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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Solo What did you think of the opening?

Discussion in 'Anthology' started by HaloWithStyle, May 30, 2018.

  1. TCF-1138

    TCF-1138 Anthology/Fan Films/NSA Mod & Ewok Enthusiast star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Sep 20, 2002
    I liked it. Didn't love it, but it worked. I'm just happy that the Anthology movies each have their different openings. The crawls are for the Saga movies, which is a good thing IMO, so the blue text was an interesting choice. I prefer the RO opening, but again, I'm just glad they're doing something different.
     
  2. DarthHass

    DarthHass Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 20, 2004
    In the right direction -- but I need the crawl!

    Just....make it crawl people
     
  3. darkspine10

    darkspine10 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Dec 7, 2014
    I thought the blue text was a good compromise from the standard yellow crawl with bombastic music, which really wouldn't have fit the tone of the film. I hope other anthologies use the same intro.

    Overall, I think it was a bit unnecessary for this film though. The information in the text was conveyed within about 2 minutes in the film, and since it's not trying to homage old serials like the classic crawls, the text is just pointless. It could work for other films though, I just thought for this setup it wasn't needed.

    I still prefer Rogue One's opening though, where the Cold Open is essentially the crawl, followed by the titles.
     
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  4. MotivateR5D4

    MotivateR5D4 Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 20, 2015
    I didn't think the opening was very strong. Mainly because I thought Alden's performance fell flat during it. I'm thinking the opening sequence might have been the first scenes filmed and the reasoning for why they creators expressed concern over Alden's performance.

    Because after that, from the moment the time jump places you right in the middle of the action, I was pretty enthralled by the rest of the movie and came away feeling very good about it.
     
  5. JediDotNet

    JediDotNet Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    Seen it 3 times now and really feel they decided to go with a non-crawl crawl. Ok but a regular crawl would work better. Really would love to see RO and Solo reissued with actual crawls. The crawl in Star Wars sets it up better. Gets the audience engaged and ready.
     
  6. Ender_and_Bean

    Ender_and_Bean Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    May 19, 2002
    I liked it. Using the familiar font and color was a nice choice.

    Bladerunner
    Escape from New York

    Came to mind.
     
  7. DarthWolvo23

    DarthWolvo23 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 30, 2005
    I'm glad the openings of the Story films don't follow the same pattern as the Saga films.

    The Saga films should be kept as a unique series.
     
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  8. Gamma626

    Gamma626 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 6, 2014
    The opening was decent. Definitely flows better on a second watch. Part of the problem for some people is probably that Han is very... not Han in the opening ten minutes. He has some wit, but we also see him get incredibly emotional at the spaceport, something the Harrison Solo never really did.
     
  9. Plan741

    Plan741 Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    Yeah I liked it a lot. Very different, which I want from the Star Wars Story line. Reminds me of the Clone Wars a bit. Each episode would be narrated like the old news reels during WW2. I like a different approach to the expected theme. Rogue One just flashed on screen straight to a planet. It was stark and austere. Solo had bits of Blade Runner and a little Mad Max in its opening and that I liked because hey Mad Max and Blade Runner!

    As for the sequence, you can't get more thrilling! This is the best speeder chase by far and the effects were tops. Remember when Lucas had to put Vaseline on the footage of Lukes speeder to cover the wheels? Wow. That seemed like yesterday
     
  10. BigAl6ft6

    BigAl6ft6 Chosen One star 8

    Registered:
    Nov 12, 2012
    I think the whole opening is great, really doesn't allow the audience to catch their breath until.... what, Chewie and Han in the shower about 20 minutes later? I will say I don't get the movie is badly paced complaint, like, at all.

    Han and Qi'Ra are kind of acting like cliche moody, angsty us-against-the-world teenagers in the opening but I think that is very deliberate.

    As for the title cards, I will admit I like how the Anthology films don't use the title crawl but using title cards just seems a bit odd. BUT it did have a Blade Runner vibe, which works for the setting (also Harrison Ford reference!) and it wasn't actually enough words to be a full Star Wars Crawl. Maybe a paragraph or so.
     
  11. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    It didn't start in space this time.
     
