Solo: A Star Wars Story
2018
***½
Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Paul Bettany
On the planet Corellia, young Han Solo is separated from his lover Qi'ra, but he vows to come back for her. Three years later, Han is still trying to scrape enough money together to buy his own ship. When he joins a band of criminals who are planning to steal a valuable shipment of coaxium, his path unexpectedly crosses with Qi'ra. Rogue One was a grim space drama that grossed a billion dollars worldwide. The second movie in the Star Wars Anthology series is an enjoyable action romp which tanked at the box office. Go figure! Although the movie doesn't feature any usual Star Wars tropes, such as Jedis and lightsabers, the script by Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan doesn't spring many surprises. We learn Han Solo's backstory and see how he meets Chewbacca and acquires Millennium Falcon. Ron Howard replaced the original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and he stages several terrific action set pieces; the train heist is my personal favourite. Alden Ehrenreich gives a nice performance as the roguish hero.
