We’ve now come to the end of the latest Star Wars trilogy and I’ve come to think that Solo: A Star Wars Story is one of the better recent Star Wars films.
This happened after I became a Disney Plus subscriber.
There are almost all of the Star Wars movies on there, apart from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker which still hasn’t made its way to the streaming platform.
This, along with the fact that I have a bit more time thanks to the fact that I’m stuck inside due to lockdown, meant that I took the time to rewatch Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Before then, I’d always thought it was a bit of a missed opportunity.
I felt there wasn’t anything special about the movie and I really wanted to see what Phil Lord and Chris Miller could have done with the movie.
However, upon watching it again and after having seen Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, I felt I needed to reevaluate Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Before now, I had ranked the film in the bottom half of my Star Wars movie ranking, but I’m now thinking that it needs to be bumped up slightly.
People need to reevaluate Solo: A Star Wars Story
Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story – Credit: Lucasfilm
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I’ve also rewatched Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and I’m actually thinking of flipping the two of them for a bunch of reasons.
However, my main reason of bringing Rogue One down in my rankings is due to the fact that movie is only really good in its third act.
I’d forgotten just how boring the beginning two thirds are and how unlikeable the characters are.
After rewatching Rogue One, I couldn’t believe they were making a Disney Plus series just about Cassian Andor.
He’s a complete arsehole in the movie and even though there are elements of Felicity Jones’ character, Jyn Erso that I like, she’s actually pretty dull in the film.
The same can’t be said about Alden Ehrenreich’s Han Solo in Solo.
I get why people weren’t totally enamoured with him to begin with. He doesn’t look too much like Harrison Ford’s Han Solo.
However, if you want a Han Solo impersonator, then go and watch Anthony Ingruber or Jamie Costa impersonate him.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is much better than it has any right being
Donald Glover as Lando Clarissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story – Credit: Lucasfilm
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They’re both very good at it. Yet, watching Solo what Ehrenreich does so well is capture the essence of the character.
Apologise for how pretentious that sounds, but it’s true.
You don’t want to watch someone merely impersonate someone. You want to watch an actor make the role his or her own, and that’s what Ehrenreich does in Solo.
It’s actually a really underrated performance and it’s bit sad to see that because it really deserves more recognition.
It’s a thankless task trying to follow Harrison Ford as Han Solo, but Ehrenreich did a great job.
The fact that there were stories claiming that he struggled on set with Lord and Miller because he couldn’t improvise as well as they wanted him to just fuelled the anti-Ehrenreich fires.
The rest of the movie is pretty good too. I like the action set pieces and the film’s plot actually makes sense, unlike many other Star Wars movies (I’m looking at you the prequel movies).
The film is a bit dark. It’s certainly not the best-looking Star Wars film. I still think that award goes to Rogue One which looks amazing.
I also think Donald Glover’s performance as Lando Calrissian is a bit strange.
However, I enjoyed Emilia Clarke as Q’ira and I really like Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett.
It’s just a good old-fashioned sci-fi adventure movie
Emilia Clarke as Q’ira in Solo: A Star Wars Story – Credit: Lucasfilm
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There were rumours that Lord and Miller wanted Christian Bale for the role.
I’m not sure he would have been able to capture that approachability that Harrelson gave the character.
You can really understand why Han would have idealised this man and wanted to emulate him moving forward.
The main thing I liked about Solo upon rewatching it was how it was just a good old-fashioned Star Wars action-adventure movie.
I think the Star Wars films have forgotten this aspect of the franchise.
They’re far too worried about pleasing fans. Solo was more about making a fun movie set in the Star Wars universe.
That’s what it was all about and it succeeded to do that as far as I’m concerned.
Solo is a better Star Wars movie than it has any right being
Woody Harrelson as Beckett in Solo: A Star Wars Story – Credit: Lucasfilm
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Granted, it’s not the best Star Wars movie ever made.
However, it was never going to be, especially given all the drama going on behind the scenes.
It’s a miracle this movie ended up coming out at all, let alone it being even half decent.
I think you should take some time whilst in lockdown to rewatch Solo: A Star Wars movie like I did. You never know, it might surprise you.
What do you make of this article?
Do you also think that Solo: A Star Wars Story is an underrated Star Wars movie?
Let us know in the comments below.
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