Solo - A Star Wars Story SPOILER-Filled Thread (Reviews and Discussion)

[Sirwalterraleigh]

The one issue I have with Solo is it's need to tie it into the larger saga.

Why does Han have to be the one who provides funding to this new alliance, and is a major reason, if not THE reason, that the Rebel Alliance comes to be.

It's far more interesting for him just to be a smuggler and scoundrel, who grows and becomes so much more when he is inadvertently drawn into the larger conflict.

It's just like Lucas's infamous decision not to have Han shoot first. He has to be the good guy, he can't be a morally questionable individual who changes over time.

No defined vision...it’s like the anti-mcu.

There NEEDS to be a complete change in LFL leadership...it’s coming. Some don’t want to accept it because their understanding is limited to box office mojo...but it is coming. Can’t be soon enough.

Kathy will “retire” soon enough.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I’m gonna have to stand on my previous comment...jedi thrashing is a “thing” and Disney has really mucked these episodes up...

I think "Star Wars bashing" in general is a thing. This is supposedly a thread about Solo, but feels more about people's continuous need to remind everyone that they hated The Last Jedi and the current state of the franchise.

I only bring up older movies to show that the Star Wars franchise is not a flawless entity that Disney has somehow corrupted, but rather a franchise that has always been hit or miss, and arguably more of the latter.

Solo appears to be a financial misstep, but I'm not convinced this is the beginning of the end for Kathleen Kennedy. Everything released under her watch have otherwise been huge hits.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I think "Star Wars bashing" in general is a thing. This is supposedly a thread about Solo, but feels more about people's continuous need to remind everyone that they hated The Last Jedi and the current state of the franchise.

I only bring up older movies to show that the Star Wars franchise is not a flawless entity that Disney has somehow corrupted, but rather a franchise that has always been hit or miss, and arguably more of the latter.

Solo appears to be a financial misstep, but I'm not convinced this is the beginning of the end for Kathleen Kennedy. Everything released under her watch have otherwise been huge hits.

On one hand: I totally agree.

On the other hand: solo’s performance is at least mathematically significantly about the last Johnson (god...I hope).

So yes...the hate is tedious...it’s hard to separate individual genomes on this one.

And if a significant - but impossible to quantify - portion of the audience hated 8 and that is dragging down solo - conservatively $400 mil production and marketing budget - then that IS on Kennedy. That’s where the axe for these types of things fall.

It also will call for screaming and decisions we may never find out about in the dwarf house and the presidio...

Such is life in the ‘Wood.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I felt the marketing on this film was way off.

The trailers did almost nothing for me, in terms of wanting to see the movie, and yet I enjoyed it. Strange, as Lucasfilm is probably the best in the business when it comes to selling a movie.

Credit to Ron Howard. How much was his we may never know, but the movie didn't feel disjointed. If I wasn't aware of the behind the scenes changes, I don't think I'd guess they changed directors during filming. With Rogue One it felt pretty apparent that they decided rather late in the game that the movie needed a big space battle.

Solo had good music too. Great new material with a few obligatory throwbacks, but not overused. We just had a reprise of the RotJ Death Star attack music in TFA, but it's awesome so I'm fine with it showing up here too. Music is important in Star Wars and they've done a good job, not an easy thing to do when you're comparing to John Williams.

 

[mf1972]

we watched it last night, & we enjoyed it for what it was. i did prefer R1 over this movie. the 1 beef i can come up with for now is i thought bettany came off as a weak villain.
as far as underperforming, my guess it could be how some fans felt after TLJ, & deadpool 2 gave it some decent competition over the weekend. i can’t recall TFA or TLJ having much competition on their opening weekends.

 

[tk924]

I enjoyed Solo for the most part.

Highlights for me...
- At the beginning of Solo, seeing Chewy portrayed the way he was in the comics. Fierce. Super strong.
- Classic Stormtroopers, Tie Fighters and Star Destoyers
- Lando. Not a fan of Donald Glover, but a great portrayal nonetheless.
- Weasel from TPM.
- And of course, Ray Park as Maul with Sam Witwer providing the voice.
- Oh, and name dropping Bossk and Aurra Sing.

My current rating of Disney Star Wars.
1 - Rogue One
2 - Solo
3 - TFA

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I enjoyed Solo for the most part.

Highlights for me...
- At the beginning of Solo, seeing Chewy portrayed the way he was in the comics. Fierce. Super strong.
- Classic Stormtroopers, Tie Fighters and Star Destoyers
- Lando. Not a fan of Donald Glover, but a great portrayal nonetheless.
- Weasel from TPM.
- And of course, Ray Park as Maul with Sam Witwer providing the voice.

My current rating of Disney Star Wars.
1 - Rogue One
2 - Solo
3 - TFA

....I see what you did there

 

[HonorableMention]

I posted this in the GE news thread since I don’t visit the non-park sections of the board often, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about this.

At one point Qi’ra I think mentions how she doesn’t think Han could even get to Black Spire. I thought it was a neat tie-in to Galaxy’s Edge that helped connect the movie and park universe.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I posted this in the GE news thread since I don’t visit the non-park sections of the board often, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about this.

