Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 2018)

[Nolan]

It sure was a movie with younger versions of established characters. It was about what I expected, a whole lot of action and not a lot of substance. Very Michael Bay-ish. But it’s enjoyable, no reason for anyone to turn down seeing the movie. 

[Ronnie]

7 hours ago, Nolan said:

It sure was a movie with younger versions of established characters. It was about what I expected, a whole lot of action and not a lot of substance. Very Michael Bay-ish. But it’s enjoyable, no reason for anyone to turn down seeing the movie. 

I'm surprised to hear you compare this to Michael Bay films. I actually thought there was far less action than the average blockbuster and a lot more heart. Compared to say Infinity War which was literally just action setpiece after action setpiece, with very little else going for it.

[somme]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I'm surprised to hear you compare this to Michael Bay films. I actually thought there was far less action than the average blockbuster and a lot more heart. Compared to say Infinity War which was literally just action setpiece after action setpiece, with very little else going for it.

Won't get a chance to see it until next week but you've given me some hope.

[Charlie]

I quite enjoyed this. I wasn't really expecting to as I'd heard (from my hairdresser who's a huge fan) that if you prefer R1 then you probably wouldn't like Solo as much.

There were a few points that seemed to be totally glossed over though...

1. Han and Chewie making friends instantly seemed a bit odd.

2. Woody Harrellsons wife dying just happened and that was it. He didn't seem to care after the first 2 minutes.

[Nolan]

5 hours ago, Charlie said:

I quite enjoyed this. I wasn't really expecting to as I'd heard (from my hairdresser who's a huge fan) that if you prefer R1 then you probably wouldn't like Solo as much.

There were a few points that seemed to be totally glossed over though...

 

  Hide contents

 

1. Han and Chewie making friends instantly seemed a bit odd.

2. Woody Harrellsons wife dying just happened and that was it. He didn't seem to care after the first 2 minutes.

 

 

Spoiler

Also when Han and Chewie are “slaves” and in chains. Chewie wanted to tear Luke’s arms off when he tried to but chains on him in the original trilogy, Han had to do it.

I really doubt there wasn’t a fight to make it happen for this scene, Chewie never wanted to be chained again.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

Well i loved it, in fact i preferred it to the Last Jedi, it flelt like the Ant-man of the Star Wars universe, its just a shame its not doing so well, a lot of people seem to be giving it a miss out of dislike for TLJ when they should judge it on its own merit

 

Spoiler

FUCKING MAUL! nobody can deny Cannon now as it being just the cartoons, its mainline movie cannon baby

 

[Nolan]

1 hour ago, Agent Gibbs said:

Well i loved it, in fact i preferred it to the Last Jedi, it flelt like the Ant-man of the Star Wars universe, its just a shame its not doing so well, a lot of people seem to be giving it a miss out of dislike for TLJ when they should judge it on its own merit

 

  THAT revel (Hide contents)

FUCKING MAUL! nobody can deny Cannon now as it being just the cartoons, its mainline movie cannon baby

 

Spoiler

Sideline movie canon.

Frankly I don’t particularly care for this reveal or even Mauls character. He was cool in Phantom Menace as a powerful villain, but ultimately he was completely flat and barely even plot relevant.

And really, him being bisected and falling an untold distance down, then surviving. Whatever.

 

[Ronnie]

I love all four Disney films, but preference wise for me it's

Force Awakens > The Last Jedi > Solo > Rogue One

Force Awakens is just a fun adventure, even if it's completely derivative. Plot is pretty simple and the movie is all the better for it.
The Last Jedi is a really smart, multi layered film, even if the Luke thing is crazy divisive. A bit cluttered but the Rey/Kylo chemistry is a joy to watch
Solo was a lot of fun but at the same time, very forgettable in the grand scheme of things. A really good time though, and a great cast.
Rogue One I enjoyed it a lot but the characters are, with one or two exceptions, terrible. It's also a bit grim and missing a lot of the usual charm. I know, war story etc. still.

I feel really sorry for Rian Johnson, he had one hand tied behind his back thanks to Abrams exiling Luke on an island. I would have thought they'd sort the trilogy storyline early on instead of relying on various directors to come up with their own individual stories.

[Nolan]

Well said, though I may be in the minority, I enjoy the grimness of Rogue One. For years I’ve been a fan of the idea that at the end of the movie everyone dies. The protagonists can do everything right but that’s just how the chips fall. 

