SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) ****

Solo:  A Star Wars Story arrives five months after The Last Jedi, a film that left Star Wars fans polarized.  (I happened to love it.)  Solo:  A Star Wars Story is having the same kind of effect.  One thing is for sure, whenever the whiny fanboys bitch about a Star Wars movie on social media, it means the filmmakers are doing something right.  Solo is leaps and bounds better than the previous “Star Wars Story”, Rogue One and retains plenty of elements that made the original trilogy so much fun while offering us something unique at the same time.

The film’s success lies on the shoulders of Alden Ehrenreich.  A lot has been made about Donald Glover’s interpretation of Lando, but for me, Ehrenreich was the whole show.  Glover does a phenomenal job, don’t get me wrong.  It’s just that Ehrenreich had the unenviable task of living up to Harrison Ford.  The reason he pulls it off so well is due largely to the fact that he refuses to do an imitation.  Sure, there are moments where he captures some of Ford’s mannerisms and or speech patterns, but he’s playing Han Solo, not Harrison Ford.  There’s enough of the character you enjoyed in the previous films on display here, yet lots of wriggle room for Ehrenreich to carve out his own niche.  Ehrenreich, who already showed a knack for standing out in ensemble pieces like Hail, Caesar and Rules Don’t Apply, likewise doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of the various aliens and special effects and commands your attention throughout the picture.

Part of the fun is seeing how screenwriters Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan borrow tropes from westerns, war movies, and various other genres and graft them into the space setting.  Throughout the film, you’ll catch glimpses that may remind you of The Godfather 2, The Defiant Ones, Paths of Glory, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  I mean, what can you say about a movie that starts off like Oliver Twist and ends like an episode of Maverick, other than, it’s awesome.

Yes, there are parts that are callbacks (callforwards?) to the original film.  However, like the cherrypicked genre moments, they are organically woven into the narrative in such a way that they don’t feel like gratuitous fan service (which is one of the problems I had with Rogue One).  There is at least one cameo that will make Star Wars fans stand up and cheer.  Whether or not Disney will follow through with giving this character a new storyline in coming films remains to be seen.  I'm just glad to know they’re still there lurking on the edges of the galaxy.

Ehrenreich has the right blend of cocky swagger and effortless cool the part requires.  He looks great standing next to a Wookie and is as quick with his wit as he is with a blaster.  I for one am on board for more solo Solo movies.