Star Wars: Young Han Solo

[Dr Rock]

Ingruber would have been a terrible, terrible choice that many, many people tend to defend on message boards, just on the base of a two minutes flashback in a film. Sure, he looks like Ford, and he can sound like Han Solo, but the guy is first an impersonator, not an actor.

Apart from all the film and TV work he's acted in.

[Alberon]

Finally got round to seeing this (in a 3/4 empty theatre on a Saturday night) and it is thunderously average as others have said. Considering the massive upheavals behind the camera that has to be considered something of a win.

But, more than other prequels, this one became a check box exercise.

Explain the dice - check
Explain the uppity Falcon computer - check
Explain his name - check
Meeting Chewie - check
Meeting the Millennium Falcon - check
Shooting first - check

Etc Etc Etc

This was conceived as the first of a possible trilogy. With the reshoots seriously boosting the budget it now looks like it won't even break even at the box office so that has to be dead now. As to the bits setting up the sequel, I don't know if we'll ever see any of that play out. The only standout character in this is Lando and he could work in his own film, but the audience has to be given a good reason to go to see it. Being a very liked character from the OT is clearly not nearly enough.

Blockbuster fatigue (the target audience for this would have shelled out for the Avengers and the older ones for Deadpool in the last few weeks) plus the fact that new Star Wars is no longer a novelty means these aren't guaranteed to work.

I think ill feeling to The Last Jedi doesn't play a huge part. Though I felt it made the mistake of instead of building on The Force Awakens it instead swept most of it into the bin. With those two films it doesn't feel like there is any coherent plan for the new trilogy. But I don't think it directly harmed Solo.


TL;DR *shrugs* it's okay.

[popcorn]

It's quite honestly one of the worst movies that I've ever seen.

Mate. The contortions you must have put yourself through to arrive at that conclusion. It must have bothered you on some weird ideological level.

[Ant Farm Keyboard]

Apart from all the film and TV work he's acted in.

Take away the shorts and the voice work, and it consists of:

Policeman in Sensing Murder (2006)
Tony in Karaoke High (2006)
Ground Technician (uncredited) in Avatar (2009)
Sean in Avalon High (2010, TV), 11th highly billed part
Young William Jones in The Age of Adaline (2015)

[Dr Rock]

I agree with St_Eddie, TLJ is an incredibly poor movie. I don't have to do any mental gymnastics to think that.

[Dr Rock]

Take away the shorts and the voice work, and it consists of:

Policeman in Sensing Murder (2006)
Tony in Karaoke High (2006)
Ground Technician (uncredited) in Avatar (2009)
Sean in Avalon High (2010, TV), 11th highly billed part
Young William Jones in The Age of Adaline (2015)

You said he wasn't an actor. He is.

[thecuriousorange]

If you-know-who can survive being lightsabered in half, that means Snoke may well be alive. In Star Wars something like that isn't that serious, apparently.

[Dr Rock]

'Your father's lightsaber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age.

Although one drawback is even if you cut someone in half with it, they can recover quite easily.'

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

You-know-who survived being chopped in half and a big fall, which means he's harder than Snoke and the Emperor combined.

I assume that Kylo Ben would have made sure Snoke was fully carked. If you're going to chop someone in half, don't half arse it.

[Blumf]

Always chop your opponent in half lengthways.

It's like slitting your wrists. Across is just for attention.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

"I'm cut in half pretty bad."

https://youtu.be/RXdrDNGte1E

[St_Eddie]

Mate. The contortions you must have put yourself through to arrive at that conclusion. It must have bothered you on some weird ideological level.

Or it's just one of the worst movies that I've ever seen?  Which it is.  There's no deep, dark secret as to why I think that.  I just found it to be an appallingly bad movie, with a horrendously written script.  Your millage may vary, naturally.  I can only speak to my own experience and feelings.

[bgmnts]

Relatively though, surely? There are thousands of films worse than it.

[Delete Delete Delete]

This one is far worse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ44a1LbwRw

[St_Eddie]

Relatively though, surely?

Yes, of course it's relative.  I'm not saying that it's objectively one of the worst movies that I've ever seen, from a technical standpoint but rather that, subjectively, it's one of the worst movies that I've ever seen, in terms of how inept, incompetent, needlessly subversive and hackneyed I found the script to be.

There are thousands of films worse than it.

