I enjoyed the movie, but it didn't especially excite me like the Marvel Movies are right now.

Frankly I think SW just has a lot of competition these days, and it may just be a brand that is being left behind like Classic Rock. Of course, this is all just relative to its own success. Its not doing badly at all, just not living up to its own expectations.

Anymore I'm expecting to walk into a SW film like a James Bond film. Who knows what actors will be playing what parts, who is directing it, the overall feel of the movies, etc. etc. I just expect anoth decent blockbuster movie that is Star Wars themed.

j p o wrote:

When you get to be old farts you have already seen most of the themes. Think how many times you see a movie and think, "well, this was a lot better when it was called ..."

I was thinking about this after I posted above. How did I expect to be surprised? I already know how Han winds up. They couldn't hardly surprise me by having him and Quira running off to have a family. Of course I predicted as soon as I saw her that she would end up messing with his head, otherwise we would have heard of her in episode 4.

And my wife will just have to get over the fact that he is too short to be Han.

If nothing else, Solo: A Star Wars Story demonstrates, yet again, that Ron Howard knows how to make good movies.

Part of the recent effort to expand on the Star Wars universe by building a set of prequels that provide deeper background to the main series, Solo is basically an origin story for Han Solo, one of the most beloved of George Lucas' creations. The film introduces a young Han (Alden Ehrenreich) and his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emelia Clarke), on the run from a local crime boss, and with big plans to strike it rich and get out of the life of petty crime and slavery they have been stuck in. Separated from Qi'ra during their escape, Han sets out to make enough money to buy a ship and return to find her. Along the way, he teams up with a band of criminals, finds a couple of new friends, and develops into the beginnings of the seasoned smuggler we know from the original trilogy.

Overall, the movie is a bit of an action heist movie, which is appropriate for a film about a smuggler. The action moves well, with a few big set pieces, and the effects are what you'd expect. Some of the standard Star Wars stuff is in there, like funny aliens, and jokey humor, but it was managed well so that there are no Jar Jar Binks or Ewoks to ruin the movie. The characters are pretty good. Ehrenreich is ok as Han, although I don't know that I view him as a young Harrison Ford, so much as his own version of Han. Donald Glover is good as Lando Calrissian, and at times, sounds just like Billy Dee Williams. There are a few other recognizable faces playing both good guys and bad, although not all of the likable characters survive to the end. The best thing about the movie is seeing the references to the Star Wars universe, the Easter eggs and nods to things you've seen in other films. There's tons of stuff in there that explains how Han becomes the character we know and love, how Chewbacca becomes his friend and copilot, references to characters and aspects of the Star Wars universe, and actions that set the scene for the original timeline movies.

Solo is a good addition to the Star Wars film universe, and benefits from not working so hard to tie in Jedis, the force, Sith, etc. Instead, it's content to be its own film, tell Han's story, and deliver good action with good humor.

Standard Star Wars violence, no foul language, no sexual content other than some kissing. Rated PG-13, and probably fine for kids in the pre-teen age and up. I'd think twice about taking kids younger than 7 or 8, if only because it might be hard for them to keep track of what's going on, and some sympathetic characters die during the movie.

Overall, two thumbs up. I liked Solo better than the most recent Jedi movies.