Solo User Reviews/Reactions for Solo: A Star Wars Story

Here's my short review:

Spoiler

Longer one to follow.

 

Am I the only one that really liked the score? Might be just because the main theme sounds similar to Dragon Roost Island from Wind Waker though.

 

Pretty good imo.. Choir got me though. Beautiful!

 

I need to listen to the isolated score to get a better feel of it. Didn't have a problem with it though.

 

I really like the score. Well worth a listen.

Also @zackm - you were wondering about the soylo brigade (who are often relying on hearsay because they're all refusing to see it) they're now outraged about the shower scene, "the giant penis monster that is a lady" and are claiming audiences cheered when L3 bought it because they couldn't stand the SJW agenda. These people have lost the plot. What a bunch of morons.

 

It's different from the other scores in parts - very Powell - but overall a cracking adventure score that blend in the Williams stuff well imo.

 

@Satipo

On the score, I simply think it would have hugely benefited from something more Morricone. Or something funkier, or rockier. The trailers were better than the film, IMO, and that was due to more appropriate music and better editing. I hope LFL doesn't treat the orchestral, Williams-esque scores as a sacred cow that all films must follow. That could really drag down future movies that are trying to be their own thing. Let the nature of each distinct entry dictate the musical choices. And let directors experiment.

Powell's score, in particular, was far too much of an emotional sledgehammer. Including during scenes where the emotions being expressed were already plainly obvious. To me, it almost felt like an insult to the actors at times. As if there was no faith in them carrying those scenes without Powell blaring a "have a warm fuzzy feeling!" note to the audience. It felt like the worst part of the Rogue One score (during Jyn's speech to the Council) was plastered over most of the movie, which incidentally seemed to be oddly inspirational notes in a film about criminals scoring loot. In Solo, the score seemed to be drowning out the natural beats of the scenes.

Re: Corellia, I actually agree 100%. To clarify, I think it definitely needed more time to marinate. It needed the homestead treatment in ANH, essentially. More time with Han living his miserable life. My point was that relative to the rest of the film, it felt the most authentic. Like actual human drama. A young guy and his girlfriend trying to get away from home, and being separated at an airport. Much of the remainder of the film, though fun, just didn't feel that human. Ultimately, I think Corellia and Savareen (and most of Dryden's yacht scenes) were my favorite bits because they took a little more time to make us care, and the behavior of the characters was dramatic rather than melodramatic (for the most part). But those scenes still could've been improved with more care and attention. That's what's difficult about this film. Even the highlights, for me, could have been much better.

But I'll have to see it again. My first viewing is almost always my worst.

 

Corellia needed the Rey on Jakku treatment.

Agree to disagree on the score

 

I've been waiting since 2005 to love another Star Wars film, and that day finally came. Not a fan of the last 3. TFA was just ANH copy. RO was an emo depression fest. TLJ? Well there are enough threads on why that movie was bad. But Solo? It was great! I'd say 8+/10.

Ron Howard worked magic. I'm
still wondering if the Lucas visits were still rumors? This film had a slight Lucas vibe to it.

I didn't 100% buy Alden as Han. He was shorter than almost everyone and we all know Han was generally pretty tall. Also didn't buy his facial expressions or how he delivered his lines. Honestly though, I still considered him Han. Not fan of Glover either, but totally was sold on his Lando.

I think what pushed me over the edge was the classic 3: Solo, Chewie and the Falcon. That was my true "Chewie We're Home" moment. Just classic awesome heroes at their best.

Not sure why people disliked the score. During the Falcon scenes, all the classic music was played. Totally gave me goosebumps.

The icing on the cake was that secret cameo scene. Playing homage to TPM?!?! So unbelievably awesome.

 

Yeah. Rey on Jakku, Luke on Tatooine. You know, show us a little more of the mundane stuff to contrast with the high adventure stuff later. As it stands, Han's life on Corellia looked just as exciting as his life with Beckett and the gang!

Re: the score, happy to agree to disagree. I mean, you're wrong, but that's OK. We can't all be right all the time.

