My son loves Star Wars, so as soon as I knew SOLO was hitting the theaters, I asked him if he wanted to go to the screening with me. There was never ANY doubt in his mind; he was going. I enjoy Star Wars, but I’m not a fanatic. I do think the reboot and additions to the storyline are fun for all who fell in love with Luke, Leia and Han back in the late 70s and early 80s.
So let’s talk about SOLO from that perspective (ie. I’m not a rabid fan)
Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga’s most unlikely heroes.
I thought SOLO was a delightful backstory. There was plenty of action, fantastic dialogue and I thought they did a great job alluding the “future Han”, because let’s be honest, no one can replace Harrison Ford. But honestly, i thought Alden Ehrenreich exceeded expectation. His portrayal of Han Solo was exactly what it needed to be. Was he as grumpy as the Han Solo we know? As jaded? No, but guess what? This film shows a bit about why he becomes that way. (Can’t say I blame him.)
The only thing that really bothered me about the film is that I’m not entirely sure how old Han is supposed to be in this film. It’s made reference several times to him being much younger than the actor appears. (I think he’s 28 in real life). But I was able to suspend my questions and just enjoy the movie. I think most people can, as well.
The HIGHLIGHTS of the film:
Donald Glover as Lando – You guys, he was AWESOME. I mean, I was already a Donald Glover fan, but every scene with Lando had me smiling. He was the perfect person to play this role.
Chewbacca – I’ll admit, I never really gave Chewy much thought. He was always kind of a background character for me. But I really enjoyed getting to see Han and Chewy first meet and learning a bit more about him and his back story as well. It was cool to see him at the forefront.
What my son thought:
HE LOVED IT! In fact, as we walked out of the theater, he declared that we need a SOLO 2 because he wants some resolution. I laughed and told him we can rewatch A New Hope, but I knew what he meant. I have questions I want answered too.
Direct from the horse’s mouth: “It was funny, and I liked that they gave Han Solo a backstory. My favorite characters were Han, Lando, L3 (Lando’s first mate) and Chewbacca. I think most people would like it because it was fun and had a lot of action. There were no scary scenes and only a few bad words.” (And mom didn’t even notice – whoops!!)
Generally speaking I think any child who has seen any of the other Star Wars movies could see this movie, even with the PG-13 rating. Some young kids (6 and under) may find some of it mildy scary if they aren’t familiar with the Star Wars franchise. But overall, it’s a fun and entertaining movie for the whole family.
SOLO is in theaters everywhere and is rated PG-13. It has a run time of 2 hours and 23 minutes.
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