Solo: A Star Wars story collector thread

[Tom B.]

I'm wondering if this might turn out to be kind of a Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, where the lead is forgettable, but it's still an entertaining flick that's carried by a strong supporting cast.

Also, someone re-cut the Solo trailer and set it to the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage," and oh my. (Yeah, I know they did this for the Star Trek reboot, so it's a bit derivative. Still a big improvement over the original version of the trailer, though.)

[JasonEvans]

Ok, they finally seem to be getting the marketing right. The new trailer looks pretty good. Most of the focus seems to be on the side characters, but that is ok.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Ok, they finally seem to be getting the marketing right. The new trailer looks pretty good. Most of the focus seems to be on the side characters, but that is ok.

Ok. I'm voting for it now.

[BD80]

Ok, they finally seem to be getting the marketing right. The new trailer looks pretty good. Most of the focus seems to be on the side characters, but that is ok.

I've got a really good feeling about this!

[JNort]

I've got a really good feeling about this!

I'm still nervous but it looks much improved

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Ok, they finally seem to be getting the marketing right. The new trailer looks pretty good. Most of the focus seems to be on the side characters, but that is ok.

Honestly, the movie doesn't look bad. My biggest concern is that Han looks like the weakest link. Maybe if they had just named the movie "Lando's Smuggler Squad" people would be happier with it.

[JasonEvans]

There very little chance Solo is as good as this Star Wars Arrested Development parody:

[Mal]

There very little chance Solo is as good as this Star Wars Arrested Development parody:

That's awesome. I don't even get the diving Pete Rose joke, but it made me laugh anyway.

Re: the trailer, agreed that it doesn't look nearly as troubled as all the insider talk did. Then again, that's two minutes out of 120+. I don't quite grasp everyone's critique of the Solo actor based on what I'm seeing (which, admittedly, is just a bunch of one to two second clips of him reciting punch lines). I guess he doesn't seem to just ooze the sort of raffish coolness that Harrison Ford did, but he's playing a young guy just starting out rather than a seasoned intergalactic rogue. I'll cut him some slack until watching the full movie. Maybe he's terrible at dialogue that stretches more than 10 words and where he has to actually interact with another actor.

Some of whatever the result is, is going to be the fault of, or should be credited to, the script. It seems like, from the trailer alone, the Han character is starting as an eager puppy dog and has to become grizzled and sarcastic and self-absorbed through experience (as opposed to having a rough backstory, and introduced here as someone who obviously will turn out to be the guy we eventually see in Mos Eisley shooting a rival who has the drop on him and walking away like nothing happened). Episode IV Han had an actual character arc built in for him, with a redemption moment. It's all about him until it's not, and he gets to save the day at the end of the movie. It was a really well written character. He's much less interesting after that, though. There wasn't enough time in the story to put much focus on his ongoing struggle between maintaining his carefree life of selfishness and joining the rebellion for real, or to script an actual on-screen romance with Leia. So he became a one-liner machine, a good one, but not as interesting. JJ Abrams tried to recapture some of that initial internal conflict in Han in Force Awakens, but it felt forced and just left people wondering what exactly happened in the Han-Leia get married and raise a family 20 year gap.

On another note, I've come to the conclusion that Woody Harrelson is a confusing actor. He's great at times and he's terrible at times, without a whole lot of in between, and I can't figure out any pattern of which type of roles work for him and which don't. He was awesome in True Detective and White Men Can't Jump as very different types of characters, but I couldn't stand him in Natural Born Killers and was actually underwhelmed by his performance in The People v. Larry Flynt despite the Oscar nom. And he was DREADFUL in War for The Planet of The Apes. But he looks compelling here.

[OldPhiKap]

That's awesome. I don't even get the diving Pete Rose joke, but it made me laugh anyway.

