Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

[Xponentialchaos]

Wow.

 

[flyerhawk]

Since one of the leads was a female, all the major characters were not male. Not to mention that considering the source material, 3 of the major characters HAD TO BE MALE—Han, Chewie, Lando. Since the story all but has to be built around those 3, you’ll have to Find a different straw to clutch.

OK. And the next two most prominent characters were male.

Maybe you’ve been conditioned to think it’s normal no matter the context. Compare it to the original trilogy and you’ll see the difference. Then again, It was blatant in TLJ. It wasn’t so obvious in this movie, but it was there.

Yeah the original movies were overwhelmingly male. So what? Prominent female non-love interests essentially didn't exist in Hollywood in the 70s.

What I'm trying to understand is why this is something that bothers you?

It may matter to some. It only matters too me in that it was an awkward trend in the movie that seemed intentionally forced and out of place. Just a couple of those instances being absent and I doubt I’d have noticed it.

OK I guess. Seems like you are establishing standards of how many male and female characters you think are appropriate.

 

[DarthVedder]

Ok... Saw it.

It's entertaining, in a very vanilla / by the books kind of way. I guess that's the reason why it is being compared with Justice League, and why it is enjoying a similar lukewarm reception and box office run.

BTW, I'm not complaining about politics or anything, but I really didn't care for that activist android.

As a Star Wars, I give it a 6/10 score.

 

[Wild Turkey]

Do we need to list all the male characters in the movie? Hey that dwarf was a guy! That should've been a female dwarf!


Really?

good grief.

Dwarf was an Easter egg. He played a Ewok in ROTJ and was Willow.

 

[juliansteed]

Since one of the leads was a female, all the major characters were not male. Not to mention that considering the source material, 3 of the major characters HAD TO BE MALE—Han, Chewie, Lando. Since the story all but has to be built around those 3, you’ll have to Find a different straw to clutch.

Maybe you’ve been conditioned to think it’s normal no matter the context. Compare it to the original trilogy and you’ll see the difference. Then again, It was blatant in TLJ. It wasn’t so obvious in this movie, but it was there.

It may matter to some. It only matters too me in that it was an awkward trend in the movie that seemed intentionally forced and out of place. Just a couple of those instances being absent and I doubt I’d have noticed it.

Saying that 3 of the main characters were a given and therefore don't really count isn't much of an argument. I'm not a Kathleen Kennedy fan and I hate forced diversity, while having no issue with natural diversity, but I don't get much of a sense of forced diversity in this movie. I mean if this was driven by a feminist agenda then why make a movie in the first place that has to feature 3 male characters by default? Why not give us a Mon Mothma back story?

A "Dr. Elsa Schneider" like female lead (double agent who seems to favor protagonist) was a good love interest for Han. A love interest for Beckett was good too but would have worked better if Beckett actually mourned her or her death changed his motivation in some way. If anything Thandi Newton's character didn't play a big enough role in my opinion. The droid was annoying AF in my opinion and I hate the idea of Solo possibly screwing a droid somehow, but any "politics" related to that droid were more about "droid rights" than woman's rights.

 

[DarthVedder]

No self-respecting Star Wars fan calls the first movie that.

What's wrong with calling it that?

 

[juliansteed]

Dwarf was an Easter egg. He played a Ewok in ROTJ and was Willow.

Warwick Davis played the main Ewok in ROTJ. He's made a cameo in every single Star Wars movie since. The only ones he missed were the first 2.

 

[juliansteed]

Well since everyone else is doing it, I guess I'll jump off this bridge as well. Hard for me to rank them all individually as I can't decide between some so I'll put them in groups, starting with the best.

At the top of my list is the entire original trilogy. I can't pick between them, especially if we are talking about original versions. When we get into special editions ROTJ probably comes in 3rd. Hated the changes made to that movie, while ESB might have actually benefited from the few changes that were made to that movie. I know a lot of people don't like ROTJ because of the Ewoks and I agree they were the low point of the movie, but they didn't ruin it for me. It was the only movie of the originals to feature the Emperor, Jabba, and Ackbar. The Scout Troopers and their speeders were definitely the best part of Endor. The space battle was great, and the throne room scenes were pure gold.

In the next group are movies that I like but don't love and can re-watch from time to time. Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One, and Solo.

The next ones are ones that I mildly enjoyed the first time I saw them but was mostly disappointed and don't really care to re-watch much. That would be episodes 1, 2, & 7. TFA is in this group for completely different reasons than the other 2. I thought the prequels told a decent story but told it very poorly and had such cheesy dialogue. Before seeing TLJ I had TFA ranked higher because I figured it was a set-up movie and that we'd get an interesting reason as to why Rey appears to be a Mary Sue. It could climb in my rankings depending on what Abrams does in Episode 9 but this is where it sits for now.

