Solo: A Star Wars Story [SPOILERS ALLOWED]

I read in the Guardian that the film so far is not doing very well box office wise, which has surprised me....
I also read on anothet forum a slightly snotty comment from a 'hardcore' fan who praised it as being 'exactly what long term fans deserved and wanted'......yeah, right. Which is, I wonder, may be the problem with it. I was a long term comic book fan but quit when they took a new direction which essentially destroyed everything I loved about the franchise. I thought this might make me sympathise with LT fans but actually I thought JJ and Rian created new films which managed to retain much of what I loved in the OT while having a fresh appeal to them. Maybe Solo's problem is it tries too hard to satisfy an audience of hardcore purists and alienates those who might have liked it to be a little more 21st century.

I just got back from seeing this last night. I thought the acting in this was uniformly good, with Emilia Clarke being the surprising standout. I liked all the visual callbacks to other films, including those in the ST and I also enjoy that they seem to be trying to get the audience used to a bit more overt sexuality (which, as we all know, can only be in prep for IX, heh). I felt that there was more of a story here than there was in Rogue One, and also an attempt at more character arcs.

However, the film suffers on a visceral level from the same thing that plagues ALL of these recent movies that have switched hands during production and have to be salvaged: weird, choppy editing. To the film's credit, I couldn't actually tell what was filmed before and then what Ron Howard came in and filmed, but the overall impression was still one of choppiness.

I'm not sure what it was with the Kessel Run/Maw sequence, but something didn't feel quite right. On one level it was visually interesting, but on the other hand I felt like they didn't build up where they were and what was happening effectively. I'd have to watch it again, but I think the problem was that they didn't connect L3 being plugged into the motherboard, Han's actions, and their escape enough. Or am I just dumb? It felt like an editing problem anyway.

Overall: it was OK. I think I enjoyed it more than Rogue One, but it felt like more of the same thing as with that movie (ie. it felt like a film that was salvaged somewhere along the production track).

Darth Dingbat wrote:It's amazing how big a difference one's mood makes. When I first saw the film I was physically ill and had a migraine, and I would have given it 7/10. Now I'd give it 9 more objectively, and 10 for my personal enjoyment. When I could concentrate better the choppiness didn't bother me anymore and I thought the plot flowed perfectly well, with only a couple of bits that I felt didn't quite fit or felt awkward. I saw the nuances and ambiguities even more clearly before, and just had so much good old-fashioned fun.

Not that I subscribe to praising something by putting others down, but I suspect Solo is going to be a lot more rewatchable for me than TFA was, and makes me feel that same excitement I felt in 2015/2016 because I love some things in this film so much. In TFA I had butterflies in my stomach about the Reylo scenes, and in Solo it's the Qi'ra scenes.

Qi'ra is actually my favourite character from the Disney Star Wars films. Really captured my imagination. There are so many stories I could imagine telling about her.

I think a lot of people will watch this on Bluray or on TV and think, "Damn, why didn't I go see this in the theatre?"

@Darth Dingbat

All of this, except Kylo/Ben is my favorite SW character of all time, followed by a tie of Han and Q'ira, and holy crap, a bunch of the Solo characters just supplanted some other folks in my personal rankings. Some of the RO characters are up there too. Seriously, I just don't get people complaining about the Disney SW. Disney has brought some amazing characters into the fold, along with some decent risk-taking, and the acting overall in the Disney movies is hands-down better than the older movies.

And, absolutely, Solo is going to be incredibly rewatchable. Both ST movies suffer from serious imbalance where some parts are masterpieces and other parts are really mediocre, and as such, they encourage a lot of fast-forwarding. And RO is too sad to rewatch a lot. But Solo is incredibly even and always entertaining.

SoloSideCousin wrote:

Darth Dingbat wrote:It's amazing how big a difference one's mood makes. When I first saw the film I was physically ill and had a migraine, and I would have given it 7/10. Now I'd give it 9 more objectively, and 10 for my personal enjoyment. When I could concentrate better the choppiness didn't bother me anymore and I thought the plot flowed perfectly well, with only a couple of bits that I felt didn't quite fit or felt awkward. I saw the nuances and ambiguities even more clearly before, and just had so much good old-fashioned fun.