[Ronnie]

Another thing Rogue One has going for it, is that space battle. Holy fuck that blew me away. It felt like a continuation of ROTJ's, it was done in the exact same style, and 10x better than the computer-gamey, generic Force Awakens one.

[Julius]

8 hours ago, Ronnie said:

Another thing Rogue One has going for it, is that space battle. Holy fuck that blew me away. It felt like a continuation of ROTJ's, it was done in the exact same style, and 10x better than the computer-gamey, generic Force Awakens one.

TFA didn’t have a space battle  but I agree, Rogue One’s space battle was superbly directed, as was the entire third act of that film. It’s a shame it’s built on such rocky foundations, at least for me, when it comes to the first two acts  I love to rewatch Star Wars films, but I think it’s one of those which is difficult to return to again and again because I find it to be so lopsided. 

As for Solo: haven’t watched it. I’m seeing mixed-to-positive reactions here, but as a massive Star Wars fan, I wouldn’t feel any urge to rush out and see this film, but especially given the timing of it (during exam season). If this were Episode IX or something like Rogue One, I’d probably have seen it a few times by now, but I’m genuinely in no rush, and it might be the first time that I just wait for the blu-ray. @Agent Gibbs, I think that’s why it’s crashed and burned at the box office, on top of being surrounded on all sides by films of excellent quality, many of which are from under the same Mouse-owned roof. 

I don’t think that the casual audience is burned out on Star Wars if all that they watch are the films, but I do feel like I’m personally getting there. The Last Jedi was exhausting for me as a fan, but I ended up loving it; then Rebels ended a few months ago in superb fashion, and both of these pieces of storytelling had a plethora of characters that I have been invested in for years. 

The lack of emotional investment that I have in the Solo cast as a whole going into the film isn’t their fault, but I do hope that Disney and Lucasfilm learn a valuable lesson from this: in a world with the MCU, simply applying the Star Wars branding won’t cut it. A prequel depicting Han Solo’s rise isn’t compelling because the only people that I’m invested in here going in are Han, Lando, and Chewie, and I know that they all survive. Rogue One was easy to become invested in because the event that it depicted was one we were already invested in due to the original film’s setup. Both of these spin-off films have also had massive problems behind-the-scenes, which makes me worry about Lucasfilm not trusting their directors and writers. 

I just hope that they learn. The Last Jedi was proof that they’re willing to take (seemingly) enormous risks to shake up the foundation of the franchise, but that’s put to bed instantly when we then go back and get told the story of Han Solo, which, by comparison, is such a safe move.

I’m getting a lot of mixed signals from Lucasfilm is all I can say without having seen the film, but I’m not at all surprised that it’s performing so badly. I’ll probably try to see it if it’s still showing after my exams are finished, but if not... 

[Ronnie]

Disney finally deciding to market the film a mere two or three months before release probably didn't help either. I know they like to wait till the previous film is on Bluray before hyping the next one but still. I think it's the reason we're seeing Solo in May, so as to give Episode IX a year and a half to breathe. Speaking of, if you thought Solo feels safe (it is), I think IX will be even more so given Abrams+TLJ reaction.

You should definitely see Solo at the cinema though, it's a good film. The scene on the Falcon is great fun and had me on the edge of my seat. 

I actually quite liked the opening two acts of Rogue One, though jumping to about 4 different planets in the opening ten minutes was a bit convoluted. Once they're on Yavin though I think it gets a lot better, characters-apart.

Glad to finally see some love for Last Jedi. As a massive Star Wars fan it's really depressing reading the hate and contempt it's getting from most people. It's a lot to take in and I do think there was a bit too much going on (by the time we got to Crait I was exhausted), but I genuinely think it's a great film. The Luke thing is sad but like I said, Johnson can thank Abrams for that.

22 minutes ago, Julius Caesar said:

TFA didn’t have a space battle

It had about 20 seconds in space between Death Star Starkiller Base attack runs lol. I meant that and the battle on Takodana

Edited May 31, 2018 by Ronnie

[Julius]

5 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Disney finally deciding to market the film a mere two or three months before release probably didn't help either. I know they like to wait till the previous film is on Bluray before hyping the next one but still. I think it's the reason we're seeing Solo in May, so as to give Episode IX a year and a half to breathe. Speaking of, if you thought Solo feels safe (it is), I think IX will be even more so given Abrams+TLJ reaction.

You should definitely see Solo at the cinema though, it's a good film. The scene on the Falcon is great fun and had me on the edge of my seat. 

