*SPOILER* SOLO A StAR WaRS StorY *SPOILER THREAD* *SPOILERS IN HERE*

[Macleod]

7 minutes ago, The Futurist said:

To be honest, I thought that was a cousin of Darth Maul.

I was thinking, too...is this just another member of his species?  I was so thrown off by the whole thing that I couldn't concentrate on the last five minutes of the movie.  I'm a film fundamentalist -- if it doesn't happen in the movie world, it doesn't exist it me, so I find this a prime example of appealing to fanboys at the expense of logical storytelling...but I guess I'm in the minority.  It's yet another sign to me that no 'death' is permanent in storytelling anymore...and that's troubling. 

[Chaz]

59 minutes ago, Macleod said:

I was thinking, too...is this just another member of his species?  I was so thrown off by the whole thing that I couldn't concentrate on the last five minutes of the movie.  I'm a film fundamentalist -- if it doesn't happen in the movie world, it doesn't exist it me, so I find this a prime example of appealing to fanboys at the expense of logical storytelling...but I guess I'm in the minority.  It's yet another sign to me that no 'death' is permanent in storytelling anymore...and that's troubling. 

The story of his return is actually pretty thrilling on the Clone Wars TV show. 

 

His final demise in Star Wars Rebels was also great. I approved of his inclusion.

[Porthos]

I'll Lucasfilm credit for one thing.  They aren't fucking around with this Unified Storytelling bit.

 

If I hadn't been spoiled about Darth Maul, I might have said "Holy Shit" loudly in the theater.  As it was, I did hear a couple of gasps.

 

I never thought that LFL would have the cajones to put Maul in a feature film without tedious and banal exposition.  And doubly so for Lawrence Kasdan  That they ripped that fucking bandaid right off and dared the audience to accept it was a brave move.  And, for me at least, one that worked 100%.

 

Some might bitch that they weren't told how Maul survived.  Maybe that's happened in this thread.  My answer is: It's unimportant to this film.  He's not a central character to the film so answering how he survived in TPM just isn't important to the tale being told.  At worst it's a mystery that folks are supposed to wonder about.  A plot thread to be picked up elsewhere.

 

But since the answer is literally one click away on Netflix....

 

As for the fates of the characters...  I can take or leave the L3 bit being integrated into the Falcon.  Heard rumors about that, but I just can't say I care one way or the other.  Really appreciated how they handled Enfys Nest and I'd like to see more of her.

 

In fact, I really liked the characterization of just about everyone in the film.  I didn't bother to try to compare and contrast Alden with Harrison.  I just accepted him as a younger version of Han and got on with it.

 

The biggest gripe I might have about this film, and gripe is too strong of a word but I don't feel like looking for another, is that it doesn't really reach the highs of the more recent Disney era SW films.  As I said in the main thread, it's not an epic and it doesn't try to be.

 

In many ways, it's a character piece.  One that studies Han, Beckett, and Qi'ra.  That, along with the action adventure vibe, means that in many ways this IS a smaller film with smaller stakes.  And it's intended to be one.  As such I can't fault it for not trying to be an epic like the other three SW films.  But it does slightly affect my grade.

 

Perhaps the best way to describe the film is:  Enjoyable and pleasant all the way through. If that seems like damning with faint praise, it's not meant to be.  People snicker at the word fun, but, well, it was fun.  Pretty much the definition of a popcorn film.

 

It's something that most fans should enjoy, IMO.  Don't even have to check expectations at the door.

 

So, as I said in the main thread, 8.5/10 sounds about right.  A good tale and one I'm happy was told.  Hopefully there will be more along these lines.

 

...

 

Just make sure you get the right director hired first so you don't have to re-film a ton of the movie.

Edited May 25, 2018 by Porthos

[Chewy]

It's pretty good. Like it's a perfectly adequate version of what it is, passes the time. Has a couple really fun bits. Alden never quite clicked for me and Glover is kinda forcing it and also wasted. Honestly don't really think there's all that much to say about it, it's not bad at least!