Slightly below those and at the bottom of my list is TLJ. I really wanted to love this movie and expected so much more. I had no specific expectations other than a good story with a Star Wars tone, and maybe one really cool twist. I got none of those. On its own, it might be an okay movie but as the middle movie of a trilogy, I found it to be terrible. My biggest complaints about this movie were constant terrible attempts at humor (especially when it came to the Hux character), and that it just felt so disconnected from TFA. Most of the complains about this movie were the handling of the original cast but I personally don't care too much about that. It doesn't matter what they did with Luke, he wasn't going to be the same Luke from the originals. It's the new characters that I thought were handled absolutely terribly. Rey is a terrible protagonist without a true hero's journey. Kylo Ren and Poe are decent but the rest are terrible. While not as annoying as Jar Jar, I think Finn might be one of the worst written characters in Star Wars. A defected storm trooper is a really cool idea but it's being poorly executed.

 

[Destroydacre]

Funny that a thread about Solo became kind of a rank all the SW films lol. I haven't seen Solo though so I will have to omit it

1)ESB
2)ANH
3)RotJ
4)RotS
5)AotC
6)TPM
7)TFA
8)RO
9)TLJ

 

[Battlelyon]

I guess that's me. Though I better describe it as being a person who doesn't relate to this:

I'm facepalming the stupidity of these self righteous bitches. If men were wearing these shirts, guys would be getting fired left and right.

 

[Niner Outlaw]

Yeah the original movies were overwhelmingly male. So what? Prominent female non-love interests essentially didn't exist in Hollywood in the 70s.

What I'm trying to understand is why this is something that bothers you?

It doesn't bother me. It's just one of things in the movie I didn't like b/c there was so much of it, it seemed forced.

 

[Niner Outlaw]

Dwarf was an Easter egg. He played a Ewok in ROTJ and was Willow.

Every time I see that dwarf I think of Willow. I haven't seen that movie since I was a kid! Val Kilmer in a medieval fantasy movie...weird.

 

[Wild Turkey]

I think the Han Solo movie was done pretty well considering that 75% of the movie was re-shot by Ron Howard. I hate to be that guy but it's almost like you can tell what 25% they kept because it feels forced and is mainly in the first act (I could be wrong but that is how it seems to me).

No this isn't the greatest movie I've ever seen but I don't feel like I wasted my money and I left wanting to see what happens next with both Lando and Han. I think this particular story could have been done better in a longer format like a series for a paid cable channel so the story had time to develop (honestly this is where I think we are headed for most of our entertainment as that is what we are getting used to).

I think this was a more interesting subject matter than Boba Fett or Obi Wan which are two movies that have been pitched. I loved Rogue One and thought it was a great addition as it really explained the Bothan Spies mystery of the SW. It was self contained, told a complete story and added to the overall universe. It is probably my 3rd favorite behind ANH and ESB.

The Disney stuff so far has been much better than the prequels even when those movies are just rehashing old story lines.

 

[Superbelt]

I think the Han Solo movie was done pretty well considering that 75% of the movie was re-shot by Ron Howard. I hate to be that guy but it's almost like you can tell what 25% they kept because it feels forced and is mainly in the first act (I could be wrong but that is how it seems to me).

No this isn't the greatest movie I've ever seen but I don't feel like I wasted my money and I left wanting to see what happens next with both Lando and Han. I think this particular story could have been done better in a longer format like a series for a paid cable channel so the story had time to develop (honestly this is where I think we are headed for most of our entertainment as that is what we are getting used to).

I think this was a more interesting subject matter than Boba Fett or Obi Wan which are two movies that have been pitched. I loved Rogue One and thought it was a great addition as it really explained the Bothan Spies mystery of the SW. It was self contained, told a complete story and added to the overall universe. It is probably my 3rd favorite behind ANH and ESB.

The Disney stuff so far has been much better than the prequels even when those movies are just rehashing old story lines.

The first act, and the exterior shots including some of the train heist, were most of Lord and Miller's contributions that remained.

 

[calsnowskier]

No self-respecting Star Wars fan calls the first movie that.

Wrong. I never call it Star Wars.

 

[calsnowskier]

My wife wants to believe Q'ira turns into a Sith.

That is my thought right now. But didn’t Maul abandon the ways of the Sith?

And what happened with his duel with Obiwan?

 

[calsnowskier]

Which one is Star Wars?

They all are.

 

[calsnowskier]

All fair points.

My criticisms of it was way to much CGI. Anakin's turn still seemed to quick and forced (no pun intended). Hayden Christensen still whined the whole movie.

General Greivous was too ridiculous.

Padme's death was horribly done (she died of a broken heart, give me a break) and also created a major continuity error with Return of the Jedi (Leia having memories of her mother).

My niece has memories of my mother, and she died about 2 years before my niece was born.

 

[calsnowskier]

Ok, I finally read this whole thread. What a train wreck of a thread.

