Solo: A Star Wars Story Spoiler Talk
As always with my movie reviews, here is where I will talk about the major events and spoilers of the film in detail. So, if you haven't seen the film, watch the film and/or read my non-spoiler review of the film. I won't be going scene by scene, instead, talking about the major moments from the film, in no particular order.
Easter eggs
This film has the most amount of Easter eggs I've seen in a film, which is certainly for the most hardcore fans out there. There are too many to list, partly because I probably missed some. One of the biggest ones I saw was that it was mentioned Beckett killed Aurra Sing. She was a bounty hunter who first made a brief appearance as a background character in the Phantom Menace, before showing up in a couple episodes of The Clone Wars. It's a nice connection that doesn't distract you in the film, such as the, in retrospect, the stupid cameos in Rouge One.
Solo in the Empire
One thing about Han's origin that was kept from the Legends continuity was that he was a part of the Empire. At the beginning of the film, he and Qi'ra get separated on Corellia, so Han joins the Empire to eventually come back and rescue her. It's a decent enough reason, and the fact Han was kicked out of the Imperial flight academy for "having a might of his own," speaks a lot to his character.
The Empire was wisely used to a minimum in the film, which was a good thing to me, as when they did show up, it made sense. However, there is one element to the Empire that is sure to be divisive to many. When Han signs up to the Empire, the Imperials ask what his last name is, to which Han replies he doesn't have a last one, he works alone. This causes the Empire to give him the last name...Solo. Yes, that is how he gets his last name. I'm not really sure how I feel, as it kind of feels stupid. It would have made sense of Han would have just made of the name on the spot. Also, Han just decided to keep the same for the rest of his life and eventually name his child after that, despite it not only being made up, but also being made up by the Empire? Ok, whatever floats your boat.
It was also during this period where he see Han rescuing Chewie from slavery, just like in Legends. However, there's a twist in this version. Chewie tries to eat Han and Han has to speak to Chewie in his language for him to understand truly, which I thought was a clever twist.
Sabaac
One of the things that fans wanted to see is the infamous game of Sabaac in which Lando loses the Falcon to Han. We do get to see that at the end of the film and to me, it works well. Earlier in the film, Lando and Han play a game of Sabaac to where Lando cheats to win. At the end of the film, Han cheats back and wins the Falcon, which also stings for Lando considering what he went through in the film. (We'll get to that later) Overall, I thought the Sabaac sequences were handled well. They didn't overstay their welcome and were fun to watch.
The big heist of the film is Han, Beckett, Chewie, Qi'ra, L3, and Lando trying to steal materials from the spice mines of Kessel. The sets during the scene looked great, and, in typical Han fashion, the plan goes south pretty quickly. L3, being the droid rights droid she is, starts a...I kid you not, a droid revolution on the planet, which eventually leads to a full-on slave revolt. In all honesty, it was the right amount of bat-shit insanity and was one of the few moments in the film I found L3 enjoyable. Plus, the action in the spice mines were some of the best in the film. Plus, I love how the film referenced one of the worst Star Wars games by having Qi'ra fight with Teras Kasi.
Kessel run
Yep, as promised, the film shows Han flying the Falcon through the Kessel run in 12 parsecs...if you round down. Much like the Sabaac scenes, I thought the sequence was handled well and truly shows Han's natural skill as a pilot. Some have argued the scene went on too long, and, while true, it didn't bother me, as I was entertained on how Han was going to get out of the situation. Plus, the film cleverly explains why the Falcon looks like "A piece of junk," in the original trilogy. One thing too is that during the Kessel revolt, L3 is fatally wounded and dies in Lando's arms. To help plan their escape, they place her memory in the Falcon itself, which explains why C-3PO said the computer is "rude" to him in The Empire Strikes Back."
Beckett's role
Beckett was marketed as Han's mentor, and I think that's exactly how their relationship plays out. To me, I thought their connection was handled well in the film. He tells Han to never trust anyone, which comes back to haunt him when he eventually betrays Han to Dryden. While some may call this an obvious twist, I see it more as heartbreaking because I feel like Beckett really cared about Han and didn't want to betray him and only did it because he felt like he had no choice. There is a lot of morally grey subject matter in the film and this is one of them. Beckett is not necessarily a bad person, but he is not selfless either. It also makes their connection more heartbreaking, to me, when Han is forced to "shoot first," and kill Beckett at the end of the film, which, again, to me, was handled well.
Deaths
So yeah, there is a lot of characters that die in the film. I already mentioned Beckett, which influenced Han, and L3, which was a character growth moment for Lando. Val and Rio die during the train heist, and, while I felt bad for Rio, again, we didn't see much of them so it was hard for me to feel that much sympathy for them. Dryden also dies at the end. His final fight with Qi'ra and Han was a cool sequence...I just wish he was in the film more because I thought he was charming and so his death could have been more impactful.
Enfys Nest
As it turns out, one of the villains of the film, Enfys Nest, isn't as big of a big guy...or a guy. Yes, it turns out Nest is a young teenage girl who is part of the growing rebellion against the Empire...sound familiar? As far as the twist, I liked that she is a rebel cell. The twist she was a girl was already given away in a magazine article, though I was surprised how young she was. I didn't have to much stock in the character, but thematically it made sense based on the state of the galaxy at the time.
Qi'ra's role
As it turns out, Qi'ra wasn't just an old friend of Han, they were in a relationship as well. To be honest, I liked their chemistry in the film, almost rivaling Han and Leia. She and Han try to escape Corellia at the beginning of the film, but she is captured. Three years later, she now works for Dryden and you can tell that she would want nothing more than to run off with the man she loved, but knows in her mind she cannot do that. That theme is carried over her head, to me, throughout the film, and I think it was handled well. At the end of the film, she kills Dryden, to, in my opinion, save Han. However, instead of going with Han and Chewie, she decides to stay and work for the real mastermind of the Crimson Dawn. This is another heartbreaking scene as well and I believe this betrayal explains why Han is so cynical in A New Hope when we meet him.
Maul
This was the biggest shock I've had in a movie in a long time. I literally freaked out when I saw him on screen. Yes, the real mastermind of the Crimson Dawn is Maul. This is huge. Lucasfilm did a huge risk putting him in the film. For hardcore Star Wars fans, we know Maul survived Episode 1, as we see him in the Clone Wars and Rebels. However, for the casual fan or observer who only watch the films, I can imagine he or she feeling extremely confused. To me, I think this risk pulled off because it shows Disney and Lucasfilm are really serious about everything in the new canon being tied together and showing that on the big screen, at the risk of alienating audiences. Timeline wise, it makes perfect sense why Maul is here, who is physically played by Ray Park again and is voiced by Sam Witwer. In the end, Maul tells Qi'ra to come to Dathomir, as he says they will be working...closely together. This was the only real loose thread left in the film. Whether this sets up a Solo sequel, another movie, or a tie-in comic or novel, I'm excited to see this new story in Maul's legacy being told.
Overall, like I said before, while I had some problems with the film, I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was better than it had any right to be. If I had to give it a rating, as of right now, I would give it a solid 8 out of 10.
