatine, and wove it into something positive through her own examples … not change it. The one consistency with Rey is a determined leading performance from Daisy Ridley, who’s an engaging screen presence, and continues to give the character more depth than the script dose.

    Let’s look at Kylo Ren, who likewise is a mixed blessing. Once again, Adam Driver delivers a solid performance, and the character shines in a number of individual scenes. There’s an awesome little scene in the opening in which Kylo Ren lays siege to a village, and it’s cool to see villains on their own in an action sequence. However, it’s very clear that the Emperor was brought back simply so Kylo Ren could have a full reformation … which is executed well on screen, but it’s not what I wanted for the character. Following after Darth Vader’s reform in the original trilogy, I wanted this series to feature a villain with an equal level of pathos and tragedy … but who was beyond any form of redemption. In fact, in the Legends books, when Han Solo’s son Jason goes bad and becomes Darth Caedus, it’s a permanent switch, and he dies a villain. Seeing Kylo Ren reform in this film just felt repetitive, although it was at least executed well in the film. My favorite scene of the whole film is when Kylo Ren recreates the final conversation he had with Han Solo, but with a different outcome in which it’s Ben Solo who emerges, and Kylo Ren figuratively dies. It’s a great little scene, very well acted, and it allowed me to except the villain’s reformation, despite feeling repetitive.

   Regrettably, there’s not much to say about the other characters, as Fin and Poe are basically just there for the adventure, and whatever development they do get feels very basic. It’s almost like the writers had no idea what to do with the hold-over characters, so just pair them with new characters, and leave it at that. Poe reunites with a mysterious flame from his past … and that’s about it. Fin meets a female warrior who shares his backstory of formally being a Storm Trooper … and that’s about it. Even BB8 had to get paired with another little droid, which is ridicules, because BB8 was already perfect on his own. Easily, my favorite new character in the whole film was the little alien mechanic Babu Frik, who’s a very original design, and chalk full of personality. Billy Dee Williams returns to his signature role of Lando, which is welcome, but he doesn’t do a whole lot either. Honestly, my favorite character in the whole film is C-3PO, who for once is prominently featured on the quest, and has some of the funniest remarks the character has ever made. Despite being a tight pair, I’ve genuinely preferred C-3PO over R2-D2, and this movie proved that C-3PO can hold his own, without his little counterpart.

   Continuing on the more positive side of things, I loved how Princess Leia was utilized in the film, especially in the face of Carrie Fisher’s tragic death. Her inserted shots felt real, the effect was convincing, and I liked that she took on Rey as an apprentice. I especially loved seeing Rey in a Jedi training course … which was something long overdue for live action “Star Wars”. It was also very cool to get a flash back of young Leia and Luke training with lightsabers, and seeing Leia with her own blade is something I’ve always wanted to see … although I would have liked her with a different color then blue … seriously, why isn’t there more variety to these colors. Oh, Rey gets a different colored blade … which would have been cool if it wasn’t at the tail end of the movie. Putting that aside, I also loved seeing new force techniques incorporated in this film, like Force Healing. Actually, one of the stronger moments of Rey’s character was choosing not to fight that giant sand snake, and instead take a moment to see what’s troubling it. Another highlight is the expansion on Rey and Kylo Ren’s Force connection, and how this connection can miniplate their surroundings. This was one of my favorite concepts introduced in “The Last Jedi”, and it was very satisfying to see it expanded upon here. It also builds to one of the franchises most unique duels ever, with Rey and Kylo Ren sparring through their force connection. While their standing in two different locations, they can still affect the matter surrounding them, and thus can transfer blows through their weapons. This scene was highly original, beautifully filmed, and a great example of creativity beating out repetition.

   J. J. Abrams returns as director, and while his screenplay is kind of a mess, he certainly holds his own as a talent behind the camera. Even when I’m having a hard time following the plot, I’m constantly engaged by Abram’s direction, and how he utilizes the camera. He’s a director who knows how to keep the film rolling, and contain multiple frames in a single shot before making an edit. The film even received three nominations at the Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Editing, and Best Music Score. Plus, I just can’t dismiss the commitment to practical set designs, and some great looking puppets. Quick side note, I really like seeing festivals in the “Star Wars” universe. So many events in these films are serious and tragic, so it was nice to see a colorful local party with various creatures on display. Even the comedy came in just the right amount, and there were a fair number of laughs. There are still some odd scenes that didn’t feel like they fit within the “Star Wars” universe. For example, there’s a scene when the Faulcon goes lightspeed skipping, jumping to various areas, and while it’s definitely a fun sequence, it also feels more appropriate for something like “Gradians of the Galaxy”. Most of the action however feels at home with the franchise, even if there’s nothing too memorable. There’s a chase in a desert that’s cool, but it doesn’t really stand out from other set-pieces either.   

