Four things wrong (and five things right) With Solo
With Solo: A Star Wars Story coming out soon on DVD, we can appreciate some of the things the movie got right – and wrong.
Love it or hate it, fans have a lot to say about Solo: A Star Wars Story. While all of us are entitled to our own opinions, there are definitely some standout moments that either immersed us or jarred us right out of the movie.
From great acting performances to perfectly timed moments, there were many things about Solo that were great. However, there were moments that definitely could have been approved upon.
Here’s a list of moments Solo got right or wrong that gave us plenty to talk about with other fans. Warning: Spoilers, ahoy!
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Right: Lando Calrissian
Donald Glover does amazing justice to the suave, debonair Lando Calrissian originally portrayed by Billy Dee Williams in the Empire Strikes Back. From the stylish cape selection to the gambler surroundings, we get to see the Lando that Williams perfected and Star Wars: Rebels expanded upon once more on the big screen. That come-hither grin, the crowd of followers that makes us wonder why he wasn’t the Master Codebreaker in the Last Jedi … all of these elements come together so smoothly in Solo.
photo cred: Lucasfilm
Wrong: Qi’ra’s Kiss
Hoo boy. Okay, the whole scene on Corellia, start to finish, is arguably the weakest part of Solo. In a surefire case of scope creep, or maybe Hollywood once again shoehorning in a relationship, we open with Qi’ra and Han kissing. How long did we wait for the payoff kiss from our favorite space princess and scoundrel combo? Why are we so bothered by this? Probably because we’ve all got the feels for Leia, many of us grew up with them, and this just seems wrong by comparison. It’s also likely because we’ve got no real connection to Qi’ra at the time of the smooch, and she needs to get her lips off of Leia’s scruffy-looking nerf herder.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Right: Chewie and Han
The fight in the pit did just enough justice to the extended universe take on how Han and Chewie met that a whole lot of the weirdness with the battle on Mimban can be ignored. Or, at least, discounted. The use of Shyriiwook at the crucial moment was pure joy for a lot of fans, and the pair working together to escape solidified their friendship going forward. While Chewie, being a Clone Wars veteran and all, was a bit slow to embrace his new companion, they formed a bond that makes perfect sense in the Star Wars universe. Maybe I’ll even stop referring to Mimban as “discount Serenity Valley.”
Photo Credit: [Solo: A Star Wars Story] Lucasfilm
Wrong: Val
Thandie Newton was too good to die so soon. Val and Tobias could have been the foreshadowing of Leia and Han. There were plenty of ways she could have escaped. She could have at least tried. Self-sacrifice is a noble ideal in Star Wars, but it’s never the go-to. It seems even stranger amongst scoundrels who have likely survived a hundred times worse. Add in the fact (we learned later) that Enfys Nest wasn’t on a mission to kill but just eliminating the competition, and it just seems pointless.
Credits: Lucasfilm
Right: Enfys Nest
Enfys Nest. She’s doing it for the right reasons. She’ll kill you, but she’ll kill you for the good guys. Enfys Nest was constantly touted as a dark-hearted marauder, and she made a great foil for the suave, businesslike Dryden Vos. Her reveal to be a smallish female warrior was great fun for a lot of the audience. As the leader of the Cloud Riders, she was actually the better villain, though neither of the main bad guys got much screen time. Her unhelmeted look is similar to a young Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Wrong: Coaxium Kessel Run
The coaxium mines of Kessel seem to be far less popular than the mines of its other export. Of course, fuel isn’t quite as sexy as addictive, mind-altering substances. We could almost forgive coaxium as a secondary product from the spice planet, right up until the Federation of Hold My Beer moment of injecting it into the Millennium Falcon’s warp drive. When the engine stalled, every gearhead in the theater nodded fiercely. Of course, the story (maybe the Force) needed it to work, so it did. But don’t go dropping uranium in your gas tank and hoping for similar results.
Photo Credit: [Star Wars: Return of the Jedi] Lucasfilm
Right: Han Shot First
So many minor flaws of the film don’t matter when we see this epic scene. Han shoots first. Tobias’ final lesson proves that Han is definitely his heir, and it is nostalgia done right. Canonically, the Special Edition still stands. But for every fan out there, Han will always shoot first. Perhaps the next Blu-Ray edition will return Greedo to his rightful place as two seconds too slow.
Photo Credit: Lucasfilm
Wrong: Dryden Vos
There’s a lot right about Dryden Vos. The leader of Crimson Dawn should definitely have a giant ship, he should definitely have a suave demeanor, and the lines on his face reminded fans of spice addiction. It’s too bad he had so few scenes. Too bad his badass weapon found itself easily stuck in another blade (why would a vibroblade stop midway?). It’s too bad that, when all is said and done, he was a weak villain who did nothing for the stakes of the plot. Especially when you figure in that Paul Bettany rocked in the role.
Photo Credit: [Star Was: The Phantom Menace] Lucasfilm
Right: The Return of Darth Maul
Canonically, Crimson Dawn is led by Darth Maul. All the crime syndicates of this time were likely to have fallen into line as part of Maul’s plot on Mandalore. I said it at the start of the film when we were first introduced to the group, but I never saw the cameo coming. It seems to lead into the next Star Wars Story, hopefully Obi-Wan, and ties the Solo film back into canon better than the majority of the film. Fans who missed Maul’s return in Star Wars: the Clone Wars were left scratching their heads, but the new canon universe is found in modern books and animation. It was well done there, and the Mandalorian plot is not something any fan should miss, nor Maul’s appearance in Rebels.
Solo: A Star Wars Story comes to DVD and Blu-Ray comes out on September 25.