Note that I said "one of the worst movies that I've ever seen".  "Movies", not "films".  In terms of a big budget, popcorn munching, blockbuster movie (that's also a sequel and therefore carries a certain amount of expectation); The Last Jedi is one of the worst movies that I have ever seen.  That's just my own view.  I'm not suggesting that other people should share it.

[Rolf Lundgren]

Watched Solo tonight without reading any reviews although vaguely aware it had underperformed. By now I'll assume most people have watched it so will have SPOILERS. A few thoughts:

Alden Ehrenreich must have only got the part for looking a bit like a wide faced Harrison Ford. He lacked any charisma and presence, often seeming to be a side character in his own film. To be fair, part of the problem was the script. He's never given any particular good wise-cracking lines or anything that suggests at his ambivalent morality. He plays him pretty straight when really he should have been anything but. The scene right at the end with Lando was great though, would have loved to have more of that.

Emilia Clarke was disappointing too. She wasn't able to pull off the mystery behind her character, her face staying in one expression throughout. I could appreciate the styling and her look reminded me of a Gene Tierney type in a 1940s film noir. Her and Ehrenreich had little chemistry too.

Rest of the cast were decent, Harrelson in particular. Having Chewbacca feature so heavily is in it's favour. The dialogue between him and Han still works as great light relief and they were able to give him a plot of his own compared to how he's used in the new trilogy.

Loved the Darth Maul cameo, although would have loved it more if they'd used Peter Serafinowicz.

I wasn't sure about the pacing while I was watching but on reflection, the ending is really well done. It set up more films but also quite nicely wrapped this one up in it's own contained story. It still feels like a film that's had three directors but it's been salvaged and just about makes it through to the other side.

Although I've been critical, I'm glad I watched it and it was great to see a blockbuster which is so story/plot driven. There's plenty going on and fits in with the rest of the Star Wars universe without feeling like it's been crow barred in.

[St_Eddie]

...Emilia Clarke was disappointing too. She wasn't able to pull off the mystery behind her character, her face staying in one expression throughout...

What did you expect?  It's Emilia Clarke.

[mothman]

I've also seen it now. It's not a disaster. I came away at the end feeling positive, while conscious of all the times while watching I wasn't feeling that positive. It's all very uninvolving. The Solo grin was missing. As others have said there was some ticking of boxes going on, but some were left unticked (at least Chewie didn't get his classic bandolier and bowcaster). Emilia Clarke still can't act. And, Darth Maul, what the fuck?

[Dr Rock]

at least Chewie didn't get his classic bandolier

I read he did.

[St_Eddie]

I read he did.

He does.  He puts it on during the campfire scene, where everyone is arming themselves ahead of the heist (by using Beckett's supplies).  Oops, sorry!  Spoilers for how Chewie got his bandolier.  I've ruined the entire movie for people who were on tenterhooks as to the backstory of Chewbacca's bandolier.  Silly me.

[phantom_power]

The film did leave me wanting to see a Han and Lando TV series, where you get to see their various scrapes and adventures in the SW world, with these actors and this aesthetic.

[Alberon]

He does.  He puts it on during the campfire scene, where everyone is arming themselves ahead of the heist (by using Beckett's supplies).  Oops, sorry!  Spoilers for how Chewie got his bandolier.  I've ruined the entire movie for people who were on tenterhooks as to the backstory of Chewbacca's bandolier.  Silly me.

He puts a bandolier on, but I thought it wasn't the same as he usually wears.

[St_Eddie]

He puts a bandolier on, but I thought it wasn't the same as he usually wears.

I could be wrong but I don't think that he was wearing it when he was headbanging with Han in the mosh pit.

[Alberon]

No he wasn't then. It's only later on in the film when they're tooling up that he puts it on, but I'm sure it's not the same as the one in the OT or the new trilogy.

[mothman]

It's definitely not the same, in this film it's like a Y-yoke on both shoulders and contains cylindrical capsules with rounded ends; the classic has boxy magazinelike inserts.

[Replies From View]

a Y-yoke on both shoulders and contains cylindrical capsules with rounded ends

Something along these lines?

[mothman]

Yes, quite.

[Rolf Lundgren]

What did you expect?  It's Emilia Clarke.

I've never seen her in anything but knowing she's one of the main people in Game of Thrones I thought that would mean she could act her way out of a proverbial paper bag.

[Dex Sawash]

FWIW, she is much better in Solo than GoT

[mothman]

^This is however not saying very much.