[Porthos]

Oh yeah.  I think the chances of Ahsoka Tano showing up in a movie just shot up by about 1 million percent.

 

So on that score alone, this film gets a Thumbs Up.

[Orestes]

5 minutes ago, Chewy said:

It's pretty good. Like it's a perfectly adequate version of what it is, passes the time. Has a couple really fun bits. Alden never quite clicked for me and Glover is kinda forcing it and also wasted. Honestly don't really think there's all that much to say about it, it's not bad at least!

Thats pretty much my reaction, though I mightve liked Glover a bit more. I'd give it a solid B.

[Webslinger]

This still really felt like a Lord/Miller movie in a few scenes. Whenever the characters get to let loose and banter, their influence is clear despite the switch behind the camera. If only Ron Howard had thrown in a random dolphin noise at some point... 

 

Having now seen the full, finished product, I'm at a loss trying to figure out why Lucasfilm thought it would be a good idea to hire two unconventional, improvisational directors to shoot a fairly straightforward script - let alone go so deep into production before deciding that a change needed to be made.

[Gamora]

19 minutes ago, Porthos said:

I'll Lucasfilm credit for one thing.  They aren't fucking around with this Unified Storytelling bit.

 

If I hadn't been spoiled about Darth Maul, I might have said "Holy Shit" loudly in the theater.  As it was, I did hear a couple of gasps.

 

I never thought that LFL would have the cajones to put Maul in a feature film without tedious and banal exposition.  And doubly so for Lawrence Kasdan  That they ripped that fucking bandaid right off and dared the audience to accept it was a brave move.  And, for me at least, one that worked 100%.

 

Some might bitch that they weren't told how Maul survived.  Maybe that's happened in this thread.  My answer is: It's unimportant to this film.  He's not a central character to the film so answering how he survived in TPM just isn't important to the tale being told.  At worst it's a mystery that folks are supposed to wonder about.  A plot thread to be picked up elsewhere.

 

But since the answer is literally one click away on Netflix....

I was shocked when Maul showed up as well, it was pretty cool. And I like how this seemed like it'd be the first SW movie without a lightsaber in it but then that happened. Can't break the streak. That's a good point about them not explaining how he's still alive after he died in TPM; I haven't watched whichever cartoon it was that he came back in but I did know about it so I wasn't completely confused about it.

 

Regarding L3 I was surprised by what happened with her, if only because she's still alive and kicking in the novel that just came out, Last Shot. I did like how Lando risked his life to save her though, that was a touching moment. And Enfys Nest! She didn't get a lot but I wasn't expecting a ton from her anyway, but the turn her character took was a good one and I can see why the actor was signed for more films (whether or not those actually happen).

 

You're right about it not being epic but that that wasn't what they were going for anyway, which is so true and there's nothing wrong with it. Not everything can or should be, so it was a nice change of pace and I appreciated it.

[The Futurist]

Almost forgot :

 

Han Shot First

 

 

[Porthos]

8 minutes ago, Gamora said:

You're right about it not being epic but that that wasn't what they were going for anyway, which is so true and there's nothing wrong with it. Not everything can or should be, so it was a nice change of pace and I appreciated it.

One thing I was pleasently pleased with: They didn't try to grind Han Solo down into miserable, cynical dust.  That was one one true fear in this film.

 

Well, I did have a second.  I am VERY glad there was no fridging in this film.

 

Yes, Val and L3 died (Well maybe not L3, as that might be a bit more complicated as Lando could have extracted her offscreen).  But they both died via their own choices.  Val had a wonderful moment of heroic sacrifice that I am ALWAYS a sucker for.  And L3 "died" in a firefight while championing a cause near and dear to her electronic heart.

As I said to a board member via PM, I'm all about Agency.  And every character had full agency in this film.  They weren't led around the nose, nor did they have their fates thrust upon them.  They made clear choices, sometimes wrong ones, sometimes deadly ones, but they were the ones that made it.

 

I literally can't ask for more than that. 

