• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Daily Business Magazine

A magazine complement to the Daily Business website

  • Life, Arts & Leisure
    • Creative
    • Festival
      • Festival Reviews
    • Film
    • Food & Drink
    • Stage Shows
    • Life
    • Leisure
      • Rio Recommends – dog walks and cafes
    • Homes
    • Style
    • Travel
  • As I See It
  • Interviews
  • Notebook
  • Working Life
    • Craig Alexander Rattray
    • Careers & Management
    • Finance and legal
    • Technology
      • Bill Magee – Tech Talk
    • Well Being
  • Daily Business News
    • All Content

Retro, funny, and a curious entry to the canon

June 1, 2018 by Hayley Murden Leave a Comment

Star Wars Solo
Alden Ehrenreich manages to make this younger version of Han his own man

Film review: Solo: A Star Wars Story (4/5)

Since Disney took over the reins of the Star Wars franchise from George Lucas, its goal has been to expand the universe. First it started its own trilogy, with The Force Awakens (2015), and then showed us the people behind the destruction of the Death Star with the standalone film Rogue One (2016).

This year, hot on the heels of base-breaker The Last Jedi (2017), we are invited to witness the backstory of roguish and cynical smuggler Han Solo (icon of the original trilogy and a highlight of Harrison Ford’s career) in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Directed by Ron Howard (Willow, Far and Away, A Beautiful Mind), who took over halfway through production and reshot a good deal of the film, Solo is a curious entry into the Star Wars canon.

The plot is a slightly wiggly line with few deviations. There are no standout moments and nothing underwhelming either. Han Solo escapes from his unhappy planet, unfortunately abandoning the girl he loves, and becomes involved with a group of criminals (including Woody Harrelson) who report to the big bad, Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) and his shadowy organisation.

There is a great deal of action and everything zips along at a nice pace, interjected with good humour and nods to things fans will recognise. There are emotional moments, but many plot points would have benefited from deeper exploration, such as the relationship and history between Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) and Dryden Vos.

While interjecting a few of Harrison Ford’s mannerisms and quirks, Alden Ehrenreich manages to make this younger version of Han his own man. His talent is enough that he truly becomes this version of Han Solo, rather than just doing an impression of him (as a lesser actor might have done).

Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian is also worthy of praise as he delivers a smooth and humorous take on the smuggler previously portrayed by Billy Dee Williams.

The score, composed by John Powell, is unusual in places and used to great effect, providing an oftentimes beautiful background to even the simplest scene.

Overall Solo is well worth a trip to the cinema. It has more of the feeling of those first three films from the seventies and eighties, both in production design and tone. Though there are gaps in the plot and characterisation that could easily have been filled, there’s enough there to hold audience interest. Slightly retro, honestly funny, and nearly as cool as its protagonist.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is on general release, 2hrs, certificate 15

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Film, Hayley Murden, Life, Arts & Leisure Tagged With: Solo: A Star Wars Story

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar



Editor’s Pick

Craig Alexander Rattray

Avoid falling into the cash flow traps

Craig Alexander Rattray

… [More...] about Avoid falling into the cash flow traps

Cairns Farm Estate

Farming family’s wedding venue is a labour of love

Julena Drumi

… [More...] about Farming family’s wedding venue is a labour of love

Boroughmuir-school

CALA promises top class connections at Boroughmuir

Julena Drumi

… [More...] about CALA promises top class connections at Boroughmuir

St-James-Quarter-18-April-2021

Trends, hopes and fears as shops reopen

Terry Murden

… [More...] about Trends, hopes and fears as shops reopen

Advertising


Footer

  • All Content
  • Site Map
  • Privacy Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • WordPress

Copyright © 2021 · Design by jPAD Consulting · Magazine Pro · Genesis Framework

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.

CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Functional

Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.

Performance

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

Analytics

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

Advertisement

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.

Others

Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.

SAVE & ACCEPT