Pre-lease, nobody was more down on Solo than me. From Disney's dreary decision to make both of their first two Star Wars spinoff movies prequels, to the behind-the-scenes drama that saw two exciting young directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, replaced by ho-hum journeyman Ron Howard midway through shooting, to the fool's errand of trying to convince us that someone not named Harrison Ford could pull off playing Han Solo … it all just felt like a storm of bad ideas coalescing around a movie even hardcore fans didn't really need. So color me shocked to report that Solo: A Star Wars Story has overcome all of those obstacles — not unlike the Millennium Falcon navigating an asteroid field — and arrived in theaters as a legitimately great installment of the overall Star Wars saga. It's a huge improvement over the humdrum Rogue One, and it even makes a strong case at being a more successful Star Wars movie than either The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi. Sure those films reach higher highs, but they also make some stumbles (the former is basically a remake at points, the latter has subplots that never properly pay off) that Solo deftly avoids.
Howard has made a film where it's hard to find things to complain about. Co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, who, as a screenwriter on The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, has spent more time tooling around in the Star Wars universe than pretty much anyone not named George Lucas, Solo is one of those cinematic adventures for which lame review buzzwords like "rip-roaring" were invented. It begins on the dank streets of Corellia, where a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his main squeeze Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) long to escape their lives of servitude to bounce around the galaxy. This is immediately the first sign that Kasdan, who scripted along with his son, Jonathan, has made some good decisions in constructing this script. We don't spend the whole movie wondering if Han and Qi'ra are going to hook up. We've already done that with Han and Leia over multiple films. Instead, the pair are locking lips from minute one, and Ehrenreich and Clarke have a natural chemistry that allows you to immediately care about their relationship. Before long, Han makes it off-planet, though Qi'ra is left behind, and the rest of the film details how, in his quest to re-connect with his girl, he ends up joining the Empire, turning deserter to team up with a group of criminal scoundrels, befriending a Wookie and a Lando, pulling some heists and finding a certain spaceship he really likes flying.
Prequel stuff usually drives me crazy. I rolled my eyes hard when Ponda Baba and pig-nosed guy showed up in Rogue One. And while there are a couple of groaners in Solo — I certainly didn't need to know how Han got his last name — the Kasdans are able to successfully weave most of the prequel-ly elements into the film so that they feel like natural parts of a good story. Yes, we see Han make the Kessel Run in this movie, but it's not just a lame call-back. It's an entire action sequence that hums with the same energy that made you fall in love with Star Wars to begin with. There's a sense of adventure coursing through the whole film that doesn't just wink at events from the original trilogy but that reminds you of how you felt when you first saw them. Howard may only be mimicking a certain style pioneered by a young George Lucas, but it's a heck of an impression.
Let's talk casting. Since being chosen as the man who would be young Han, Ehrenreich has obviously come under a lot of scrutiny. But anyone still questioning the decision to hire him after seeing the film would likely find themselves unhappy no matter which young actor got the part. To be sure, Ehrenreich is not doing a Ford impression, and the Han Solo in this film isn't a perfect match with the guy from the original trilogy who we all worshiped as kids. But Ehrenreich is playing a very appealing version of Han with just the right combination of likability and douchiness. And if it's continuity you demand, there are moments when his version of the character clicks in lockstep with Ford's version and you totally buy that the Han we're meeting here will become the Han we already know.
The cast around him is just as successful. The moment Donald Glover was cast as Lando Calrissian, the world cried out, "That's perfect!" He does not disappoint. Clarke, recently seen being horribly miscast in Terminator Genisys, is much better here, bringing some of that Khaleesi depth to a role that ends up being a bit more than just "the girl." (Surprisingly, she also gets the scene that will have Star Wars nerds frantically calling their friends to talk about this weekend.) Woody Harrelson shows up to portray Han's mentor, and you end up being happy the always reliable Harrelson found his way into a Star Wars movie. Phoebe Waller-Bridge plays Lando's droid co-pilot and is funny and delightful in all the ways Rogue One's K-2S0 was supposed to be but wasn't. Lastly, there's Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo, in his third turn inside the costume). A few cute scenes with some Porgs aside, poor Chewie got the shaft big time in The Last Jedi. Thankfully, that's corrected here, as the giant walking carpet gets his best part since Empire. The scene where him and Han first meet is absolutely killer, and the friendship and rapport he and Han share from there never fails to entertain.
Like it or not, Star Wars is now a giant shared universe that will soon be populated with dozens of stories taking place all around the timeline. I don't envy the ongoing task facing Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, who must find a way to churn out about one of these a year without making them too samey or dividing the fan base. (Easier said than done, if judging by the reaction to The Last Jedi). However, Solo proves there are ways to pull this off. By dropping the Jedi, the Force and so many of the things that Star Wars is most identified with, Howard and the Kasdans were able to make a Star Wars film that feels downright refreshing. This despite the fact that it's a prequel we didn't think we wanted in the first place. In this case, I'll happily admit I was wrong.