I actually quite liked the opening two acts of Rogue One, though jumping to about 4 different planets in the opening ten minutes was a bit convoluted. Once they're on Yavin though I think it gets a lot better, characters-apart.

Glad to finally see some love for Last Jedi. As a massive Star Wars fan it's really depressing reading the hate and contempt it's getting from most people. It's a lot to take in and I do think there was a bit too much going on (by the time we got to Crait I was exhausted), but I genuinely think it's a great film. The Luke thing is sad but like I said, Johnson can thank Abrams for that.

Yeah, that’s a good point. I suppose another reason for them to leave Solo in May is because they know that it wouldn’t perform anywhere as well as Mary Poppins Returns will this Christmas. I’m genuinely not sure what to think going into IX’s principal photography this summer, because I do feel like Abrams has a point to prove with the film. This is closing out the trilogy, so hopefully his biggest weakness - his “mystery box” philosophy of storytelling - doesn’t come to the fore as it dead with TFA. I feel like IX has to take some risks, because, although I understand from a storyteller’s point of view that Rey having a simple flat arc makes room for Kylo’s comparatively much more complex one, I still don’t understand the motivations driving these characters to do what they do, whereas that was crystal clear in the original trilogy, and even in the prequel trilogy.

Ben was sent off with Luke by his mother, wasn’t told about his grandfather’s true history as Darth Vader, and Luke acted in a regretful manner to help push him further away, but I don’t see how any of this drives him to want to rule the galaxy. Was Ben already showing evidence of his coming fall in training? Was he a violent, selfish and uncontrollable child? Because supplementary materials seem to paint him as happy as a child, and potentially frustrated under Luke’s guidance, but I feel like the film’s writers have so far been asking How did Ben fall? instead of Why did Ben fall? Probably doesn’t help any of the characters that there wasn’t a significant time gap between VII and VIII, because they haven’t had time to breathe and move in the wrong direction before they find their way. I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent in what is probably the wrong thread, but yeah: I just don’t see where they’re going to go with IX, whereas I knew exactly where they were going with III and VI. 

I’ll definitely be sure to check out Solo in cinemas, then. If anything, I suppose it’s just nice to see it on a bigger screen  

My problem with Rogue One’s first two acts is that they feel stitched together by a lot of fan service, which is great the first time around, but only has diminishing returns upon repeat viewings. The first ten or fifteen minutes are definitely the most confusing with all of the jumping around, and I really wasn’t a fan of the use of location cards, and the title card looked abysmal - like it was made in iMovie! I don’t think it really helps, in my case at least, that I find the final act to be leaps and bounds more cohesive and narratively engaging than the prior two, and I feel like I’m just waiting around for seventy or eighty minutes before things really get exciting. 

I expected substantial blowback going into The Last Jedi, because of the way that social media, hot takes and clickbait titles have dominated the film industry as of late, and also because Empire was relatively poorly received by critics back in its day, too. I went in expecting a film which would take multiple viewings to get my head around and thoroughly enjoy, and so I was very surprised when I came out of my first viewing incredibly on the fence about what I’d just seen. I literally would have given it a 5/10 if somebody asked me then and there for a score /10. 

I loved Rian’s way of storytelling before seeing the film, and I loved Looper (I feel like he’s be suitable for a live-action Akira adaption given his current CV), so I knew that I’d come around eventually, but it was certainly exhausting. If it wasn’t for those moments of stunning silence around halfway into the film, I think my views would have been leaning in the negative side of things after that first viewing. I’m glad that it (subjectively) gets better with each viewing, and that the film’s nuances and small winks come through the more that you watch it. 

It’s certainly up there with my favourite Star Wars media, and I can’t wait to see what Rian does with his trilogy. 

6 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

It had about 20 seconds in space between Death Star Starkiller Base attack runs lol. I meant that and the battle on Takodana

Yeah, I know what you meant  

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Julius Caesar said:

Yeah, that’s a good point. I suppose another reason for them to leave Solo in May is because they know that it wouldn’t perform anywhere as well as Mary Poppins Returns will this Christmas. I’m genuinely not sure what to think going into IX’s principal photography this summer, because I do feel like Abrams has a point to prove with the film. This is closing out the trilogy, so hopefully his biggest weakness - his “mystery box” philosophy of storytelling - doesn’t come to the fore as it dead with TFA. I feel like IX has to take some risks, because, although I understand from a storyteller’s point of view that Rey having a simple flat arc makes room for Kylo’s comparatively much more complex one, I still don’t understand the motivations driving these characters to do what they do, whereas that was crystal clear in the original trilogy, and even in the prequel trilogy.