Not that I subscribe to praising something by putting others down, but I suspect Solo is going to be a lot more rewatchable for me than TFA was, and makes me feel that same excitement I felt in 2015/2016 because I love some things in this film so much. In TFA I had butterflies in my stomach about the Reylo scenes, and in Solo it's the Qi'ra scenes.

Qi'ra is actually my favourite character from the Disney Star Wars films. Really captured my imagination. There are so many stories I could imagine telling about her.

I think a lot of people will watch this on Bluray or on TV and think, "Damn, why didn't I go see this in the theatre?"

@Darth Dingbat

All of this, except Kylo/Ben is my favorite SW character of all time, followed by a tie of Han and Q'ira, and holy crap, a bunch of the Solo characters just supplanted some other folks in my personal rankings. Some of the RO characters are up there too. Seriously, I just don't get people complaining about the Disney SW. Disney has brought some amazing characters into the fold, along with some decent risk-taking, and the acting overall in the Disney movies is hands-down better than the older movies.

And, absolutely, Solo is going to be incredibly rewatchable. Both ST movies suffer from serious imbalance where some parts are masterpieces and other parts are really mediocre, and as such, they encourage a lot of fast-forwarding. And RO is too sad to rewatch a lot. But Solo is incredibly even and always entertaining.

@SoloSideCousin

Really, so much stock is put in BO numbers, it serves as justification for trashing a movie for many. I made a long list of all the reasons Solo isn't doing well elsewhere. The actual quality of the film, or TLJ for that matter, doesn't have a whole lot to do with it. People's perception of the movie, sure, to an extent, but there was a whole lengthy parade of issues before the movie itself came out.

I'm glad so many people are enjoying the movie, given that the general consensus was that nobody wanted it and Disney is selling out SW. Oh, I saw Leonard Maltin liked it too. I believe he's enjoyed all the Disney SW movies to varying extents. In fact, many people have, but the internet best serves though who would rather share their negative opinions loudly and frequently.

You really need to be in a certain mood to watch RO, because even if you don't get attached to the characters, the film is very serious and everybody dies, which is not how SW movies usually go. I don't think the movie did the best job at fleshing out the characters. It seemed LF saved most of it for tie-in materials, which is a larger problem they have. Most of the new Solo characters die, but the mere fact that Q'ira lives is fascinating, and they were more engaging than the RO ones, Beckett especially. The cast was all really good, they are not the ones who have been getting the criticism. The same could be said of all the Disney SW movies, great casting across the board, really.

The common complaints are that it's a series of episodes and not really a movie (which I strongly disagree with), and that it's too fanservice-y, doing the Kessel Run, how Han met Chewie and Lando, how he got the Falcon by gambling, etc. Honestly, if they hadn't done that Maul cameo (which was the one thing I really wish they hadn't done, it seemed unnecessary and confusing for the GA who don't know Maul is alive and haven't seen him onscreen in 19 years), Solo might not get as much criticism. Tied in with the smaller, non-galactic nature of the story, many are wondering why this story needed to be told at all. And it's Larry Kasdan who is getting the flack for most of this, many did not like his script or story, and of course this all means Disney is just cashing in on popular characters and have nothing new to say. I hope Solo gets at least a couple of technical Oscar nods like RO did come next year.

I've actually seen many complaints that none the Disney SW movies have really done anything new or taken many risks. TFA, RO, and Solo are all heavily reliant on the OT. Even TLJ shuffles ESB and RotJ around, and if one is not following what they are doing, it looks like TLJ didn't actually do anything new so much as just destroy everything old and leave nothing. Which I also disagree with, or I wouldn't be here with all of you! Each of these movies has a different approach and feel, but on a surface level it does look like they are all drawing from the same well. And most audiences only see that surface level. Why did that Boba Fett announcement, a single-character spinoff that few people wanted, come out right before the other single-character spinoff that few people wanted? I still don't fully believe it's happening, not until KK or Mangold comes out and says something about it, and that was almost a week ago.