  12. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    I loved it. And the first time we actually see space is when Han has freed himself from both the White Worms and the Empire which I thought was a nice touch.
     
  13. All_Powerful_Jedi

    All_Powerful_Jedi Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 12, 2003
    As a fan, I liked finally seeing Corellia on-screen, and the little glimpses into the Empire's rule that we've been getting from both this and Rogue One. I do agree with the complaints that everything was shot too dark. It was really hard to see at certain points.

    If the movie didn't try to do too much, I actually would have liked to stay there a bit longer so that it's a bigger deal when he finally left the planet. The Qi'Ra story kinda doesn't work because it's such a non-issue when they're just reunited later. A little more time with them rather than this "fast-paced boom-boom getcha outta there" chase scene before anything emotionally resonates thing they did kinda hurt things out of the gate.
     
  14. Lordban

    Lordban Isildur's Bane star 7

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2000
    Stylistically, the opening not-crawl was nice. I have a bit of an issue with "it is a lawless time" under the Empire... :p Did like the opening sequences on Corellia, and I'll admit I grinned when I heard the Imperial march being used for PR :p Qi'ra looking mostly harmless would be my only serious complaint considering what she is three years later.
     
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  15. themoth

    themoth Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2015
    Honestly, I think it's one of the best openings to a SW film ever. The most entertaining, anyway. Loved everything on Corellia.
     
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  16. Taylore

    Taylore Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Mar 14, 2017
    I, for one, liked having the stage set with the opening text. We do meet Lady Proxima in short order, but to be honest I'm not sure that I wouldn't have been momentarily confused by the situation without the primer, and as it plays out I found myself in instant suspense waiting to see the mentioned things with my own eyes, and then able to really focus on the unfolding story without having to interpret the scenario on the fly.
     
  17. Darth Smurf

    Darth Smurf Small, but Lethal star 6

    Registered:
    Dec 22, 2015
    I still prefer the opining crawl
     
  18. DarthWolvo23

    DarthWolvo23 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 30, 2005
    I agree about the lawless time line. Seems like a weird thing to say under the Empire without explaining a bit more the state of the Empire and the criminal organisations
     
  19. Anakin's Daddy

    Anakin's Daddy Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 13, 2002
    I liked it. I don't know how necessary all the text was, but I didn't really have a problem with it. I really like that the normal crawl is only used for the saga films. I thought that the text using the same blue font was the way to go and I think that this should be the new standard for the spinoffs.
     
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  20. whostheBossk

    whostheBossk Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 16, 2002
    Would have liked it to start in space and a pan down to Corellia. Maybe show a Star Destroyer and then Han on ground level with the speeder. Lady Proxima was different as I would have liked a different alien, but the chase scene with Moloch was great.
     
  21. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    This was how I felt too. The opening scene was good, and it made the text unnecessary. I'd prefer any text to be in the form of an actual opening crawl, and to only appear in the episodic Saga movies. For an Anthology movie, I prefer the way Rogue One did it.
     
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  22. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    While I agree we don't necessarily need the text to understand the situation I think it's essential to building the tension in that first scene. The text, the music and Alden's performance really work together to sell Han's desperation. So in that way I do think it was needed.
     
  23. EHT

    EHT Manager Emeritus star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 13, 2007
    I definitely agree about the music and his performance, but I think those are enough clues about the tension, and the following scenes quickly show the situation that the crawl talked about. So it would kind of be like RO having opening text to tell you that "the Erso family has been hiding on a secluded planet, but an old acquaintance from the Empire has now found them...".
     
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  24. Darth Chiznuk

    Darth Chiznuk Superninja of Future Films star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 31, 2012
    But without the text it would go straight from "A long time ago..." to Han hotwiring the speeder. There would be no room for the music to build the tension to that first spark. I liken it to the start of a race. It slowly builds the tension up up up until... BAM Han is off with speeder! Plus it immediately puts us in Han's shoes. Before we ever get to Proxima's base we know that Han is desperately trying to get out of his situation.
     
  25. wobbits

    wobbits Force Ghost star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 12, 2017
    I liked it. I felt like it was short and sweet. The text gave just enough to get the film going with the other elements in the first scene.
     
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