   Speaking of set-pieces that don’t really stand out, let’s talk about that final lightsaber duel between Rey and Kylo Ren, which is now the last duel of the whole series. The two engage on a path-way that's right in the center of a ragging ocean, which is an awesome location, and probably one of the coolest places to stage a duel. Aside from that, I unfortunately found the duel itself to be rather underwhelming, especially for the saga’s final light-saber duel. The choreography isn't very impressive, nor is the emotional conflict stirring enough, it's just a passably cool battle, and I expect more from a final showdown. This fight could have left more of an impression if it was boasted by a riveting music score, and that's something that's always enhanced the epic size of these final duels. This duel is curiously set to a silent music track, which is certainly atmospheric, but not very epic. I’ve watched a number of video’s that have inserted other classic “Star Wars” scores into this battle, and it truly feels more epic. Despite being an underwhelming final battle, it's still an okay little sequence in of itself, and it builds to a good payoff.

    As things come to a close, a fleet of Resistance ships launch a full-frontal assault on the First Orders secret fleet of battle ships, and all the while, Rey and a reformed Kylo Ren face a supper charged Emperor for one last showdown to end all battles. 

For the literal final battle of the saga, this climax once again is kind of underwhelming, as it just felt like a discount “Return of the Jedi” climax all over again … yet surprisingly less satisfying. Still, there are enough highlights for this battle to keep me engaged. The spectacle is definitely there, and for as silly as space horses are … I loved seeing them utilized during this climax. It’s hard to explain, but seeing our hero’s charge out on horses just felt like an exciting call back to classic epic movies, and I love when “Star Wars” incorporates something old with all the futuristic technology on display. While I think the final showdown between our three mains could have been a touch stronger, I did still get goosebumps when Ray heard the voices of all the past Jedi, and gave her the power to overthrow the Emperor. As a longtime fan of the franchise, it was so cool to hear so many familiar voices, including characters like Ahsoka Tano and Kanan from the expanded TV shows.  Throw in an effective hero sacrifice, and this climax is just satisfying enough, but probably my least favorite of all the final battles in this franchise.

   In the end, this ninth episode in the epic saga certainly aimed high to be a grand, triumphant curtain call, and ... it takes a large suspension of disbelief to except certain plot details, the narrative can be a little clunky, and it's perhaps a little too reliant on nostalgic call backs. Yet, the emotional character highs were still present, the spectacle was in every frame, and the adventure aspect never once let down. Maybe it wasn't a perfect home run ... but a passively exciting entry in the series all the same. My big issue with the movie is that it reduced the sequel trilogy to a house of cards. It bult on a foundation, then knocked everything back down to where we were before, and it just made the whole affair feel a little pointless in retrospect. There are still things I love about this trilogy, and “The Force Awakens” is still a personal favorite that I enjoy returning to. “The Last Jedi” didn’t work in execution, but I still admired the ambition, as well as some of the ideas, and I felt it offered some select merits. “The Rise of Skywalker” is watchable, and occasionally fun, but it just doesn’t leave you with anything to special to saver either. Not a terrible movie, but certainly not the proper conclusion that this mighty franchise deserves.    

Thanks for reading my review of “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” … and continue to enjoy the movies you love. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) (Movie Review)

   When it comes to my absolute favorite movie characters, one that ranks right at the top for me is Indiana Jones as portrayed by Harrison Ford. As a kid, he was the awesome action hero I always wanted to be, and Harrisons portrayal of him was about as iconic as they get. Along with his first three theatrical movies, I also owned the home video collection of the live action series “The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones”. In this series, the young Indiana Jones was played mostly by Sean Patrick Flanery, and while he wasn’t on par with Harrison Ford’s performance, I was still able to except him as just a younger version of my favorite character. The series also didn’t develop or explore his character, it just gave him a variety of different adventures to embark on, and I enjoyed it for what it was. For the longest time, I’ve also wanted my favorite “Star Wars” character Han Solo to get a similar series, one that would revolve around him as a younger man going on different and unique adventures in the “Star Wars” universe. Well, I never got the live action series I wanted, but I certainly got a theatrical movie in 2018 simply titled “Solo: A Star Wars Story”, and for me, that was exactly what I hoped for. I can't act like it was any kind of masterpiece, but for a simple, strait forward outer space adventure with a younger Han Solo at the helm, it didn't disappoint.    