Oh, and I agree Solo is more easily rewatchable than some of the other SW movies, though that's kind of the opposite of much of public opinion at the moment, which is that's it's a generic piece of disposable fluff (incidentally how some view TFA and RO as well). That might not mean it's actually better, but it's like how I think TFA is more easily rewatchable than TLJ, even if TLJ has more great Reylo stuff and is a much bolder film. TLJ is just so MUCH, if you know what I mean.

I've been on repeat saying this, but Disney, LF, and JJ all REALLY need to push the Reylo on the marketing for IX, beginning as early as possible. Sell people on this new thing with ST characters that is not a repeat of an old thing, which is what people claim they want (I'm not confident of that, I think some people will never be happy with any SW beyond the OT).

How I absorbed all this is beyond me, as I have actually seen far less in the vein of video reviews and such for Solo than I did with TLJ. Probably because I discovered that even the people I trusted to be better and smarter than the GA or fanboy crowds didn't actually understand TFA and/or TLJ, even if they were fans of them. It was a disappointing time for me, and I realized how much damage control LF needed to do. That's honestly when I started posting here more instead. Because you great people here get it even when seemingly no one else does. (Gosh, I can be long-winded!)

californiagirl wrote:

SoloSideCousin wrote:

Darth Dingbat wrote:It's amazing how big a difference one's mood makes. When I first saw the film I was physically ill and had a migraine, and I would have given it 7/10. Now I'd give it 9 more objectively, and 10 for my personal enjoyment. When I could concentrate better the choppiness didn't bother me anymore and I thought the plot flowed perfectly well, with only a couple of bits that I felt didn't quite fit or felt awkward. I saw the nuances and ambiguities even more clearly before, and just had so much good old-fashioned fun.

Not that I subscribe to praising something by putting others down, but I suspect Solo is going to be a lot more rewatchable for me than TFA was, and makes me feel that same excitement I felt in 2015/2016 because I love some things in this film so much. In TFA I had butterflies in my stomach about the Reylo scenes, and in Solo it's the Qi'ra scenes.

Qi'ra is actually my favourite character from the Disney Star Wars films. Really captured my imagination. There are so many stories I could imagine telling about her.

I think a lot of people will watch this on Bluray or on TV and think, "Damn, why didn't I go see this in the theatre?"

@Darth Dingbat

All of this, except Kylo/Ben is my favorite SW character of all time, followed by a tie of Han and Q'ira, and holy crap, a bunch of the Solo characters just supplanted some other folks in my personal rankings. Some of the RO characters are up there too. Seriously, I just don't get people complaining about the Disney SW. Disney has brought some amazing characters into the fold, along with some decent risk-taking, and the acting overall in the Disney movies is hands-down better than the older movies.

And, absolutely, Solo is going to be incredibly rewatchable. Both ST movies suffer from serious imbalance where some parts are masterpieces and other parts are really mediocre, and as such, they encourage a lot of fast-forwarding. And RO is too sad to rewatch a lot. But Solo is incredibly even and always entertaining.

@SoloSideCousin

Really, so much stock is put in BO numbers, it serves as justification for trashing a movie for many. I made a long list of all the reasons Solo isn't doing well elsewhere. The actual quality of the film, or TLJ for that matter, doesn't have a whole lot to do with it. People's perception of the movie, sure, to an extent, but there was a whole lengthy parade of issues before the movie itself came out.

I'm glad so many people are enjoying the movie, given that the general consensus was that nobody wanted it and Disney is selling out SW. Oh, I saw Leonard Maltin liked it too. I believe he's enjoyed all the Disney SW movies to varying extents. In fact, many people have, but the internet best serves though who would rather share their negative opinions loudly and frequently.

You really need to be in a certain mood to watch RO, because even if you don't get attached to the characters, the film is very serious and everybody dies, which is not how SW movies usually go. I don't think the movie did the best job at fleshing out the characters. It seemed LF saved most of it for tie-in materials, which is a larger problem they have. Most of the new Solo characters die, but the mere fact that Q'ira lives is fascinating, and they were more engaging than the RO ones, Beckett especially. The cast was all really good, they are not the ones who have been getting the criticism. The same could be said of all the Disney SW movies, great casting across the board, really.