Re: the trailer, agreed that it doesn't look nearly as troubled as all the insider talk did. Then again, that's two minutes out of 120+. I don't quite grasp everyone's critique of the Solo actor based on what I'm seeing (which, admittedly, is just a bunch of one to two second clips of him reciting punch lines). I guess he doesn't seem to just ooze the sort of raffish coolness that Harrison Ford did, but he's playing a young guy just starting out rather than a seasoned intergalactic rogue. I'll cut him some slack until watching the full movie. Maybe he's terrible at dialogue that stretches more than 10 words and where he has to actually interact with another actor.

Some of whatever the result is, is going to be the fault of, or should be credited to, the script. It seems like, from the trailer alone, the Han character is starting as an eager puppy dog and has to become grizzled and sarcastic and self-absorbed through experience (as opposed to having a rough backstory, and introduced here as someone who obviously will turn out to be the guy we eventually see in Mos Eisley shooting a rival who has the drop on him and walking away like nothing happened). Episode IV Han had an actual character arc built in for him, with a redemption moment. It's all about him until it's not, and he gets to save the day at the end of the movie. It was a really well written character. He's much less interesting after that, though. There wasn't enough time in the story to put much focus on his ongoing struggle between maintaining his carefree life of selfishness and joining the rebellion for real, or to script an actual on-screen romance with Leia. So he became a one-liner machine, a good one, but not as interesting. JJ Abrams tried to recapture some of that initial internal conflict in Han in Force Awakens, but it felt forced and just left people wondering what exactly happened in the Han-Leia get married and raise a family 20 year gap.

On another note, I've come to the conclusion that Woody Harrelson is a confusing actor. He's great at times and he's terrible at times, without a whole lot of in between, and I can't figure out any pattern of which type of roles work for him and which don't. He was awesome in True Detective and White Men Can't Jump as very different types of characters, but I couldn't stand him in Natural Born Killers and was actually underwhelmed by his performance in The People v. Larry Flynt despite the Oscar nom. And he was DREADFUL in War for The Planet of The Apes. But he looks compelling here.

FWIW Woody was great in Three Billboards Outside Ebbings, Missouri recently.

Very good in No Country for Old Men too, although small role.

But absolutely agree. Inconsistent, and usually on one extreme or the other.

[fuse]

Starting to become irrationally excited about this movie.
Perhaps I have found a new hope

[OldPhiKap]

Starting to become irrationally excited about this movie.
Perhaps I have found a new hope

I hope that the Disney Empire does not strike back.

[luburch]

Premiered last night. Variety gathered a collection of reactions. Nearly all have been positive.

[JasonEvans]

Review on the radio... here is my appearance on 680 The Fan in Atlanta this morning talking about Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story... with bonus content about the Atlanta Hawks NBA draft decision of Marvin Bagley or Jaren Jackson Jr.

https://soundcloud.com/jason-evans-1...s-on-the-radio

-Jason "I also got into an argument with one of the radio hosts about how good Jayson Tatum will be... but that was not included in this clip" Evans

[devildeac]

Review on the radio... here is my appearance on 680 The Fan in Atlanta this morning talking about Deadpool 2 and Solo: A Star Wars Story... with bonus content about the Atlanta Hawks NBA draft decision of Marvin Bagley or Jaren Jackson Jr.

https://soundcloud.com/jason-evans-1...s-on-the-radio

-Jason "I also got into an argument with one of the radio hosts about how good Jayson Tatum will be... but that was not included in this clip" Evans

Dang, Jason, how many threads are going to be blessed with this post?

[JasonEvans]

Dang, Jason, how many threads are going to be blessed with this post?

Well, it covers three topics

[OldPhiKap]

Dang, Jason, how many threads are going to be blessed with this post?

Well, it covers three topics

You should have mentioned beer. That would have been an easy pick-up.

[bjornolf]

So, Jason, away from the radio, what did you think of the movie in more detail?

[JasonEvans]

So, Jason, away from the radio, what did you think of the movie in more detail?