  Our adventure begins on Han’s home world of Corellia, where crime is everywhere, and runaways are forced to serve under a giant centipede creature named Lady Proxima. On a side note, I love the design and animatronic puppet work of this character, as it proves once again that the best creature effects are the practical ones in front of the camera. One day, the young Han Solo decides its finally time leave his filthy home planet, take his new place among the stars as a pilot, and most importantly start a new life with his girlfriend Qi'ra. 

Unfortunately, sneaking off the planet is no easy task, as our young heroes are met with opposition at the departure station. In a deeply griping scene, Han is sadly separated from his girlfriend, who gets apprehended, while Han escapes to join the Imperial Navy. This opening was outstanding and instantly got me hooked for the ride to come. Years later, Han deserts his post and joins a team of pirates lead by one Captain Beckett. After failing a heist, Han finds himself reunited with his love interest Qi’ra, only to discover that she’s under the thumb of a dangerous crime lord, who Han now owes money to. A plan is then set in motion to pull off a heist, to pay off the crime lord, and somehow maybe even free Qi’ra … unless of course she has a more sinister elegance then Han knows. From there, the movie plays out almost like a Sinbad adventure in space, as it’s not really about exploring the main character, but having a likable lead take us from one crazy encounter after another. Sometimes a shady dug out where our heroes have to use their wits, and other times it’s surviving dangerous encounters with other pirates or giant space squids. We also see how many of Han Solo’s iconic staples come to be, like how he became friends with Chewbacca, how he became Captain of the Millennium Falcon, how he flew the Kessel Run, and how he even got his name.

  It’s hard for me to state if this is a good story or not, because so much of it depends on what you’d want from a movie centered around Han Solo. If you want a deep, character driven story that explores him in ways never seen before, then this will do very little for you. However, I felt that all of Han Solo’s real character growth took shape in the original “Star Wars trilogy”, so in my view, the only option left for a film centered around his younger self is to make him a likable presence to lead us on a fun space adventure. In this regard, I feel the film satisfied on all grounds. Alden Ehrenreich may not be on par with Harrison Ford, but I still felt he escaped his long shadow, and was a very charming screen presence in his own right. I get the impression that Alden Ehrenreich could have shined as an original character, and the title of Han Solo is keeping him from being as charismatic as the actor genuinely is.

Still, I loved watching him in this film, I thought he was very likable, and I cheered for him all the way. I will admit, I felt the film got a little too caught up in crossing off a check list of events we’d expect to see in a Solo Origen film, when it could have potentially explored some deeper family topics, like why he abandoned his original family name, etc. Never the less, I still enjoyed seeing how certain Solo character traits first took shape. I loved when Han has his “love at first sight” moment with the Millennium Falcon, as it’s just him sitting down in the cock pit, watching the ship go to lightspeed for the first time, and you can just feel him taking it in as a life changing moment. It was there in that scene I was saying to myself “oh yeah, that’s Han Solo without a doubt”. I also liked seeing how Han met Chewbacca, and how their friendship took shape. Plus, while this film contains many nods to classic Solo staples, I feel it has some new material that add some merit to the character. For example, this film contains one of my favorite new Han Solo lines during a scene in which he and Qi’ra are sharing a drink. She asks what they should drink to, which Han responds with “Lets drink to … and see where we go from there.”, which is a great original line for a character swamped with memorable quotes. It was also great to see a side of Han we never got to see in the original trilogy. While he always had a level of charm to his personality, he also had a bed side manner that stemmed from believing he knew better than those around him. That was a trait that came about through age and years of experience, yet in this film, we see Han as a star-y-eyed innocent who thinks he can take on the galaxy, no matter what it throws at him. At last, while this isn’t an in-depth character centered story, I feel it has just enough cornels of one to balance out.   

   All the meaningful seeds of heart and a good character story come in the form of the love interest Qi’ra, who’s brought to life with an equal amount of charisma by Emilia Clarke. Being completely transparent for a moment, I’ve had a crush on Emilia Clarke ever sense I fell in love with her breakout character from “Game of Thrones”, so I can’t help but feel like I was already conditioned to like her on some level, regardless of what her character in the film was going to be like. 