The common complaints are that it's a series of episodes and not really a movie (which I strongly disagree with), and that it's too fanservice-y, doing the Kessel Run, how Han met Chewie and Lando, how he got the Falcon by gambling, etc. Honestly, if they hadn't done that Maul cameo (which was the one thing I really wish they hadn't done, it seemed unnecessary and confusing for the GA who don't know Maul is alive and haven't seen him onscreen in 19 years), Solo might not get as much criticism. Tied in with the smaller, non-galactic nature of the story, many are wondering why this story needed to be told at all. And it's Larry Kasdan who is getting the flack for most of this, many did not like his script or story, and of course this all means Disney is just cashing in on popular characters and have nothing new to say. I hope Solo gets at least a couple of technical Oscar nods like RO did come next year.

I've actually seen many complaints that none the Disney SW movies have really done anything new or taken many risks. TFA, RO, and Solo are all heavily reliant on the OT. Even TLJ shuffles ESB and RotJ around, and if one is not following what they are doing, it looks like TLJ didn't actually do anything new so much as just destroy everything old and leave nothing. Which I also disagree with, or I wouldn't be here with all of you! Each of these movies has a different approach and feel, but on a surface level it does look like they are all drawing from the same well. And most audiences only see that surface level. Why did that Boba Fett announcement, a single-character spinoff that few people wanted, come out right before the other single-character spinoff that few people wanted? I still don't fully believe it's happening, not until KK or Mangold comes out and says something about it, and that was almost a week ago.

Oh, and I agree Solo is more easily rewatchable than some of the other SW movies, though that's kind of the opposite of much of public opinion at the moment, which is that's it's a generic piece of disposable fluff (incidentally how some view TFA and RO as well). That might not mean it's actually better, but it's like how I think TFA is more easily rewatchable than TLJ, even if TLJ has more great Reylo stuff and is a much bolder film. TLJ is just so MUCH, if you know what I mean.

I've been on repeat saying this, but Disney, LF, and JJ all REALLY need to push the Reylo on the marketing for IX, beginning as early as possible. Sell people on this new thing with ST characters that is not a repeat of an old thing, which is what people claim they want (I'm not confident of that, I think some people will never be happy with any SW beyond the OT).

How I absorbed all this is beyond me, as I have actually seen far less in the vein of video reviews and such for Solo than I did with TLJ. Probably because I discovered that even the people I trusted to be better and smarter than the GA or fanboy crowds didn't actually understand TFA and/or TLJ, even if they were fans of them. It was a disappointing time for me, and I realized how much damage control LF needed to do. That's honestly when I started posting here more instead. Because you great people here get it even when seemingly no one else does. (Gosh, I can be long-winded!)

@californiagirl

Isn't that Maul cameo proof though that they WILL bring stuff from the TV shows/extra canon into the movies though? That unlike what a lot of people say, everything is connected? There's lots of other deep-cut references too. I mean that's great for Reylo given all the extra hints and stuff in the EU material. JJ said IX would bring everything together too. We know Rian watched the Mortis Arc of Clone Wars whilst writing TLJ so...

Fully agreed that they need to push Reylo ASAP in the marketing for IX.

@Kylo Rey The movies are more for GA, bringing in characters beyond easter eggs is a little much. Crimson Dawn was a big part of the movie, so to find out he's a character that only the hardcore fans who read or watch EU material even know is alive was a somewhat odd creative decision.

JJ said he would bring the three trilogies together, not EU material, even if he draws on it to an extent, and knowing the Mortis arc wasn't required watching or information to understand TLJ. The movies need to be understood by those who don't absorb all the other SW material, which is most of the audience.

Solo is out and a whole new batch of Solo-related books was announced yesterday, I'm already so down for IX, even if it's a year and a half away.

The one guy at Den of Nerds was really annoyed at the origins of the surname Solo, but I think it's perfect? It symbolizes the history and exploitation that is a huge part of Ben's legacy too - despite being a prince, his family is only one generation out of slavery/exploitation on his father's side and two on his mother's. His father's surname represents that. And Rey Solo as a married name feels more right to me now. As a name that she can own independently as well as marrying into - that can belong to her thematically, not just signify coverture and her belonging to Ben's family. It's something she has in common with the family already. She's a Solo *in spirit* already, having to fight for everything in this life, forced into childhood servitude by a monster, but not letting it take her loving heart, just like Han.

