Lando Calrissian: I hate you.
Han Solo: I know.
Solo: A Star Wars Story, Fits nicely into the Star Wars Universe giving us a solid origin of one of the most beloved characters in the saga. The film shows us how the man, myth, and legend of Han Solo began and how he got to be the scruffy looking nerfherder we all love him for. Yet the film struggles in some areas because its full of foreshadowing and fan service of the films before it making this film not fit in its own story but depends on a reliance of prior knowledge. Even so, it is not enough to kill this movie and is by no means a reason why it is doing poorly in the box office.
The Good:
It was very refreshing to see yet another Star Wars Story with out the intruding influence of Jedi or Sith. In a story telling world it is far to easy to get away with things when Space Wizards are amazing at everything and don't struggle with conflict like the rest of us do. That is why Han Solo was such an important piece of the puzzle because he does relate to the every man and the part of us that wants to be free. This theme continually came to the front the film and on occasion we had to smile when it did. Learning what we have in this story makes us definitely think more about Han's choices later on in the franchise and really appreciate those choices.
The Bad:
On the topic of those choices we can be frustrated with some of the story because of what happens at the climax of the film. I don't believe that he would have made the choices he did at the end of the movie so much. For me that takes away from what he does eventually do in Star Wars: A New Hope. With that in mind, I now reflect about how much of the film was reliant on prior knowledge and fan service in the film. I felt like it was a lot, and some if it was specifically for die hard fans who would catch certain actors making cameos. These are great and all but at the same time they do nothing for the story and don't hold any value besides a hat tip.
The Bottom Line:
Despite some of the issues I have this does not take away from the film as a whole. It satisfies the audience and we can love Han Solo in a whole different way now. I was happy to see his union of chewbacca, how he got the Millennium Falcon from Lando, and the famous Kessell run. I'm interested to know more about some of the other characters and I am curious to know if they will be appearing in the next Star Wars Stories. Time will tell or maybe it will leak. The reason this film might not be doing well is because of timing. A lot of big movies came out so it may have been difficult to justify the purchase. Don't let this one slip through the cracks.
I give it a 75%, a solid C grade.
Buy/Sell:
Definitely See this movie if you are a fan of Star Wars, Casual Fans will possibly like it more because they don't know anything about Han. The Hardcore fan might be a bit annoyed. Anyone who hated Star Wars: The Last Jedi Might not like it at all.