Solo: A Star Wars Story
I hadn't read any reviews of this prior to watching it (I still haven't read any) and my only information was from the two trailers I'd caught at the cinema, things which left me fairly unimpressed and not exactly in a rush to see the film. So, on a cloudy bank holiday Monday (though one which is now beautifully sunny), I went to a fairly quiet Cineworld to see if the film would live down to expectations or leave me pleasantly surprised.
I suppose the verdict is a bit of both because the pacing is not at all consistent and the film can be very sluggish or quite exciting depending on what is happening and who is on screen, and why. It probably goes without saying that Alden Ehrenreich doesn't have the wit, charisma, or screen presence of Harrison Ford because, let's face it, few actors do. Therefore, it only took about five minutes before I (consciously or unconsciously) decided to treat this as a stand-alone film and not one related to the other Star Wars films, comparing it to films like Serenity, The Fifth Element, and Starship Troopers instead.
It is weaker than all of those and even doesn't stand up with the best films that Ron Howard has helmed over the years. The story is occasionally engaging and the ILM affects are stunning, but the action and 'space chase' sequences are nowhere near as gripping as those in Serenity or even the Guardians of the Galaxy films, probably because I knew the Millennium Falcon was not going to be blasted to bits by Tie fighters or sucked into a fiery black hole during the Kessel Run with Han Solo, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian in the position to tell anyone they did it in under 12 parsecs rather than any major failings in the direction or editing. That said, Apollo 13 was based on real events and that's much more suspenseful! It's telling that perhaps the most engaging and visually impressive sequence the entire film, a robbery on a moving train was good, but less engaging than a similar one on Firefly; I've no idea whether that's down to the filmmaking or characters.
I felt the cast did very well with the material they had, with Ehrenreich as a decent leading man, Emilia Clarke showing she is as comfortable on the big screen as on HBO, Donald Glover is a charming and engaging version of Lando Calrissian, Woody Harrelson decent enough as Tobias Beckett, the grizzled space pirate who gives Han a chance, and Paul Bettany evil enough as the crime lord and main antagonist. However, I never thought the writing was strong enough, whether in world building or dialogue, and that's a major downfall in the film like this with so much mythology and information to draw on and put into the locations, characters, and events.
Overall, it's a solid, but largely underwhelming film which could, and should, have been so much better.
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