Review by John M. Delia, Jr.
One of the most famous characters to hit the silver screen and one of the most popular in the Star Wars Sega now has his origin story revealed. The Solo’s adventure begins and all of his legendary stories are brought to life. The dark criminal underworld, where scoundrels, thieves, and smugglers dare to roam is explained in this new Star Wars spin off.
The story begins with Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich), a homeless slave, on his home planet of Corellia. Here he is friends with Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) another indigent and together they are both under the control of Lady Proxima (Linda Hunt) a slave owner. Han is trying to find a way for both Qi’ra and himself to break away from the control of the despicable women they are currently under.
After a plan to escape fails, Han is forced to join the republic and tries to become a pilot. Here he finds himself in the middle of a hopeless battle as a foot soldier in the Empire’s Army. Looking for a way out, he happens on a scoundrel and smuggler in disguise named, Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). He quickly discovers that Tobias and his loyal friends, Val (Thandie Newton), and Rio Durant (Jon Favreau) are on a hired mission to get a shipment of iridium that is on a Conveyex transport. While trying to convince Tobias he belongs on the team, Han meets Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), a Wookiee that becomes his greatest ally and friend.
The story continues from there and includes the first meeting of Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), a notorious gambler, with his partner L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), and while searching for a fast ship, they discover he has the Millennium Falcon. Now commissioned and ordered on a job to steal a large shipment from the Crimson Dawn leader, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), things get a little rough for our hero’s. It also includes the true reason why Han gets the Falcon that made the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs.
The Kessel run refers to a hyperspace route that smugglers use to take spice from the spice mines of Kessel. This planet is surrounded by a Maw or an asteroid cluster encased in a nebula. The opposing gang known as the Pyke Syndicate hires smugglers to make the Kessel Run and are considered the preeminent spice dealers in the galaxy.
Director Ron Howard does an excellent job with the storyline and delivers it with a bang. His characters are fully explained by the events that occur and he makes it easy to follow the direction the story is moving. The actors are very believable and their performances are spectacular. Howard goes even further and puts together an outstanding special effects show on the screen. Every world, mountain, spaceship, and event is amazingly produced and displayed vividly in front of you on the big screen.
Since these events take place before the A New Hope, episode 4, and somewhere after the Attack of the Clones, episode 2, it gives you a real sense on how the republic gets formed and what the world is like without a true government presence. If you are a true Star Wars fan or just love Sci-fi Solo: A Star Wars Story will entertain you throughout, for everyone else you’ll be in awe as Solo wins your heart.
Final Comment: I based my grade for Solo: A Star Wars Story on the exceptional storyline, brilliant acting, breathtaking special effects, and an over-all impressive film. (5 out of 5 Stars).
Additional Film Information;
Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Paul Bettany.
Directed by: Ron Howard
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence.
Running Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes
Release Date: May 25, 2018
Distributed By: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Released In: Standard, 3D, IMAX, Digital, Dolby Vision, DTS