 

I liked it a lot. The first act feels very awkward. I really like all the ideas with Corellia and Mimban but it feels truncated and doesn't get a chance to breathe, which then makes the much too long train heist feel endless. I'd rather cut down the train heist in exchange for more time on Corellia or Mimban. Especially Corellia, which is a beautifully grimy setting. The score was good, sometimes it felt out of place but I thought a number of parts were quite memorable and it was a huge improvement of Giacchino's awful Rogue One score and Williams' uninspired Last Jedi score, though not up to part with the Force Awakens score, as far as this new era goes. Most of the cast was solid, with the exception of Emilia Clarke. I have never seen her in a role where I have thought she was the best pick for the part, and that does not change today. She's very flat, and it makes a lot of the more romance-heavy sequences feel awkward. I liked a lot of the world building and how authentic it felt, the Kessel Run, L3, Han, Lando, Chewie, Beckett, Enfys Nest, much of the humour, and Bradford Young's cinematography. Easily second favourite from the Disney era of Star Wars.

 

Eh, I’m not sure about needing the Rey treatment. Han was under the thumb of criminal gangs and had dreams of being something more. I think that was enough. He really had to fight to escape, so that shows how oppressed he was.

 

agree, more Corellian adventures adventures would have been really great! i liked the feel of these scenes a lot.

 

Maybe the reason I liked this film is because I went in with zero expectations, only wanting a fun little popcorn movie with Star Wars flavor...and that's what I got. A few quick highlights...

The Good
-Han. While Alden's tenor was a little jarring, he had that smirk, that swagger, and that cockiness down pat. Han is just stumbling along, trying to get out of all his messes by the skin of his teeth, then nervously laughing about it later in a 'I meant to do that' kind of way.
-Paul Bettany and Donald Glover both knocked it out of the park. Bettany played a perfectly cold villain while Glover became Lando in about a minute flat. A pleasant surprise on the latter.
-Any moment with Han and Chewie together. Kind of an Androcles and the Lion angle with a dash of Daniel in the lion's den thrown in. Joonas could not be any more perfect as Chewbacca. The transition from Mayhew to Suatomo (sp?) was seamless.
-The look and feel of the film. While the editing could have been better and the cinematography was a large step down from TFA, RO, and especially TLJ, it worked. The color palate was dark, but not too dark, the worlds a nice balance between grungy and clean. No more dirt smeared on everyone's faces. The characters actually took baths.
-Favorite new character was easily Rio. My biggest gripe there was we didn't get nearly enough time to get to know him.
-Enfys Nest plot twist. Totally didn't see that one coming.

The Meh
-OK, fine. Han is human, and it's quite believable to know he's had several girlfriends in his life. But Han and Qui'ra were just...um, awkward. I saw no chemistry at all, and it just felt pointless knowing it doesn't work. The feeling I got seeing them was kind of like seeing old video of a parent with an old boy/girlfriend...who isn't your other parent. It was just weird.
-Corellia. Rushed and boring.
-Music. I kind of didn't notice it other than the callbacks to classic theme and the overbearing choral pieces. It felt kind of prepackaged...like the difference between a microwave budget meal and home cooking. Adequate, but not quite up to snuff. Need an isolated listen to judge it fairly.
-The relationship between Lando and his droid was just...uncomfortable. No matter how much personality it has, a droid isn't alive. It's like developing an intimate relationship with a laptop. And speaking of which...

The Bad
-L3 takes the trophy from Chopper as the most unlikeable 'good' droid ever. She's loud, obnoxious, and overbearing. I liken her to the family member who's also a hardcore PETA activist; giving lectures about the evils of fur, protesting outside McDonald's, and sneaking into a farm to turn all the animals loose. They've got good intentions, but their methods are...well, questionable to most.
-I'm going to say it...THAT cameo. It made an VERY interesting twist, but....GAH!!! The fanservice that guy is getting is ridiculous, plus what is someone who has not seen Rebels going to think? "Is he dead? Not dead? What the heck?"

