Hope you all are having a good Memorial Day weekend! Everyone staying cool in this ridiculous heat?
I went and saw Solo this morning, and it was okay, but it felt kinda…anticlimactic, I guess. There was so much drama and hype and speculation surrounding this production that I expected something tense and energetic. Edge-of-your-seat stuff, ya know? In reality, I found myself yawning and a bit bored. Too much talking and making plans.
I enjoyed Alden Ehrenreich as Han, more than I thought I would. Except he seemed uncharacteristically optimistic, to the point of foolishly naive; I’m assuming this story took place while he was still a bit soft, and he would grow harder, colder, more ruthless in coming years. He wasn’t totally world-weary yet.
I neither liked nor disliked Qi’ra. My prediction was wrong, she and Han did have a romantic history, though that kind of bothers me. I think I’d have appreciated it more if they’d had a super close sibling-like relationship, dependent on each other for survival growing up on the streets.
There was a lot less Lando than I thought there would be, and I hope this isn’t how they mean to explain how Han and Lando came to be such amazing frenemies, because I didn’t see it. They didn’t have any intimate moments in which to establish a connection. They were just two arrogant men working together because they had to. I liked Donald Glover in the role, though. (I recently watched one of his old stand-up specials on Netflix, I think it was called Weird, and I LOVED it! I have never laughed so hard at stand-up comedy.)
I wanted to like L3, but I didn’t. If in some alternate universe she and I ever had to interact, my patience would evaporate and I would detest her. It’s one thing to be woke, it’s one thing to be a strong person who stands up for what’s right, but it’s another to be that annoying SJW who does nothing but talk about equal rights and political correctness and make everyone else feel like selfish, condescending scum. I was not exactly happy but definitely relieved when she “died,” because that meant we wouldn’t have to listen to her for the rest of the movie.
Let’s see…Woody Harrelson’s Beckett was okay. I have yet to dislike him in anything. J.A.R.V.I.S.–I mean, Paul Bettany–made a surprisingly good eccentric villain. I really wanted to know how he’d gotten all marked up, though.
How the hell did Proxima rise to power? And if sunlight hurts her, why would she have windows in her den? The purpose of windows is to let in outside light. If she didn’t want that light, why would she have windows?
The movie was so dark, lighting-wise. Especially at the beginning; I could barely see what was going on. I understand Proxima needed darkness to live, but the battlefield was super dark, and the campfire scene, etc.
There were a few funny moments I adored, like when Han pretended that rock was a thermodetonator and pretended to activate it by making a clicking sound, or when the cannon got torn off the Falcon and Beckett said all pitifully that it hurt his thumbs.
So yeah, it was worth seeing once, but I don’t think it’ll be one of those movies I get a craving to watch. I’m interested to see where LucasFilm goes next. I’ve been neglecting my movie news podcasts, but I saw something about a Boba Fett movie. I know it was implied at the end of Solo that Han was about to go tangle with Fett, so would that be a Solo sequel, or a Fett movie that happens to have Han in it?
What did you guys think?? There’s so much more to talk about, but this was obviously just a chip off a block of story, and it’s difficult to talk about plot threads we don’t totally understand yet. I don’t know what Maul has to do with anything, and I have no idea what will happen with Qi’ra. And what about Enfys Nest?
Post anything Solo-related here! Spoil whatever you want!
Interesting…see…that’s why I want you to write the fic…you can combine it all without making him seem like he’s easily led and not the son of two military generals. I’ve seen so many comments (even from Reylo’s) that imply that he’s not the sharpest tool in the toolbox and I think it shortchanges the character. I actually hope they make him a decent supreme leader. If they make him an ineffectual leader then his eventual redemption will be tainted by the idea that he didn’t have an option not that he had a choice to make. I do agree that he cannot think logically when she’s involved.
Definitely looking forward to IX more than I was looking forward to Solo and any related Solo movies. True that just because they’re signed doesn’t mean that they’ll do the movies. But I think they were hoping they’d have a built in trilogy. It will be interesting to see where they go next. Considering that Disney’s “Star Wars Land” is based on a planet that hasn’t made an appearance yet (Batuu) and that the Thrawn book is going there, my guess is that Rian Johnson’s trilogy will explore the outer rim and unexplored space. There’s been too many hints popping up – Snoke coming from there, Luke looking for force related artifacts there, plus Thrawn, etc. I think the next big bad is based there (but I don’t think it’ll make an appearance in IX – I think the big bad in IX is Hux).
Not the sharpest tool in the toolbox?! *triggered* Like Snoke would have wanted anything to do with him if he didn’t know one end of a sabre from the other? Baloney. Ben’s very intelligent, he just doesn’t have much control over his emotions when his family and Rey are involved because he didn’t learn how to appropriately express his emotions as a child. That’s why he seems to regress when confronted with them. I can kind of relate–in kindergarten I had the best grades of my class, but the teachers still wanted to hold me back a year because they felt I wasn’t socially mature enough. I was shy, see, and kept to myself rather than make friends. Being intelligent doesn’t mean one’s wise. But wisdom can be learned, and this trilogy is about Ben–and Rey–learning to consider the bigger, polychromatic picture.