At one point Qi’ra I think mentions how she doesn’t think Han could even get to Black Spire. I thought it was a neat tie-in to Galaxy’s Edge that helped connect the movie and park universe.

I think there will be no movie references other than characters and ships/equipment.

They don’t seem to know which way to go on film...so I think it would that would be wise to hold out on.

They could have built a OT land that the generation that will have all the money for the next 30 years has begged for decades...but that was a bit too easy - I suppose

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

It seems odd that Disney would build a land that won't necessarily appear on film, considering how big they are on synergy.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Galaxy's Edge in Episode 9, as the story has been set up to feature the outer rim.

 

[Gitson Shiggles]

When you realize Erhenreich’s Solo is going to be THE Solo Disney uses from now on, instead of Harrison Ford in marketing, merchandise, etc. (outside the original trilogy)

 

[spock8113]

After reading a number of reviews, it's spoiled.
I'll wait for it to come out on VHS!
Only just recently saw the Last Jedi, at home.
Time for new story lines. They can only recycle the Last Hope so many times.

1) Good guys find out there's yet another more devious Death Star that needs to be destroyed.
2) We meet an old 1977/1980/1983 character who is mentally and emotionally slowly written out,
3) we see all those familiar spaceships with slightly updated modifications to "update" things.
4) The Rebels on the edge of extinction manage to regroup.
5) The Millenium Falcon flies through yet another asteroid filed, giant worm or ridiculously dirty garages
6) The Death Star, usually bigger and even less lit, is surprisingly destroyed (via trench weakness)
just as someone else's home planet comes into view.
7) The closing shot of the next main character as a young kid to set up the next movie which I sincerely Last Hope
has absolutely NONE of the last 7 overused story lines.

Oh, I almost forgot the obligatory and very overused cantina scene that keeps action figure manufacturers,
makeup artists and costume designers employed.

if you like this overused plot from the original series, that's fine, but I seem to have perceived that Disney was going to
take this in other directions. Putting women or minorities in identical characters is way too simple keeping the characters simple as well.
It seems what was supposed to be an old time "serial" has morphed into: Place your answer here
Does George Lucas have any input?
I'm falling asleep just writing this. Poor Ron Howard.

Don't get me wrong, the original 3 set the bar, the next 3, while explaining some seemed to lower the bar.
The Force Awakens was good, I thought Rogue One was the best so for of the newer movies but The Last Jedi and the new Solo movie
seem to rehash all the old stuff without presenting anything new or thought provoking.
I think one of the biggest problems is most people grew up with all of these and the formula is hard to break away from.

 

[MisterPenguin]

‘Solo’ A No-Go Due To “Poor Marketing,” Not Franchise Fatigue, Analyst Says

 

[LSLS]

‘Solo’ A No-Go Due To “Poor Marketing,” Not Franchise Fatigue, Analyst Says

Seems like a bit of a shot at Kennedy as well. I'll admit I didn't think marketing would be that large an issue (I mean, the trailers were good and exciting), but it's entirely possible. One thing for sure is I agree that I don't think fatigue is an issue.

 

[Bairstow]

The best thing I can say about Solo is that it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I did like that Maeve from Westworld shows up for a bit. Why is it so dark, though? For half the movie you can't really see what's going on.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

The best thing I can say about Solo is that it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. I did like that Maeve from Westworld shows up for a bit. Why is it so dark, though? For half the movie you can't really see what's going on.

"‘Solo’ Theater Projection Problems Leave Fans In The Dark, Enrage Industry Veterans"

http://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/so...rojection-problems-bradford-young-1201969989/

 

[LieutLaww]

Movie was not dark at the cinema I went to.

 

[Phroobar]

It seems odd that Disney would build a land that won't necessarily appear on film, considering how big they are on synergy.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Galaxy's Edge in Episode 9, as the story has been set up to feature the outer rim.

Reports are that Batuu will be featured in an upcoming Thrawn novel and will appear in Episode 9. That is when all the fan boys go, "Oh look! I can see Disneyland! That's thematically inconsistant."

 

[fractal]

Just got back from viewing. I liked it, actually liked it a lot. Have to chew on it before I give more thoughts. One thing I didn't like was the dull color palette and how the characters were shot in shadow for most of the movie. I'm sure that was a creative decision but I wasn't particularly fond of it and it didn't match the overall "fun" of the film.

 

[fractal]

I felt the marketing on this film was way off.

The trailers did almost nothing for me, in terms of wanting to see the movie, and yet I enjoyed it. Strange, as Lucasfilm is probably the best in the business when it comes to selling a movie.

Credit to Ron Howard. How much was his we may never know, but the movie didn't feel disjointed. If I wasn't aware of the behind the scenes changes, I don't think I'd guess they changed directors during filming. With Rogue One it felt pretty apparent that they decided rather late in the game that the movie needed a big space battle.

Solo had good music too. Great new material with a few obligatory throwbacks, but not overused. We just had a reprise of the RotJ Death Star attack music in TFA, but it's awesome so I'm fine with it showing up here too. Music is important in Star Wars and they've done a good job, not an easy thing to do when you're comparing to John Williams.

John Williams did help compose the music for Solo.