Kylo Rey wrote:
Isn't that Maul cameo proof though that they WILL bring stuff from the TV shows/extra canon into the movies though? That unlike what a lot of people say, everything is connected? There's lots of other deep-cut references too. I mean that's great for Reylo given all the extra hints and stuff in the EU material. JJ said IX would bring everything together too. We know Rian watched the Mortis Arc of Clone Wars whilst writing TLJ so...

Fully agreed that they need to push Reylo ASAP in the marketing for IX.

@Kylo Rey
I think the appearance of Maul is a big signpost to say SW movies going forward are going to have a bigger backdrop than just the OT. Because of course LF wants people getting their new streaming service!   But seriously, this does mark a big change. I actually got spoiled for the Maul appearance...but I thought it was a joke. I thought they would never do that. But apparently they did.    Which is a good sign for Reverse Anidala, I think--which to my mind, does pull everything together in the entire Skywalker saga if done right.

I don't think you even need characters from the EU. Some of the ideas you find in animation are more or less the proving ground for concepts you'll find on the big screen. If you bring in Rebels ideas like Kallus meeting Zeb's family and such--well, things look pretty good for Reylo.

And if you want buzz about Ep. IX...bring on the Reylo marketing.  

I got spoiled about the Darth Maul appearance- I'm totally indifferent about it. I knew he survived and appeared in Clone Wars and Rebels- but I thought it was so random. I don't cared about his character back then and I don't now.

He looked strange- and why exactly did he had to ignite his lightsaber?  It felt almost like a joke- Sorry, but Maul didn't add anything to the story.

Maul would be a great 'big bad' when Kylo redeems himself; imagine a fight between Rey, Ben and Maul! I want to see Solo, so I'm glad so many here have given it the thumbs up....

Night Huntress wrote:I got spoiled about the Darth Maul appearance- I'm totally indifferent about it. I knew he survived and appeared in Clone Wars and Rebels- but I thought it was so random. I don't cared about his character back then and I don't now.

He looked strange- and why exactly did he had to ignite his lightsaber?  It felt almost like a joke- Sorry, but Maul didn't add anything to the story.

@Night Huntress

I think it did. Or at least, I don't know what other "reveal" would have given it the same buzz. A random new crime boss wouldn't have had the same effect at all; Maul gave that twist a sort of Dark Side oomph, and he already happened to be a crime boss in canon. I can't think of a better choice, myself.

A lot of people seem rather excited about the prospect of finding out how Qi'ra's story continues with Maul and Crimson Dawn, which I suspect wouldn't have been the case if her boss had been revealed to be, say, Prince Xizor or some random new character with a red lightsaber.

motherofpearl1 wrote:Maul would be a great 'big bad' when Kylo redeems himself; imagine a fight between Rey, Ben and Maul! I want to see Solo, so I'm glad so many here have given it the thumbs up....

@motherofpearl1

Well, that won't happen and I'm glad to be honst. He is not the kind of villain I'm into.

Spoiler:

Darth Dingbat wrote:
@Night Huntress

A lot of people seem rather excited about the prospect of finding out how Qi'ra's story continues with Maul and Crimson Dawn, which I suspect wouldn't have been the case if her boss had been revealed to be, say, Prince Xizor or some random new character with a red lightsaber.

@Darth Dingbat

Oh I would've LOVED it to be Prince Xizor! He was amazing in Shadows of the Empire
But yeah- I don't think many of the GA will have a clue who he is.

Anyway- it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the movie... I just shrugged because I didn't care.

Interesting about the dice...

Just watched Solo and I just loved Qi'ra as a character! It's like a "what if Rey became the dark side apprentice instead of Ben."

Qi'ra had to ascend to that position to save more people from becoming just like her, is my guess, why she decided to replace Dryden Vos and abandon Han. She needed the power for whatever reason but i think there was a greater purpose for it which hopefully we will find out in future films.