As it turned out, Qi’ra has now subtled with me as one of my new favorite Star Wars girls. Although, this admittedly becomes a double edge sword, as I found Qi’ra a far more interesting and compelling character then Han Solo himself. This is a woman who’s as good as they get, and her love for Han is very real, yet her current place in life is forced to serve an evil crime lord, and in order to keep the ones she loves safe, she has to commit to doing some awful things in his name. When she goes on her journey with Han, you can see her open up, genuinely enjoy herself for who she knows she is, and convey her feelings toward Han, yet you can still see the person behind her eyes who knows that she just can’t fully escape the life she’s trapped in. That’s the kind of character worthy of Shakespeare status, but the movie just never takes full advantage of what it’s got. The issue is that the scrip needs Han to have a story arc with Captain Beckett played by Woody Harrelson, and that relationship just isn’t as interesting. Clearly the film is trying to make Beckett the figurative John Silver to his Jim Hawkins, but I never once felt that same connection or chemistry, largely because his character arc with Han just doesn’t balance alongside Hans relation with Qi’ra. Also, Woody Harrelson just doesn’t look like he wants to be there, while on the other hand, I get a genuine feeling of both commitment and joyful fun from both Emilia Clarke and Alden Ehrenreich in their respected roles. In my view, the character Beckett should have been dropped completely, that way the film could have centered on the more compelling relationship, and would have also led to a more impactful ending … but I’ll talk about that later.    

  The film also contains a solid ensemble supporting characters, with a decent cast. It’s hard to explain, but there was something about seeing these characters play off each other that was extremely satisfying, and such a joy to watch. I loved their banter, I loved how their individual personalities bounced off each other, I loved that they were both friends and competitors in equal measure, and it was such a treat just to see some fresh new faces aboard the Millennium Falcon. It’s just not Star Wars to me without that ship, and it’s always very gratifying to see new characters aboard it … or in the exception of others, their old characters with new actors. Even some of the supporting players added a lot to the film. I loved the alien monkey named Rio, who’s a very original species and voice actor Jon Favreau brings him to life with so much personality. It’s just a shame he was pulled out of the movie so soon, because he was a welcomed presence. The droid L3 was a character I could have probably done without, but sense she’s here, I’ll go ahead and say that I loved the effects on display, as that droid looked more real than any other droid I’ve seen in this series. Even the voice actress for L3 was very good, and the overall design of this robot was wonderful.

  

   Also, while Chewbacca has always been an icon, he’s truthfully never been one of my favorite characters … but this movie changed that. I absolutely loved Chewbacca in this film, his action scenes were great, his relation with Han was great, and he just seemed to have more personality then usual. Of course, the big show stealer that everyone was excited for is Donald Glover as a young Lando Calrissian. Holly cow, what a perfect cast choice, as he not only looks the part, but it really feels like a younger version of Lando. He basically steals every scene he’s in, and his chemistry with Han Solo is spot on. Perhaps my favorite exchange of theirs is when Lando looks over his beaten ship, turns to Han and says in a sarcastic voice “I hate you”, to which Han smiles and follows up with “I know”. Honestly, it was so natural and in the moment that I would have never realized it was a call back to his famous quote from “Empire Strikes Back”, unless the internet didn’t point it out to me. My favorite individual Lando line in this film comes after Beckett gives him a touchy ultimatum, which Lando colorful responds to with “I don’t like it, I don’t agree with it … but I’ll accept it.” I also liked seeing his personal collection of capes in his closet. The one Lando related topic I didn’t care for was his relationship with the droid L3, as it was … questionable to say the least.

   Now following on the heels of “The Last Jedi”, I’ve heard plenty criticism that, by comparison, “Solo” plays it too safe and doesn’t take enough risks, to which I respond with … actually, the film does take some ambitious risks that previous Star Wars films haven’t dared to do. For example, “Solo” is the first Star Wars movie that doesn’t bank on the novelty of a main villain, which was quiet the gamble. Seeing new iconic villains in a Star Wars movie is like seeing your favorite comic book villains in superhero movies, and it’s just something we feel needs to be present in each film. This film however throws the concept of a lead antagonist under the buss, and chooses to do something that’s more thematic. 

