A Walt Disney Picture, Written by Jonathan Kasdan and Lawrence Kasdan, Directed by Ron Howard.
This is an entirely solid but also entirely unnecessary movie. No one really wanted a prequel film about a young Han Solo, but there were no real burning questions to answer.
If treated on it’s own as a low key space western, it is a well staged, well acted, decent film that is easy to sit back for a couple of hours and enjoy. However, this is a Star Wars film, following from three consecutive huge billions dollar entries, and it was always destined to flop.
The behind the scenes drama made the budget ridiculously high for the type of film it was, and while Ron Howard does his best to deliver a really solid movie, I would’ve been fascinated what the guys behind The Lego Movie and Spider-Verse would’ve brought to the Star Wars universe.
Alden Ehrenreich deserved a better film because he actually makes for a good Han Solo and takes on the unenviable task of mimicking Harrison Ford. By the end of the film, Ehrenreich truly feels like Han and you believe that he will become Harrison Ford’s version in a few years time.
The other stand outs from the cast are Emilia Clarke, who is one of the most likeable actresses on the planet. However, she has proven now she should not star in generic action films, and that she is much more suited to comedies and dramas.
Donald Glover makes for a fascinating Lando, but he has very little to actually do and is mainly just used for comedic effect.
Overall, I feel this story would’ve been much better off being told on Disney+ than in the form of a film, and that it is simply too low key and inconsequential to be a Star Wars movie.
Rating = 3/5
Howe's World of Film and TV 