The parallels between Qi'ra and Han, and Ben and Rey were very apparent and might be a foreshadowing for Reylo in episode 9.

I do hope that Lando and Qira (recasted as an older character) will appear in episode 9 after hearing about Han's death.

Apriljandy wrote:Just watched Solo and I just loved Qi'ra as a character! It's like a "what if Rey became the dark side apprentice instead of Ben."

Qi'ra had to ascend to that position to save more people from becoming just like her, is my guess, why she decided to replace Dryden Vos and abandon Han. She needed the power for whatever reason but i think there was a greater purpose for it which hopefully we will find out in future films.

The parallels between Qi'ra and Han, and Ben and Rey were very apparent and might be a foreshadowing for Reylo in episode 9.

I do hope that Lando and Qira (recasted as an older character) will appear in episode 9 after hearing about Han's death.

@Apriljandy

I agree with every bit of this. I just got a chance to see Solo again yesterday and I loved it even more. I am so upset about its soft box office. I really want sequels. I really want to see where these characters go.

Finally saw it last night and liked a lot. More thoughts later but my first impression just confirmed something I ve been thinking of since TFA: Lawrence Kasdan is a Master of making instantly likeable charcters in the SW Universe. The box office numbers just confuse me a lot. This movie is worth watching.

Kylo Ren reviews Solo: A Star Wars Story

SoloSideCousin wrote:

Apriljandy wrote:Just watched Solo and I just loved Qi'ra as a character! It's like a "what if Rey became the dark side apprentice instead of Ben."

Qi'ra had to ascend to that position to save more people from becoming just like her, is my guess, why she decided to replace Dryden Vos and abandon Han. She needed the power for whatever reason but i think there was a greater purpose for it which hopefully we will find out in future films.

The parallels between Qi'ra and Han, and Ben and Rey were very apparent and might be a foreshadowing for Reylo in episode 9.

I do hope that Lando and Qira (recasted as an older character) will appear in episode 9 after hearing about Han's death.

@Apriljandy

I agree with every bit of this. I just got a chance to see Solo again yesterday and I loved it even more. I am so upset about its soft box office. I really want sequels. I really want to see where these characters go.

@SoloSideCousin

Darth_Awakened wrote:Finally saw it last night and liked a lot. More thoughts later but my first impression just confirmed something I ve been thinking of since TFA: Lawrence Kasdan is a Master of making instantly likeable charcters in the SW Universe. The box office numbers just confuse me a lot. This movie is worth watching.

@Darth_Awakened

I made a list of 9 reasons Solo didn't do great on the fan fatigue thread, but I'll say the biggest ones are that few people wanted the movie to begin with, the marketing campaign was short, small, and generally underwhelming/not selling or clearly defining the movie, that we just had a SW film 5 months ago, and that it had 2 other massive blockbusters to contend with. It was like everything was up against this film from day 1. Pity.

It's viewed as a disappointment on many levels right now, with the general impression being that it will fall off the map and be forgotten with all the other generic blockbusters quickly. But in 15 years, will the world think differently? It's entirely possible.

Saracene wrote:Kylo Ren reviews Solo: A Star Wars Story

"Han Snow"

I saw it today. I was part of the people who love Han but did not feel the need to know more about his background and the trailers gave me no reason to be thrilled. I went to watch the movie because it’s a SW movie and I have now a reputation of SW fan to live up to

I still think the movie was not necessary and it’s a bit sad that some mysteries are gone e.g. how Han met Chewie. That being said, it is a very enjoyable movie and it does deserve more appreciation than it seems to receive.

I was entirely spoiled except for L3’s ending. I shed a couple of tears. I love her revolutionary side. What can I say, I am French. I think others mentioned it but Paul Bettany is one attractive baddie. I was hypnotized. The relationship Chewie/Han really works which was quite the crucial part. AE is a very likeable Han and I was part of the wary ones, but I fully accept him as Han #2. And Lando is just the icing on the cake. I was surprised by Qi’ra. I didn’t think I’d like her but I did. Actually the only thing that I did not like (at all) in the movie is the Maul scene.