The villain of the movie is a generalization of how the crime, poverty and corruption of the galaxy brings out the worst and most desperate actions from seemingly good people. Through the course of the film, Han is betrayed by two close friends, but neither do it because their evil, it’s merely the complications of their current life status that’s forcing them to act out of desperation. There’s an extremely dangerous group of pirates lead by one Enfys Nest, who present a threat to our heroes, but they actually have noble intentions, and are resorting to violence once again out of desperation. Even the Empire isn’t acting out like traditional villains, and are just present for once, which I fond very refreshing. Now there is a crime lord named Dryden Vos, played very well by Paul Bettany, who can be branded as a bad guy, but even he isn’t what I’d call a main villain. Obviously he’s not in the movie enough to earn that title, but he also isn’t evil the same way all other villains in this series have been. He has no sinister motivations that our heroes need to thwart, he’s really just a businessman who acks hostel when a job goes south. He even tries to sit down and negotiate possibilities before resorting to violence, so I can’t really brand him as a run of the mil “Star Wars” villain.  

  Another thing I fond refreshing about “Solo”, is that despite some riveting action sequences, there are no large-scale Sci-Fi battles, which have characterized the franchise to this point. There’s a short scene in the opening with Han running through trenches during his Imperial days, which was an effective homage to World War 1, but it wasn’t like a large-scale battle scene. Most of the action felt tighter, more contained, and it did a better job putting me in the action. When Han and team pull off their big heist at the spice mines, all the laser shooting action and mayhem feels practical and intense. There’s two stand out tracking shots that really pulled me into the excitement. The first was a tracking shot following Lando as he dashes across a battle field to aid a fallen comrade. The second was a tracking shot of our heroes backing up the ramp of the ship and into the Falcon without any cuts. Also, whenever characters did little things like twirl their blasters in hand, or boost a hover car, I always felt that jolt of energy. My favorite action set piece by far was the train heist, which closed out the first act of the film. This scene was very creative, with a train that operates like a roller-coaster, multiple adversaries shooting at our heroes, high stakes, and lots of tense choreography as characters maintained balance on the vehicle. 

   In general, the big take away scene is watching the Millennium Falcon make the classic Kessel Run. This was a highly entertaining scene, and probably my favorite outer space sequence since the asteroid field chase from “The Empire Strikes Back”. After accomplishing their big heist, The Falcon gets lost in a giant gas cloud, which is like an expansive space labyrinth with multiple twists and turns. It’s full of uncharted passage ways, enemy ships on the hunt, gravity wells and a giant squid monster. I love the atmosphere of this scene, as well as the concept of being lost in a giant space nebula. Aside from being very creative, this is also an important moment when we see Han take command of the Falcon, and how Chewbacca becomes his co-pilot. The line “I’ve got a good feeling about this”, was a little on the noise, but I liked it still. I also loved how this scene made select call backs to classic “Star Wars” music. The great John Williams returns to conduct the music for this film, which is welcome, but he doesn’t provide the film with an original score that really stood out. After composing the iconic Indiana Jones score, I was hoping he’d bring something just as legendary to Han Solo, but that sadly didn’t happen. The only piece of music I really loved was the Enfys Nest score, which gave me chills, and reminded me of the opening theme from “Ghost in the Shell”. Also, while on the topic of classic music, I personally loved hearing the imperial march as part of their recruitment adds … that for whatever reason just had me smiling from ear to ear.

   Let’s talk about director Ron Howard, who for the longest time I’ve wanted to see in the directing chair of a Star Wars movie. His first start at acting was George Lucas's “American Graffiti”, they both collaborated on the underrated fantasy movie “Willow” and still to this day I view Ron Howards “Apollo 13” as one of the best the genera has to offer. He was even supposed to direct “The Phantom Menace”, but just couldn’t commit to it at the time. So, putting him in the directing chair for “Solo” felt as perfect as you could get. He certainly knows how to work with his cast, and there’s select shots that really credit his directing talents. I especially love this one shot when a band of pirates make a sudden arrival, and the scene is framed though a hole in a rotating fan. However, I truthfully wasn’t too pleased with the overall look he gave the film. All the color is muted, and there’s a real emphasis on dark, murky locations. I get that it’s supposed to go along with the overall crime flavor of the film, but still I would have preferred to look at other colors rather then browns mixed with ugly yellow. The effects on display are top notch, and I love the films commitment to practical creature puppets and animatronics. I love when Han sits down at a gambling table surrounded by all these unique alien designs, and each with their own personality. The one location I found myself really disappointed with was the crime lords saloon, which just felt very boring and lifeless. The design of it is great, and I love the golden singer in the center, but she just needed an up-tempo song, and the location once again just needed more color.   