That rant wasn’t aimed at you, Amy dear. 🙂 I could see Ben being both a good and bad Supreme Leader. Depends on his mood, honestly–and that makes him dangerous. When his logic’s in gear and his narcissism is in check, he could be an excellent leader. When he’s letting his emotions make his decisions and thinking only of what he wants, not so much. But I got the feeling his rage was largely spent at the end of TLJ, that he was at a turning point–I mean, in his mind, he’d lost everything–so I’m wondering if he’s adopted a new attitude/philosophy.
I heard about that mysterious Star Wars Land planet; it’ll be interesting to see what’ll happen with that. I agree that the Unknown Regions won’t remain so for long. I’m very curious about what’s out there.
LMAO…I didn’t think it was aimed at me and I’m with you…he is most definitely NOT stupid. Drives me nuts when I see comments like that. The way I see it he’s never been taught how to control and balance his emotions. Hasn’t a clue as to how to handle them which leads to frustration which triggers his fight or flight reflex…he fights (as a parent of a child who heads straight to fight when she gets frustrated I get it). I’m looking forward to seeing how the character progresses in IX.
I find the timing of Star Wars land interesting. It should open summer-ish 2019. Plenty of time to hype the movie and create the tie in between the planet and what’s coming next.
Okay, so my reaction to Solo was a bit different from yours and Amy’s. I’ve been closely following the news of this film from the beginning and had pretty much given up hope of it being any good, given it’s very fraught production. I love and trust Ron Howard so I decided to give it a reluctant shot.
I ended up being blown away by how much fun it was. Certainly it wasn’t as brilliant, deep, and moving as TLJ, and so much of it was extremely predictable (my husband was amused and annoyed that I kept calling the various deaths and betrayals before they happened) but I didn’t except to have so much good ole-fashioned Star Wars fun.
By far my favorite, favorite part was the establishment of the Chewie/Han bromance. They were great right from the start and their bond pulled me through that movie. Lando was great too, especially the “Han” pronunciation Easter egg and that aggressive, confrontational hug at the end ala Cloud City. I admit, I expected more screen time for him, but what he had was great.
L3 was alright. I definitely liked her better in LAST SHOT. I liked the accidental droid liberation and coup. She did kind of grate on my nerves a little, but mostly I was fine with her. — Also, as an aside, I think it’s total BS and a cheap move to claim Lando as a pansexual after the fact. I consider myself an ally of the queer community but that felt like a hasty hand-wavy bit of tokenism that did not reflect in his character in the movie or anywhere in the canon. Lando is a ladies’ man, through and through. So it bugs me that they’re trying to check that box with a character like him.
Anyway. Beckett was kind of blah for me. I wish they’d had him die and let Val be the Beckett character. That would have been awesome.
Qi’ra was pretty much exactly what I thought she’d be— Han’s love interest and ultimate betrayer. I thought Emilia Clarke did a very good job with that first scene after they meet up again. Her smiles are deftly done, sad-but-pretending-otherwise. I liked her performance, even if the character didn’t wow me. As far as what happened to her in those 3 years, I got the feeling she was trafficked, based on what she warns Han about in the beginning. She says if they get caught they could be trafficked or killed or worse. Somehow she ended up with Crimaon Dawn and became a lieutenant, but I think she started out maybe as a slave. Not entirely sure. But they seem to be setting her up as a villain for a sequel film.
(At first I was bothered that they’d give Han a love interest besides Leia, but upon consideration I think I’m okay with it. I think it strengthens his romance with Leia, knowing how he’d been so brutally betrayed and hurt before, but that he still managed to let someone that far into his life again. That he was able to trust Leia enough to fall deeply in love again, perhaps more deeply than his boyhood crush on Qi’ra.)
They’ve announced the Boba Fett movie, which they teased with Han and Chewie headed to Tattooine, but they’ve also officially-unofficially announced an Obi-Wan movie, which they teased with Maul. I’m incredibly excited about that. I almost fell off my seat with that reveal. I can’t wait to see Obi-Wan and Maul face off again.
So big stuff coming down the pipeline. As for this movie, it was fun. Nothing astounding, but enjoyable. I loved seeing how the Falcon came to be. Also in a couple of the books it mentions that it has three droid brains, leading to its weird language and sometimes conflicting messages, so it was kind of cool to see how they integrated L3 into that. And Enfys Nest was pretty awesome. I liked seeing a young WOC in a powerful, non-sexualized role like that.
Okay, enough of this ridiculous long review. TL:DR — not perfect, but super fun, and Han/Chewie are the best.
Definitely gonna go watch that Donald Glover standup now!