Coming out from the movie I was thinking that I cannot really connect the OT Han with the SSWS Han - to me they do not fit - so I do not see the movie as OT Han’s background but more as a parallel story with another Han. A bit like Fury Road Mad Max against Mel Gibson Mad Max. And I am fine with it. I think I will watch it again and I am pretty sure I’ll buy the DVD - as opposed to R1 which is not part of my home video collection.

I am not a music expert and rarely pay attention to music in movies, but I was struck by the music when we first meet Enfys Nest. And it was played later on again. I really like the “disruptive” voices - kids singing? It sounded to me less SWsy and a bit disharmonious which fits with Enfys. As I said, it’s rare I pay attention, but this one hit me.

SanghaRen wrote:I saw it today. I was part of the people who love Han but did not feel the need to know more about his background and the trailers gave me no reason to be thrilled. I went to watch the movie because it’s a SW movie and I have now a reputation of SW fan to live up to

I still think the movie was not necessary and it’s a bit sad that some mysteries are gone e.g. how Han met Chewie. That being said, it is a very enjoyable movie and it does deserve more appreciation than it seems to receive.

I was entirely spoiled except for L3’s ending. I shed a couple of tears. I love her revolutionary side. What can I say, I am French. I think others mentioned it but Paul Bettany is one attractive baddie. I was hypnotized. The relationship Chewie/Han really works which was quite the crucial part. AE is a very likeable Han and I was part of the wary ones, but I fully accept him as Han #2. And Lando is just the icing on the cake. I was surprised by Qi’ra. I didn’t think I’d like her but I did. Actually the only thing that I did not like (at all) in the movie is the Maul scene.

Coming out from the movie I was thinking that I cannot really connect the OT Han with the SSWS Han - to me they do not fit - so I do not see the movie as OT Han’s background but more as a parallel story with another Han. A bit like Fury Road Mad Max against Mel Gibson Mad Max. And I am fine with it. I think I will watch it again and I am pretty sure I’ll buy the DVD - as opposed to R1 which is not part of my home video collection.

I am not a music expert and rarely pay attention to music in movies, but I was struck by the music when we first meet Enfys Nest. And it was played later on again. I really like the “disruptive” voices - kids singing? It sounded to me less SWsy and a bit disharmonious which fits with Enfys. As I said, it’s rare I pay attention, but this one hit me.

@SanghaRen
That was one of my favorite things too.

Moonlight13 wrote:

SanghaRen wrote:I saw it today. I was part of the people who love Han but did not feel the need to know more about his background and the trailers gave me no reason to be thrilled. I went to watch the movie because it’s a SW movie and I have now a reputation of SW fan to live up to

I still think the movie was not necessary and it’s a bit sad that some mysteries are gone e.g. how Han met Chewie. That being said, it is a very enjoyable movie and it does deserve more appreciation than it seems to receive.

I was entirely spoiled except for L3’s ending. I shed a couple of tears. I love her revolutionary side. What can I say, I am French. I think others mentioned it but Paul Bettany is one attractive baddie. I was hypnotized. The relationship Chewie/Han really works which was quite the crucial part. AE is a very likeable Han and I was part of the wary ones, but I fully accept him as Han #2. And Lando is just the icing on the cake. I was surprised by Qi’ra. I didn’t think I’d like her but I did. Actually the only thing that I did not like (at all) in the movie is the Maul scene.

Coming out from the movie I was thinking that I cannot really connect the OT Han with the SSWS Han - to me they do not fit - so I do not see the movie as OT Han’s background but more as a parallel story with another Han. A bit like Fury Road Mad Max against Mel Gibson Mad Max. And I am fine with it. I think I will watch it again and I am pretty sure I’ll buy the DVD - as opposed to R1 which is not part of my home video collection.

I am not a music expert and rarely pay attention to music in movies, but I was struck by the music when we first meet Enfys Nest. And it was played later on again. I really like the “disruptive” voices - kids singing? It sounded to me less SWsy and a bit disharmonious which fits with Enfys. As I said, it’s rare I pay attention, but this one hit me.

@SanghaRen
That was one of my favorite things too.

@Moonlight13

Same here. I was struck by what sounded like a female choir, and thought "Take all my money, Walt Disney Records!"