[Porthos]

6 minutes ago, The Futurist said:

Almost forgot :

 

Han Shot First

 

 

Have to admit, as someone who rolls their eyes at that whole insipid alleged "controversy" (I truly could not care about it at all), I laughed out loud at that bit.

[Legion Again]

59 minutes ago, Porthos said:

I'll Lucasfilm credit for one thing.  They aren't fucking around with this Unified Storytelling bit.

 

If I hadn't been spoiled about Darth Maul, I might have said "Holy Shit" loudly in the theater.  As it was, I did hear a couple of gasps.

 

I never thought that LFL would have the cajones to put Maul in a feature film without tedious and banal exposition.  And doubly so for Lawrence Kasdan  That they ripped that fucking bandaid right off and dared the audience to accept it was a brave move.  And, for me at least, one that worked 100%.

 

Some might bitch that they weren't told how Maul survived.  Maybe that's happened in this thread.  My answer is: It's unimportant to this film.  He's not a central character to the film so answering how he survived in TPM just isn't important to the tale being told.  At worst it's a mystery that folks are supposed to wonder about.  A plot thread to be picked up elsewhere.

 

But since the answer is literally one click away on Netflix....

 

As for the fates of the characters...  I can take or leave the L3 bit being integrated into the Falcon.  Heard rumors about that, but I just can't say I care one way or the other.  Really appreciated how they handled Enfys Nest and I'd like to see more of her.

 

In fact, I really liked the characterization of just about everyone in the film.  I didn't bother to try to compare and contrast Alden with Harrison.  I just accepted him as a younger version of Han and got on with it.

 

The biggest gripe I might have about this film, and gripe is too strong of a word but I don't feel like looking for another, is that it doesn't really reach the highs of the more recent Disney era SW films.  As I said in the main thread, it's not an epic and it doesn't try to be.

 

In many ways, it's a character piece.  One that studies Han, Beckett, and Qi'ra.  That, along with the action adventure vibe, means that in many ways this IS a smaller film with smaller stakes.  And it's intended to be one.  As such I can't fault it for not trying to be an epic like the other three SW films.  But it does slightly affect my grade.

 

Perhaps the best way to describe the film is:  Enjoyable and pleasant all the way through. If that seems like damning with faint praise, it's not meant to be.  People snicker at the word fun, but, well, it was fun.  Pretty much the definition of a popcorn film.

 

It's something that most fans should enjoy, IMO.  Don't even have to check expectations at the door.

 

So, as I said in the main thread, 8.5/10 sounds about right.  A good tale and one I'm happy was told.  Hopefully there will be more along these lines.

 

...

 

Just make sure you get the right director hired first so you don't have to re-film a ton of the movie.

I just wanted to say, there’s been a lot of negativity flying around this place regarding this movie recently, and I’m sure that can’t be very fun for Star War fans.         

 

I’m really, sincerely glad to here that you enjoyed the movie as a movie — at the end of the day, that’s the most important thing  

[Ryan Reynolds]

The movie was decent

the story was passable

the directing was worst of Disney films, understandable as Howard only had weeks to reshoot 70% of it

 

Release the Lord and Miller Cut

 

It was still better than TLJ

[AJG]

2 minutes ago, Ryan Reynolds said:

It was still better than TLJ

 

Nothing was as boring as some scenes in TLJ. Nothing was as exciting as other scenes in TLJ.

Edited May 25, 2018 by AJG

[Ryan Reynolds]

When you have more speculation of a prequel what happens next than TLJ...

[stripe]

While it lacks the epicness of a SW film, Solo was a solid fun adventure.

I am unsure about the decision to bring back Darth Maul and leave Qi'ra & Solo romance unsolved. It's like all this will be unveiled with Bobba Fett movie. 

 

Best: characters are well defined. Solid performances. Always entertaining. L3 revolution! Chewie and Falcon origins. It's moving when it wants to. No necesary to be a SW fan to enjoy the movie.