Yeah, sorry, the radio guys don't let me do much detail. Here are the notes I took with me to the radio interview:

This was a really troubled production… Ron Howard took over and the lead actor, Alden Ehrenreich, was so bad they had to give him acting lessons and reshoot some scenes. So, my expectations were low. Plus, the Star Wars universe has had its share of misses – Attack of the Clones, The Phantom Meance, Return of the Jedi doesn’t exactly hold up. So, I went in with fairly low expectations... but this is a Star Wars film and all the recent Star Wars movies have been pretty solid. I would say it barely met my expectations, but didn’t really exceed them.

This is basically a caper film, the team of lovable bandits have to steal a priceless cache of hyperdrive fuel for a ruthless mobster who will kill them if they fail. But, for a caper movie ti does not spell out the capers all that well and the execution of the robberies isn't clever or special. I don't know if Oceans 11 and other films like that have spoiled this for us, but the caper part of the plot is very dull and rudimentary.

There was plenty of action and a decent number of humorous moments – most of which are already in the trailers. You can tell what Lord and Miller were going for and it was not a bad idea, it just probably wasn't a true Star Wars movie which was a problem.

The film really tries to provide a lot lot lot of fan service. In fact, I think that's the only reason they made this movie because that is all this is. We have to see all these legendary moments in Han Solo’s life – when he met and became friends with Chewbacca, when he won the Millennium Falcon in a game of intergalactic poker, how he became a smuggler, when he made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs. But the film doesn’t do a good job of weaving all of this into a cohesive plot. Lots of stuff happens because the movie needs to make it happen to fit our notion of who Han Solo and the other characters are, not because it feels natural or makes sense in this story.

Alden Ehrenreich is borderline awful… he constantly smirks and acts absurdly overconfident. It is like the only thing he can do. He rarely displays an honest emotion. I get that Han is confident, but this version of Han borders on stupid. It turned me off. Lando (Donald Glover) isn't in the film all that much and I never really got much of a handle on him. Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) has confusing motivations. I'm still not sure what we are supposed to think of her character in the end. Same with Woddy Harrelson's Beckett. The characters are all just there... I never felt like we got a good understanding of their motivations or personality. None of the characters are as memorable or interesting as several characters in Rogue One.



In many respects, this is a classic Ron Howard film – competent and not a disaster, but not at all edgy or noteworthy. You smile some, you are thrilled some, but you also scratch your head wondering what is going on at times and you never, ever become immersed in what is on screen. You watch, but you don’t feel much of anything. I yawned several times in the first third of the movie.

I know Star Wars fans will see it and they won’t hate it. But, if you missed it, you would not be missing anything essential. In fact, for as much as they wanted to provide fan service, I think they did a lousy job of really being true to who Han Solo is. Remember that in Star Wars, and even at the beginning of Empire, his name is Solo for a reason – he’s out for #1. So, this movie either needs to show him as that kind of character or explain why he becomes that kind of character… but it doesn’t. Instead, he’s constantly worried about others and wants to help folks who are fighting for what is right and honorable. That’s not the Han Solo we know! That is what he eventually becomes in Empire or Jedi, but that is not where he starts his journey. This movie wants him to be a hero, but Han Solo is not a do the right thing kind of guy. We love him despite his faults, but this movie won't let his faults come to the surface because they want to play it safe and not take risks. As a result, the film is like a piece of white toast... it isn't good, it isn't bad, it is just there. If you are hungry, it makes you not hungry but you don't enjoy the experience of eating.

-Jason "in the pantheon of Star Wars films, it isn't as bad as Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. It may be a little bit better than Revenge of the Sith, but doesn't reach Return of the Jedi or any of the more recent films, IMO" Evans

[-jk]

My 14 yo (star wars loving) son hasn't been bugging me to see it.

Enough said?

-jk

[OldPhiKap]

My 14 yo (star wars loving) son hasn't been bugging me to see it.

Enough said?

-jk

My 14yo (Star Wars loving) son saw the various trailers, on line and in the theatre, and said “meh.”

Yup.