I am now in possession of 3 tracks from the Solo soundtrack. The ones in question are called "The Marauders Arrive" and "Savareen Stand-Off." I also got the first track on the album, "The Adventures of Han," which is credited to John Williams, who finally gave Han a theme.

John Powell should be proud, he had to work fairly quickly because of reshoots as Michael Giacchino did on RO.

I'am maybe in minority here but I definitely can SEE Han's OT character's traits. With the obvious fact he's much younger in this installment. Ten years and some experience from the adolescence can make the slight change in every person not only a fictional character.

Han is impulsive very witty and clever but not wise. And he has the soft, golden heart. That's not something you learn to have, but rather what you really are.

He comes across as a rough scoundrel in the beginning of ANH - but he's more kind of guy who tends to believe in some image in himself than rather be what he really is.

Insisting in being a bad, tough guy who talks a lot and shows off is his character trait that dominates any movie he was part of form Solo and the OT to TFA. In all of this movies his true nature always comes to light despite himself.
It's not hard to believe that the his disappointment and heartbreak over Qi'ra led him to play a materialist, cold blooded scoundrel in ANH. Not mention a time gap between the two - which is left to speculation - but I really think that Han used this time to convince himself more in the scoundrel-outlaw-bad boy role he wants to play just to defend himself from further disappointments and emotional failures (I know everything looks to familiar when I think of his son - that's the same pattern through and through.).

Also, Kylo's weakness is same as Han's = aka ladies. Enfys Nest openly invites Han to join the rebellion. He kinda understands her motives and appreciates it but he refuses to be part of it - years later he joins the same rebellion not because he believes in the cause and suddenly becomes and ardent rebel. He does it because of another new temptation he can't resist: Leia.

I can get the fact that we all had that Harrison is Han mantra - and truth to be told Harrison made everything for Han to make a legend of me, but I'll disagree with everyone who claims that Alden did a poor job. He didn't. He's simply not Harrison Ford and that's all.

Moonlight13 wrote:

SanghaRen wrote:I saw it today. I was part of the people who love Han but did not feel the need to know more about his background and the trailers gave me no reason to be thrilled. I went to watch the movie because it’s a SW movie and I have now a reputation of SW fan to live up to

I still think the movie was not necessary and it’s a bit sad that some mysteries are gone e.g. how Han met Chewie. That being said, it is a very enjoyable movie and it does deserve more appreciation than it seems to receive.

I was entirely spoiled except for L3’s ending. I shed a couple of tears. I love her revolutionary side. What can I say, I am French. I think others mentioned it but Paul Bettany is one attractive baddie. I was hypnotized. The relationship Chewie/Han really works which was quite the crucial part. AE is a very likeable Han and I was part of the wary ones, but I fully accept him as Han #2. And Lando is just the icing on the cake. I was surprised by Qi’ra. I didn’t think I’d like her but I did. Actually the only thing that I did not like (at all) in the movie is the Maul scene.

Coming out from the movie I was thinking that I cannot really connect the OT Han with the SSWS Han - to me they do not fit - so I do not see the movie as OT Han’s background but more as a parallel story with another Han. A bit like Fury Road Mad Max against Mel Gibson Mad Max. And I am fine with it. I think I will watch it again and I am pretty sure I’ll buy the DVD - as opposed to R1 which is not part of my home video collection.

I am not a music expert and rarely pay attention to music in movies, but I was struck by the music when we first meet Enfys Nest. And it was played later on again. I really like the “disruptive” voices - kids singing? It sounded to me less SWsy and a bit disharmonious which fits with Enfys. As I said, it’s rare I pay attention, but this one hit me.

@SanghaRen
That was one of my favorite things too.

@Moonlight13

I love the Enfys Nest music! She gets her own opera when she comes on.  It actually reminded me of the rousing music Powell writes for Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon (love that music too).  

I love Enfys. She seems so sinister and sounds like Kylo when she is masked, but when she is unmasked, she is this young, fierce, beautiful girl. There are several parallels between her and Kylo. She's lovely,  but she will kill for her cause, and when she jumps down with that laser weapon, she is just glorious