Ok, TRYING to get it back on topic...

I rather enjoyed the movie. I went in with low expectations because it was getting a Luke warm reception (pun fully intended) and because of all the troubles during production, so that may explain why I wasn’t super disappointed. I also realized about a half hour in that this should not be viewed as a SW movie. It is a western, pure and simple. If you get away from the expectation that this should be a huge epic, it can be enjoyed for what it is.

I fully bought into the “parsec” explanation, but that really just confirmed my theory from the beginning. Kessel is located in the middle of something that requires a very round-about path to get to, so the shortest path would be the fastest. Seems pretty straight forward to me. So why is the Falcon so fast rather than the pilot? Because of L3. She had the star charts, and now she IS the Falcon. Again, easy peasy.

Han shot first, and that wasn’t the first time. Hrumpf. I would have liked to see Greedo, though. Would have further preferred to see Jabba, but that may have been left out for a potential sequel.

So apparently Obiwan didn’t kill Maul on Tatooine. So what happened when Maul found him? Are they trying to set up a Maul movie? His back story has already been pretty well fleshed out in the animated series’, so I am not sure of the point. Maybe do a movie that covers his second confrontation with Obiwan (on Tatooine) and the rest of his story leading up to Solo?

I was not a fan of L3, but I typically hate all droids in the SW universe, so that isn’t surprising. Her discussion with Qi’Ra confirming that she and Lando are “together” was kinda funny, though.

I think they originally intended Nest to be Becket and Val’s daughter. When I saw her, I just took it as fact. But when it was never mentioned, I figured it must have been an arc they scrapped.

Why does Chewy owe Han a life debt? They both escaped together. It wasn’t a one-way saving.

I would have liked for Han and Lando to build more of a friendship. In Empire, I got the sense they were more friendly with each other (while still acknowledging that the other was an untrustworthy scoundrel). Maybe they intended on building that relationship further in a future film. But timeline wise, when would this relationship build? I get the sense that this movie takes place just a short time before ANH (2 years-ish??).

 

[jjc2009]

Ok, I finally read this whole thread. What a train wreck of a thread.

Ok, TRYING to get it back on topic...

I rather enjoyed the movie. I went in with low expectations because it was getting a Luke warm reception (pun fully intended) and because of all the troubles during production, so that may explain why I wasn’t super disappointed. I also realized about a half hour in that this should not be viewed as a SW movie. It is a western, pure and simple. If you get away from the expectation that this should be a huge epic, it can be enjoyed for what it is.

I fully bought into the “parsec” explanation, but that really just confirmed my theory from the beginning. Kessel is located in the middle of something that requires a very round-about path to get to, so the shortest path would be the fastest. Seems pretty straight forward to me. So why is the Falcon so fast rather than the pilot? Because of L3. She had the star charts, and now she IS the Falcon. Again, easy peasy.

Han shot first, and that wasn’t the first time. Hrumpf. I would have liked to see Greedo, though. Would have further preferred to see Jabba, but that may have been left out for a potential sequel.

So apparently Obiwan didn’t kill Maul on Tatooine. So what happened when Maul found him? Are they trying to set up a Maul movie? His back story has already been pretty well fleshed out in the animated series’, so I am not sure of the point. Maybe do a movie that covers his second confrontation with Obiwan (on Tatooine) and the rest of his story leading up to Solo?

I was not a fan of L3, but I typically hate all droids in the SW universe, so that isn’t surprising. Her discussion with Qi’Ra confirming that she and Lando are “together” was kinda funny, though.

I think they originally intended Nest to be Becket and Val’s daughter. When I saw her, I just took it as fact. But when it was never mentioned, I figured it must have been an arc they scrapped.

Why does Chewy owe Han a life debt? They both escaped together. It wasn’t a one-way saving.

I would have liked for Han and Lando to build more of a friendship. In Empire, I got the sense they were more friendly with each other (while still acknowledging that the other was an untrustworthy scoundrel). Maybe they intended on building that relationship further in a future film. But timeline wise, when would this relationship build? I get the sense that this movie takes place just a short time before ANH (2 years-ish??).

1. A lot of movie “experts” have claimed the entire series is a western genre.

2. Maul I think was set up specifically for the Obi Wan film. They’ll have their showdown again.

3. For some reason I thought Nest was related to Mon Mothma somehow.

4. I think they got Han and Lando’s relationship pretty well. They know each other they’re friendly with each other but the other is not to be trusted. The second sabacc game showed that Lando was glad to see him and wasn’t even all that upset when he lost the Falcon.

5. Agree that they’ve retconned Han and Chewy’s backstory. M

6. I think it takes place closer to the events of Revenge of the Sith. Han had to be in his early-mid 30’s in ANH. He’s clearly in his early 20’s in this movie. The rebellion was well on its way within a couple of years of ANH it seems it’s in its incubation during Solo.