  The film was also marketed as a western in space, which I thought was a great idea. I loved the western elements featured in “A New Hope”, and I’m a huge fan of shows like “Firefly” and “Cowboy Bebop”, which were also like westerns set in space. While “Solo” certainly utilized familiar elements of the genera, it didn’t really feel like a western until the third act of the movie. This is when all the classic western tropes and visuals came into play, like stand offs in a desert setting, and a cool foreground shot of a gun in the holster. The climax is also appropriately subdued to fit the tone of a western. Han, Qi’ra, and the crime lord Dryden Vos get into a little scuffle in his office, which supplies the finale with just enough action, but the important scene is a quick gun dual between Han and Beckett. This is classic western 101, when everything in the film leads to a showdown between two cowboys, and their fate rests on who has either the wits or brains to pull the gun first. However, as I eluded to before, I just didn’t feel the connection between Han and Beckett to justify the emotional context of this scene. Personally, I feel that a standoff between Han and Qi’ra would have been far more impactful, and a dramatic turning point in Han’s life. Still, I was mostly satisfied with this finale, and I really just appreciated a small-scale climax as opposed to yet another large-scale battle closing a Star Wars film.   

  Now we come to what is personally my favorite moment of the whole film, a moment that took me by surprise, and really got me excited for future Star Wars anthology films. Up till this moment, the film had been really mature about how it handled fan service, as it briefly named dropped some popular bounty hunters, and we got to see some expanded universe creatures like the Pikes, which was very cool to see, but for the most part, this film stuck to being a Han Solo film. This final scene however was solely for us fans, and I feel it was earned, because it’s the only real Star Wars fan service moment. When all the action is said and done, it’s revealed that Qi’ra this whole time was working for none other then … Darth Maul. 

Let me start by saying that I’m a huge fan of the animated TV shows “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels”, which are both in the same continuity as the movies, but none of the previous films ever acknowledged them. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” had small Easter eggs throughout, but this was the first major event from the animated shows to be acknowledged in one of the films, and it gave me chills all over. The very casual Star Wars movie viewers may remember Darth Maul as the main villain who perished at the end of “The Phantom Menace”, but he also came back in a multi-layered story arc from “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and continued into “Star Wars Rebels”, and this scene might be just the hook to get some of the movie fans into watching the animated shows. This brief Darth Maul cameo also gave me renewed hope that perhaps one day I’ll see some of my favorite Star Wars characters from the animated shows in live action form and on the big screen. Also, Darth Maul has always been one of my favorite villains from this franchise, and I felt that he got the shaft way too soon. So, to see him on screen again in a live action, theatrical Star Wars movie was a dream come true. Heck, he actually had more to say in this three-minute cameo then he did in all of “The Phantom Menace”. One little detail I loved is that when Maul ignites his blade, the red glow is reflected in Qi’ra’s eyes, and it’s a chilling visual that I don’t recall seeing in any of the previous films. Now, I don't know if this scene is leading into another TV show or movie, but I'm really excited to see both Qi'ra and Maul in something together. At last, it was beyond gratifying to finally have both Sam Witwer and Ray Park contribute their talents to the role of Darth Maul. While Ray Park was the physical performer for Darth Maul in “The Phantom Menace”, Sam Witwer was the voice of Maul in both “The Clone Wars” and “Rebels”, and having them both together playing Maul in this film was just a thing of beauty.

         

   When all is said and done, I can respect why fans would have split views on the film. I can see why some would right this off as “just another Star Wars movie”, but I can also see how some may view “Solo” as a refreshing change of pace. Speaking personally, I’ve always felt that every installment in the franchise following after “The Empire Strikes Back” has been trying too hard to be the next absolute best film in the series. “Solo” by contrast is the first film that just felt content to be a good enough movie, and that really made me respect it. It was refreshingly simple, fun and bound together by a charming cast. When ranking all the films, this one sits comfortably in the middle, not one of the best, but certainly not one of the worst. It’s just a perfect little adventure film, and I feel it’s very healthy for long running franchises of this size to just have something okay for once. I felt it gave me a little more then I was hoping for, I’ve grown to like it more with repeat viewings, and I really hope it warms up to fans over time. It’s one of those films I can just put on when I’m in the mood for Star Wars, but I don’t exactly feel like watching one of the major films, and that for me in turn makes the film feel a little special. Considering all the drama and production woes that went on behind the scenes, it’s actually kind of a miracle that “Solo” turned out as good as it did.

Thanks for reading my review of the 2018 spin-off “Solo: A Star Wars Story” ... and continue to enjoy the movies you Love!