Summary:

This is the spoiler review for Solo. You have been warned. Short version of the non-spoiler review: I enjoyed it, but it didn’t blow me away like any of the originals or hit the “wow, only Star Wars could be this good” button.

Additional Comments:

– Not quite an opening crawl, but I do like that this time they tried to set the scene for you.

– Things that made me laugh: Han speaking Wookie. The presence of the imperial star destroyer in the tunnel.

– Of course the Maul thing threw me. I loved it.

– Enfys Nest’s reveal was cool too. She reminds me of Princess Merida. Gotta be the hair.

– I think Donald Glover probably fit his character best.

– Didn’t know much about Qi’ra, but I think she probably has some of the most potential for book spinoffs. I want to know what happened when she got caught in the spaceport.

– The way Han picked up the Solo part of his name is interesting, but I think they could have done better. I mean, if the kid remembers his father, how come he can’t conjure a last name?

– As mentioned in the non-spoiler review, there’s decent replay value to the movie.

– Things every fan wanted to see: winning the Falcon from Lando, Kessel run, Solo’s imperial days, meeting Chewie, Han’s penchant to shoot first.

– I really would have liked to see more of the training at Carida. The “3 years later” thing was kind of lame. I kind of liked the original EU version.

– Things I missed the first time:

Totally missed the reason the other crew was even on that mudball planet. They were there to steal the ship, but the first viewing that went right over my head. Dryden Vos looked like he had facial tattoos removed.

– Plot (4/5): I don’t like time skips, but I can see why it was necessary. It was interesting to see Han as a soldier briefly.

– Characters (4/5):

I like young Lando, but L3’s annoying. She does have a few good lines though. It’s good that they had pretty solid focus on Han, but knowing the backstories a bit more for people like Qi’ra would have been helpful. There are hints she’s done things she regrets, but a few more specifics would have been nice. Backstory for how Chewie ended up as the lone prisoner in that hole would have been good. Tobias Beckett’s an interesting character. Dryden Vos was a neat bad guy. Wish he had a few more scenes. Dude can pull off homicidal creeper very well.

– Coincidences:

Running into Qi’ra on the Crimson Dawn guy’s ship is quite the coincidences. Arguments could be made of several coincidences like that in The Force Awakens, but I still like that movie a tad better.

– Epic Shots:

Han smacking a tie fighter with the Falcon.

Conclusion:

It’s not going to replace most of the Star Wars movies as my favorite, but it’s up and over The Last Jedi and The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.