Worst: lack of a strong villain. Ok, there's Beckett treason, but I refuse to consider him a villain. Editing is hit/miss with some action scenes. And that perception they left things unsolved for an hypothetical sequel.

 

[Julian1410]

What i want is for dark maul and Qi’ra to show up in the obi wan movie. It would cause for Some cross-overs between movies which i think could help in building these spinoffs as a whole

[Avatree]

4 hours ago, Porthos said:

Oh yeah.  I think the chances of Ahsoka Tano showing up in a movie just shot up by about 1 million percent.

 

So on that score alone, this film gets a Thumbs Up.

hell yeah. Sexiest cartoon alien fourtee-   Yeah very likely. Love ahsoka. I am glad they are incorporating elements from clone wars but I don't think you can assume Disney wont overwrite anything.

[4815162342]

5 hours ago, Porthos said:

I'll Lucasfilm credit for one thing.  They aren't fucking around with this Unified Storytelling bit.

 

If I hadn't been spoiled about Darth Maul, I might have said "Holy Shit" loudly in the theater.  As it was, I did hear a couple of gasps.

 

I never thought that LFL would have the cajones to put Maul in a feature film without tedious and banal exposition.  And doubly so for Lawrence Kasdan  That they ripped that fucking bandaid right off and dared the audience to accept it was a brave move.  And, for me at least, one that worked 100%.

 

Some might bitch that they weren't told how Maul survived.  Maybe that's happened in this thread.  My answer is: It's unimportant to this film.  He's not a central character to the film so answering how he survived in TPM just isn't important to the tale being told.  At worst it's a mystery that folks are supposed to wonder about.  A plot thread to be picked up elsewhere.

 

But since the answer is literally one click away on Netflix....

 

 

It didn't bother me including him, but it was still very goofy and kinda unnecessary. Probably the single weakest element of the film other than the choppy opening on Corellia.

 

Casual fans wouldn't give a shit, but if they wanted to stoke hardcore nerdgasms instead of maul the hologram would have been of Prince Xizor from Shadows of the Empire and Qi'ra would have been undercover Black Sun the whole time.

[terrestrial]

Mixing comments here with own thoughts:

Solo's name, audience laughed (not shattering loud), it was logical, I like logical.

The opening part-Han I can understand ppl not feeling for a (not long) time the known Han, but:

he is not there yet, the opening happens 3y before the main movie, at that time he seems to be very young in age and, beside being experienced in 'gigs', not so much in different general social situations (lives in the same slum...). What I liked, as you get to see some basic character traits, see his reactions out of those in combi with his experiences at that time.

3y later there is already a slightly strengthening of the course to later Han, still only hints at the beginning, way more at the end. She is an ex, that alone can make a man a bit ... like Han is later.

 

They show him as loyal, as feeling, beside trying to ~ express to the bad guys how badass he is. Does violence when needed, but does not start violence, prefers to fast-speak talk himself out of the trouble. And if that doesn't work, does some stunt to try again (the stone in the first part, telling a lot of back-up is waiting in the falcon.... or when he runs screaming in episode 4 after the baddies till they are more and hr does a 180)

Picks up mannerism (a bit Becket, a liiittle bit Lando maybe see part 4 Cantina scene, like 2% here and there maybe lurking out), ways to do something as he lives through 'situations'

Quick thinker, seeing possibilities and take the unexpected.

Questioning team-mates (and superiors), can loose focus whilst doing that

great pilot that tends to loose some ship-/vehicle parts

In a way typical Han

 

Chewy was Chewy as I imagine a life-debt owing Chewy might be (not beforehand, never thought about that before the film)

Han rescued / helped him several times = nothing illogical for Chewy staying

 

Darth Maul: only a rather short scene, I have not seen any tv-series,... whatever. Yes for literally max 1 second I was a little bit confused, possibilities like it being even inside the world computer generated, a family member, a typical appearance of his ppl.... Didn't bother me, but made me - after the film finished - a bit curious more about him than I was before the film.