Ben was sent off with Luke by his mother, wasn’t told about his grandfather’s true history as Darth Vader, and Luke acted in a regretful manner to help push him further away, but I don’t see how any of this drives him to want to rule the galaxy. Was Ben already showing evidence of his coming fall in training? Was he a violent, selfish and uncontrollable child? Because supplementary materials seem to paint him as happy as a child, and potentially frustrated under Luke’s guidance, but I feel like the film’s writers have so far been asking How did Ben fall? instead of Why did Ben fall? Probably doesn’t help any of the characters that there wasn’t a significant time gap between VII and VIII, because they haven’t had time to breathe and move in the wrong direction before they find their way. I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent in what is probably the wrong thread, but yeah: I just don’t see where they’re going to go with IX, whereas I knew exactly where they were going with III and VI. 

I’ll definitely be sure to check out Solo in cinemas, then. If anything, I suppose it’s just nice to see it on a bigger screen  

My problem with Rogue One’s first two acts is that they feel stitched together by a lot of fan service, which is great the first time around, but only has diminishing returns upon repeat viewings. The first ten or fifteen minutes are definitely the most confusing with all of the jumping around, and I really wasn’t a fan of the use of location cards, and the title card looked abysmal - like it was made in iMovie! I don’t think it really helps, in my case at least, that I find the final act to be leaps and bounds more cohesive and narratively engaging than the prior two, and I feel like I’m just waiting around for seventy or eighty minutes before things really get exciting. 

I expected substantial blowback going into The Last Jedi, because of the way that social media, hot takes and clickbait titles have dominated the film industry as of late, and also because Empire was relatively poorly received by critics back in its day, too. I went in expecting a film which would take multiple viewings to get my head around and thoroughly enjoy, and so I was very surprised when I came out of my first viewing incredibly on the fence about what I’d just seen. I literally would have given it a 5/10 if somebody asked me then and there for a score /10. 

I loved Rian’s way of storytelling before seeing the film, and I loved Looper (I feel like he’s be suitable for a live-action Akira adaption given his current CV), so I knew that I’d come around eventually, but it was certainly exhausting. If it wasn’t for those moments of stunning silence around halfway into the film, I think my views would have been leaning in the negative side of things after that first viewing. I’m glad that it (subjectively) gets better with each viewing, and that the film’s nuances and small winks come through the more that you watch it. 

It’s certainly up there with my favourite Star Wars media, and I can’t wait to see what Rian does with his trilogy. 

Yeah, I know what you meant  

I think the motivations of the principle characters are pretty clear to be honest, with perhaps the exception of Ben's fall to the dark side, but there's a whole other film to explain that (presumably). Rey's desire to be part of something bigger might be cliched but it's compelling enough and I personally LOVED the reveal that her parents were nobodies. I really can't understand the hate that revelation got. I think it's way better than some convoluted "She's a Kenobi" or some such.

I'm totally with you on Rogue One's use of title cards for each location. I hated that. Then again, when you jump around as much as it does early on, guess they're needed. The title card didn't really bother me though, I'm glad the spin off films don't go for the usual Episode title/fanfare/crawl. Think you'll prefer Solo's title, maybe.

It's funny when I saw TFA I thought the first half of the film was pretty much perfect and things fell apart towards the second half a bit. With Rogue One it was the opposite, the second half was much stronger than the first. Re-watching the latter though made me appreciate the scenes on Jedha and Eadu a lot more though but I can totally see what you mean.

I think opinion on TLJ will mellow in time, maybe not to the extent of Empire but I think the majority will move on from the hate in time. The problem is expectation, it's been so long between trilogies that we've all gotten in our head exactly what we think/want to happen, so when things play out differently, we're outraged. It took me a second viewing of the TLJ to really love it, once I was aware of where the plot was going I was able to appreciate it for what it is.

I think a big part of the appeal of this new trilogy are the characters. I think they've done an excellent job there. Rey and Kylo Ren are excellent and Finn, Rose, Poe, BB-8 et are great too.

[sumo73]

After watching The Last Jedi, I don't really mind missing some of this stuff out now (Solo, Kenobi, Yoda, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hut?....films).

[bob]

Saw it today. Was good.