Overall, a very fun movie, especially the latter half. It was great seeing Han and Chewie together again, and I walked out of the theater feeling fairly satisfied. Han's story now has a full arc, and the biggest and best surprise of this movie is that it made me love Han Solo even more. Someone used the term 'palate cleanser', which is very apt. If TLJ was a four-course meal of exotic foods that not everyone liked, Solo is the vanilla ice cream you get after eating your vegetables. Inoffensive, not necessarily needed, but something almost everyone can like.

 

I liked L3.

 

This movie was a love letter to Star Wars/Han Solo fans. I think this movie may make up to those who were disappointed with Han in TFA and his outcome. We got to see a different perspective of the character and an actor who fully embraces him!

 

Without L3, the Kessel job would have been a big nothing.

 

I thought she was fun, and I liked her bond with Lando. A good addition and very different to the other droids so far.

 

Well, I'm not a Han Solo fan and I loved it. I really wasn't planning on seeing the movie until I saw one of the trailers, then I got kinda excited. I thought this would be a great movie for fleshing out the Star Wars Universe, and it is a heist movie. I love the idea of a heist movie in the Star Wars Universe, and I love the idea of continuing to expand what a Star Wars Movie "is" or looks like. I was not disappointed. I throughly enjoyed myself. I loved the costumes, the new characters, and all the sets.

My only complaint is, and this is a really petty complaint, other than Kessel and Corellia, I had no idea which planet they were on. I found myself wanting title cards whenever they changed planets. Loved the nods to the Prequels and the Clone Wars. I felt like I could have missed some Rebels nods; I wasn't a fan of the show so I don't know if there were any nods to that show in the movie. Also I wished we knew what battle Han was fighting with the Empire. Maybe that was a reference I missed because of not knowing what planet they were on. Loved Chewie!

Spoiler

Woody Harrelson was great! I wished his character was still around in universe. I would have loved to see him again.

I liked Lando and L3 a lot. I'm not much of a Donald Glover fan but he grew on me as Lando. I'm disappointed we didn't get more Lando. I was also disappointed they had Lando cheat at cards. Land doesn't cheat. I loved the droid/slave rebellion. It was so funny but I loved how it worked in the old EU concepts of droids as slaves and the idea of the main character freeing slaves. I also loved that L3 is now part of the Millennium Falcon, but I did kinda shed a tear during that whole part of the movie. From the time she got shot and Lando went to go get her, until she was integrated in the ship, I was mourning her. The whole sequence was emotional to me.

I wish we had gotten more depth and backstory on Q'ira after being left on Corellia. I feel like one day she's going to be running Crimson Dawn(?).

Question for anyone in the know, has Crimson Dawn replaced Black Sun?

After seeing the movie, I get why the directors and tone of the movie changed. I don't think Solo would work as a straight comedy. It's a heist movie, an adventure story, and an origin story. So even while there are comedic elements in the movie, I don't think the movie would have been satisfying as an origin story if it were a comedy. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I think I'll probably enjoy it more the second time I see it. It was a fun Star Wars romp without all the galaxy hanging in the balance consequences. I really liked it.

Reading a few of the posts on the board, I hope the overall speculation is correct. I hope we get more movies with the Solo characters and actors. They would be fun to watch.

bran

 

I could have done without an explanation for Han's name, I have to say.

 

I heard complaints that L3 was too much like K2SO, and was pleasantly surprised to see how distinct she was. Great addition. The droids of the Disney era are all winners, so far.

The Solo name thing was authentic, IMO, because it echoes the experience of a lot of immigrants in modern history. And I found Han's long pause after being asked who his people were, followed by "I have no people" to be quite moving. His loneliness is palpable there. This is part of why I find the opening to be the most effective part of the film. It's got blood and guts, and Han simply seems more human in it. Later, though I love Alden's Han all the way through, he's a bit more of an archetype.

 

Agreed. All distinct. All add something. If anything I wanted more with L3, Rio and Val. Maybe not Rio. But the other two definitely went out before we got to know them enough (IMO anyway).

 

Agreed. I knew Val was going to die early (from spoilers) but I was shocked at how quickly L337 was dispatched. She joins, they go to Kessel, and she dies.

I expected to dislike Rio (based on the voice), but he turned out to be an amusing conversationalist. Wish he stuck around for the next heist, at least.

 

oof, he was practically melting from those blaster holes lol