Force comments here:

He wasn't even introduced as someone connected with the force, he is kinda more like Al Capone in a way - for now

 

Droid:

not sure if the droid did interpret his behaviour correctly, I do not care if he is straight, Pan or whatever anyway, but:

imagine him being alone with the droid usually, imagine friendship like Luke and r2d2. Imagine (maybe not suited for work)

Spoiler

blow-up doll, Brokeback Mountain or whatever. Lonely ppl behave not always like they would do otherwise Why do ppl react to that even?

He might or might not, I do not care, I didn't feel it was 'pushy' enough to even have thought about during the screening. There was nothing 'shown'

On 23.5.2018 at 8:50 PM, CoolioD1 said:

... is the plan that Han Solo's gonna fight darth maul eventually? he doesn't even believe in the force and jedis and shit in the first star wars what the hell

There is the possibility it's not an intro for Han's future possible movies, there might be another character's movie where we get to see his ex again or he never gets to learn about that or... a direct confrontation does not have to happen, especially if they really do different spin offs

 

On 23.5.2018 at 9:05 PM, CoolioD1 said:

he is just a hologram but he gets his lightsaber out for no reason. to threaten her or to remind us it exists idk one of the two.

hmmm only as an alternative thought: maybe he plays since his... halving experience a lot more with it, use it as a kind of expression? Like ppl play with a coin flipping over their hand (I do not kno the term).

20 hours ago, AJG said:

Han Solo inadvertently starting the Rebellion... why?

He did not start it at all.

1. the resistance was already organised in a way the criminals... accepted them as a serious thread threat. I doubt we have gotten to see them all or they wouldn't be such a thread threat to the baddies. Also, see informant... I think that there was a placed one at lando's and around where Val's was, not an paid accidental one. Some little hints here and there - speaks of a least some basic organisation higher than the usual

2. L3 started it too, the mass escape of slaves and so on, even if they do not all oppose the empire, I am pretty sure some of them oppose the situation that let to them being mine-worker-slaves without an police force or... strong enough to avoid their fate.

Also, after that mass-escape, who knows who else had a chance to get their hands on that... fuel (I know, the refining, but without the local baddies, someone else could have used whatever methods the baddies used).

He added to it, might have given some boost via the fuel, but so did his ex in a way too.

 

20 hours ago, GOATPeterJackson said:

Entertaining movie but they ruined a lot of the character's charm by touching on too much of what was setup in the original trilogy. Maybe I was being naive but I thought they would try to be more tasteful about this, when they gave us the explanation for the "Han Solo" name I physically rolled my eyes. We also really didn't need to see Han explaining why he calls Chewbacca "Chewy."

I also thought that it was *extremely* weird that the Empire theme music was playing in the airport over an ad for people to join the Empire - did I see or hear that incorrectly?

Disagree, in adition: sounds wayyyy too over-the-top for me.

Do we not have a kind if military anthem or ...  in countries with totalitarian leaders? Or a normal anthem.

 

14 hours ago, Macleod said:

Well, this movie doesn't explain how he survived, either (and it should)...and that's what audiences WTFs are about. 

disagree to the strongest, different reasons incl see my earlier Al Capone remark

 

 

I find probably every decade a 10/10 film, that it was not. At least a 7+/10, might even end with an 8/10

I think it was a straigt-forward film, no worth mentioning technical flaws beside some I guess can have to do with the time-pressure at the end or are based on some problems with my nearest cinema (not the best quality)

Especially the sound during the train job was a bit... not defined,

 

I do think the races, the train job,... makes a movie (way) better watched on the big screen than the small screen.

Its very enjoyable (differs from rating), not some huuuuge event.

What I like: it has in my POV an upbeat mood in complete incl the end, means beside early on Val (too early to change the general mood) and later L3 it ididnt bring doen the mood in general, it is a simple joy to watch it.

Age recommendation: not too young. See families getting forcefully separated on his home planet, two ~ positive characters die on the way

 

Edited May 25, 2018 by terrestrial