Those who know me and who read Rural Mom, know I made no secret of my reservations when SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY was announced in the 2018 Walt Disney Studios Movie lineup.
As a long-time-mega-Han-Solo-fan, like many, it was hard for me to think of anyone else in the role other than Harrison Ford. Thanks to Disney, I had the awesome opportunity to get a first view of the film at the SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY World Premiere last week and I’m happy to share once the film started rolling, any trace of skepticism was happily, fully put to rest!
Is Alden Ehrenreich Han Solo? Yes.
Is he equivalent to Harrison Ford as Han Solo? No. And he very well shouldn’t be. Disney and Lucasfilm went the super smart way of gifting us a Han Solo who was Han Solo before our Harrison Ford version of Han Solo.
This is young Han Solo, who has enough sass, swagger and spunk to embody everything we love about our favorite rogue character without trying to be a weak imitation or a version 2.0.
Ehrenreich pulls off the essence of SOLO perfectly. There are even moments in the film where eerily, he evokes the spirit of Harrison Ford, whether it’s the sideways smile or the camera angle, it’s truly a moment of beauty.
To be honest, even though I prepped myself with pep talks before seeing the film, it still took my brain about 10 minutes or so to adjust to the Alden as Han, but once I did, it was hold on tight and prepare for hyperspace because you are totally in for a wonderful ride!
For the record as a #SWfan who had her doubts: The first thing I adore about #SoloAStarWarsStory is they aren’t trying to replace or remake our beloved characters. It’s Han, Lando and Chewbacca on their way to becoming Han, Lando and Chewbacca and… it’s epic! #HanSoloEvent pic.twitter.com/Y2EZbP9stF
— Rural Mom (@ruralmoms) May 12, 2018
Han’s buddies are equally delightful. Donald Glover shines as the younger Lando Calrissian and if it’s even possible, may be even more suave. Joonas Suotamo brings us a lovable version of Chewbacca in his early 190’s and Emilia Clarke (Qi’ra), Woody Harrelson (Beckett) and Phoebe Waller-Bridge (L3-37) deliver new, interesting characters that help propel the film forward to new heights.
And the Millennium Falcon (one of my favorite characters – the ship definitely has enough personality to be considered a character!), well, she’s brand-spanking new with some really fun features.
Fans will see a few nods to “The Han Solo Adventures” book series and of course, plenty of tie-ins to STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE and beyond. You may even learn a little more about some of the significance those gold dice that popped up in STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI have… and that’s about all the hints I’m going to offer. As much as I’d love to prattle on and on about how awesome SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY turned out to be, I promised no spoilers!
The entire story, the cast, the brilliant cinematography, musical score – it all works seamlessly to bring us a magical Star Wars adventure full of nostalgia, humor, high stakes and heart. There’s a highly creative, thoughtful story-telling throughout the film that does not echo the plot points that came before but enhances our understanding of what is to come.
Bring that sense of childhood wonder along with you when you see SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY, you’ll appreciate having it with you as you embark on the journey of Solo becoming Solo.
In a nutshell, it’s a fun, thrilling, popcorn film that’s summer-ready to entertain while still giving us enough depth and Star Wars continuity to please every fan. It’s high quality and definitely worth seeing!
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is in theaters May 25 – which Star Wars Fans may recognize as the original release date of STAR WARS (later re-titled Episode IV STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE) in ’77.
41 years from the date we first fell in love with the scruffy nerf herder, we now have a spectacular new film to cheer for and I couldn’t be happier about it!
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