I didn’t go into the movie with high expectations. Han was never a favorite of mine so this movie was pretty low on my wish list of Star Wars movies. But, I liked it way more than I thought I would. Totally agree that various scenes were way too dark. I did not love the first 1/4 of the movie. I found Han really annoying while on Corellia, and didn’t think much of Qi’ra at this point either. Since I wasn’t as geared up for this movie I read very little of it before so I didn’t know/care who everyone was. I think it picked up a bit when Chewbacca showed up. Beckett was ok. JARVIS/Vision was likewise ok. I was fascinated at how they made the jump in three years from the Qi’ra we saw before to the one we saw with Vision (yeah, can’t remember the character’s name). Thought they might explain it more but alas still wondering how she got from point A to point C. Lando was Lando. Also never a favorite but Donald Glover was phenomenal. I also found the robot really annoying. K2 from Rogue One was a much better character. I did feel bad for Lando when she died. And I find the fact that she’s integrated into the Falcon interesting (3P0’s comments about how the Falcon talks is now really pretty funny). I liked Han more and more as the movie went on. Love Chewbacca. Loved the fact that they not only poked a little fun at the originals but also addressed some continuity issues (Lando’s pronunciation of “Han”). Loved the fact that Han “shot first” when he killed Beckett. The whole Greedo thing has been a stupid fan argument over the years. I’m glad they essentially put this one to rest.
My fascination is really with Darth Maul and Qi’ra. Maul was such a wasted character in episode 1. He got a second and third life in Clone Wars and Rebels. Curious as to how this will role into future movies. I read somewhere that the cast is signed on for three movies so somewhere there’s a trilogy on the drawing board. But, not sure the movie is doing well enough to get a trilogy.
I did like Han and Chewbacca together. I’d watch them in another movie.
Last comment…the dice were EVERYWHERE. I was actually a little surprised. I thought they’d make an appearance but not that many appearances.
Also, glad you’re still commenting on Star Wars :-). I got halfway through the Crait fic the day after you posted it and didn’t have time to finish it. Just now getting enough free time to go back and read! And, (personal plea) if you ever get the urge to write another Ben fic please write the abduction scene from TFA…I hate that everyone assumes the he took her because she facinated him…he took her because Poe showed up with the x-wing squadron and decimated Ben’s ground troops. The storm trooper JUST showed up asking for additional troops. Ben is not stupid and I personally think he’s his mothers son and is a great strategist. End rant…on to Crait!
You and I had very similar sentiments toward the movie. I want to know what happened to Qi’ra in those 3 years, too, and I get the feeling that they intended to explore that in sequels. Whether those sequels happen or not will depend on how much Solo makes at the box office; they need to see if it’s worth the investment of time and money. I know Alden was signed for three or four movies, but that doesn’t mean they’re happening. That just means the actor is locked down salary-wise and obligated to return if the studio green-lights sequels. Contracts can be fought and broken, but it’s messy and tarnishes the actor’s reputation. So we’ll just have to wait and see. I’d watch a sequel, but I’m not anticipating it like I’m anticipating IX. Oh and the fact that he’s signed for several movies doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll all be Solo movies. He could just appear in other movies, such as Boba Fett’s.
As for that TFA scene on Takodana–I think it was both, honestly. Intermingled purposes, equally important. We can’t forget Ben’s entire objective was to find the map to Luke, and the squadron was there to capture BB-8. They weren’t there for battle, though they didn’t mind bullying the creatures at Maz’s castle, because that’s what the Order does. If they’d been there for battle, Ben wouldn’t have been running the show, and they wouldn’t have needed to call for backup because they’d have arrived in full force. They obviously weren’t prepared for the Resistance to show up–and don’t be fooled, the Resistance was also there to recover BB-8. It just so happened that the First Order was there, too, and the Resistance engaged for two reasons: to prevent the Order from getting to BB-8 first, and because it was great opportunity to take out some troopers, since they more or less had the element of surprise.
Ben didn’t necessarily expect to meet Rey, though he probably assumed he’d have to go through “the girl” to get to BB-8. He certainly didn’t expect to be fascinated by her, which there is no denying he was–except I don’t think it was a romantic thing, not at that point. He was fascinated by her because of the power he sensed in her and that weird feeling of familiarity. It–she–took him aback. When the trooper told him they needed backup, Ben was pulled back to reality and he realized it was not the time or place to explore her mind. A decision needed to be made, and I think Ben’s fascination with Rey and desire to explore her mind further colored the logic of his decision. Strategically, it would have been better to obtain the tangible file from BB-8, especially on the hope that no one had made a copy, and if that was truly what he wanted at that moment, he wouldn’t have hesitated to call for more troops and turn it into a full-scale battle. But in that moment he wanted more time with Rey almost as much as–if not more than–he wanted the map, so he convinced himself that he could get the map from her mind and that was good enough. It was a win-win–their mission was complete, and Ben had a new toy. Personally satisfied, he gave the order to pull out. It’s a perfect example of the kind of impulsiveness and self-interest that will make him a terrible Supreme Leader. It’s also a perfect example of how he’s incapable of being objective when she’s involved. Just like on Crait, he was making smart decisions until she showed up.
I hope that made sense. What do you think?