In case you hadn't heard, Star Wars is a franchise that people tend to enjoy seeing onscreen. That enjoyment leads to a lot of money being earned by Disney and Lucasfilm, and hence we continue to get new Star Wars films, whether they're highly anticipated entries into the Skywalker saga, or unnecessary spin-offs no one seems to want. While this film does fall into the unnecessary category, I had a lot of fun with it, and while it has its flaws there are certainly elements that work very well.
Let me start things off by talking about the cast. I think the casting and performances are definitely highlights of the film. Alden Ehrenreich was a really great choice to play a young Han. While at moments I wasn't sure if he felt enough like Han Solo for me, I was very happy to see him giving his own take to the character rather than doing a Harrison Ford impression. He is as sharp and witty as Ford was and had the perfect amount of swagger to bring the character to life. Speaking of swagger, Donald Glover is pretty much perfect as Lando Calrissian. He looks and acts the role to a tee, and my only complaint is that there wasn't quite enough of him. If Disney announces a Lando spin off film I would not complain in the slightest. Woody Harrelson plays a mentor figure to Han named Beckett. Is his performance anything special? Not really. However Harrelson's presence alone at least somewhat elevates most films he appears in and he put in some solid work on this film. Emilia Clarke plays Qi'ra, an old friend/love interest to Han, and I think she did some really great work. Her character is one with many secrets and you can see the confliction she holds throughout. Especially when compared to her Terminator: Genisys performance this is a great entry to her filmography. The character I have issue with is Paul Bettany's Dryden, the main villain of the film. This isn't a huge knock to Bettany, he's fine but very forgettable, my issue is in how little he is used. Dryden is on screen for likely less than 20 minutes, and Bettany is unable to impress enough to make up for his lack of screen time. He is unintimidating and seemingly unimportant, and because of that casts a shadow on an otherwise great bunch of characters
I'd say overall Ron Howard did a solid job directing this film, especially considering he came in late to replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller. While at times the comedy feels a bit off, I found the action really well directed and Howard does a good job of bringing solid performances from his young core of actors. I also really dug a lot of the cinematography. It was at times fairly basic but had its fair share of bright spots. There are some issues in the writing unfortunately. As I've already stated, the comedy doesn't always work, and there are some scenes that are a bit too cheesy for my liking, not to mention the villain is pure shite. I also found the film didn't do its job fully, as it did answer some questions but also created more. While some of the loose strings the film left got me very excited, some left me feeling a bit cheated, as they are loose ends that felt as though they should have been tied up here. I also personally found the stakes to be a bit too high. They aren't "saving the galaxy high" like pretty much every other film in the franchise, but the scale seems a bit grand for the story of a lowlife smuggler. Oh, and back to some positives, I loved the score. The music feels almost magical throughout, providing a great blend of traditional Star Wars and something new.
So this film has its problems. The villain is shite, the writing isn't as strong as it should be, and it isn't really a story that needed to be told. However, there are more strong elements than weak, and it takes us back to the fun and excitement of the franchise that hasn't been as present in recent films. It may not be anything special but it does what it needs to do and makes for a really enjoyable trip to the movies.
Rating: 3.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Let me start things off by talking about the cast. I think the casting and performances are definitely highlights of the film. Alden Ehrenreich was a really great choice to play a young Han. While at moments I wasn't sure if he felt enough like Han Solo for me, I was very happy to see him giving his own take to the character rather than doing a Harrison Ford impression. He is as sharp and witty as Ford was and had the perfect amount of swagger to bring the character to life. Speaking of swagger, Donald Glover is pretty much perfect as Lando Calrissian. He looks and acts the role to a tee, and my only complaint is that there wasn't quite enough of him. If Disney announces a Lando spin off film I would not complain in the slightest. Woody Harrelson plays a mentor figure to Han named Beckett. Is his performance anything special? Not really. However Harrelson's presence alone at least somewhat elevates most films he appears in and he put in some solid work on this film. Emilia Clarke plays Qi'ra, an old friend/love interest to Han, and I think she did some really great work. Her character is one with many secrets and you can see the confliction she holds throughout. Especially when compared to her Terminator: Genisys performance this is a great entry to her filmography. The character I have issue with is Paul Bettany's Dryden, the main villain of the film. This isn't a huge knock to Bettany, he's fine but very forgettable, my issue is in how little he is used. Dryden is on screen for likely less than 20 minutes, and Bettany is unable to impress enough to make up for his lack of screen time. He is unintimidating and seemingly unimportant, and because of that casts a shadow on an otherwise great bunch of characters
I'd say overall Ron Howard did a solid job directing this film, especially considering he came in late to replace Phil Lord and Chris Miller. While at times the comedy feels a bit off, I found the action really well directed and Howard does a good job of bringing solid performances from his young core of actors. I also really dug a lot of the cinematography. It was at times fairly basic but had its fair share of bright spots. There are some issues in the writing unfortunately. As I've already stated, the comedy doesn't always work, and there are some scenes that are a bit too cheesy for my liking, not to mention the villain is pure shite. I also found the film didn't do its job fully, as it did answer some questions but also created more. While some of the loose strings the film left got me very excited, some left me feeling a bit cheated, as they are loose ends that felt as though they should have been tied up here. I also personally found the stakes to be a bit too high. They aren't "saving the galaxy high" like pretty much every other film in the franchise, but the scale seems a bit grand for the story of a lowlife smuggler. Oh, and back to some positives, I loved the score. The music feels almost magical throughout, providing a great blend of traditional Star Wars and something new.
So this film has its problems. The villain is shite, the writing isn't as strong as it should be, and it isn't really a story that needed to be told. However, there are more strong elements than weak, and it takes us back to the fun and excitement of the franchise that hasn't been as present in recent films. It may not be anything special but it does what it needs to do and makes for a really enjoyable trip to the movies.
Rating: 3.6/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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