okay
So, my overriding feeling after watching this film (finally), is that it has charm, but no seduction, if that makes sense.
I virtually totally wrote this film off during the first act, until it actually decided to be something after the halfway point.
I feel like the heart of this film
had to be Han and Chewie, and it was decidedly ...
not that. That had to be a like Boo-and-Sully, Calvin-and-Hobbes kinda thing, but I guess even that's too much to ask for.
The downfall in this film is how underwritten it feels. Solo and Lando feel like caricatures. Like, I think this film really had to be clever, with fast-talking, smart-ass Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue for it to work really well. It probably should have struck a tone similar to the Jump Street films or a Shane Black film. God damn, I'm sorta salivating over how the chemistry between Ehrenreich and Glover could have been played up.
Why didn't we see Solo as a kid? Why didn't we see more of a struggle to build a relationship between Han and Chewie? Why didn't we see more macho, one-upsmanship, tug-o-war rivalry between Han and Lando?
You can see this was trying to be a sort of Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially considering how much mindless action there is. No doubt, the action is mindless, and also
relentless, as it would be in a Mission Impossible or Indiana Jones flick. But in those, the action is at least fun. In this, it's definitely not. It's noise, it's generic, and it's been played out.
I can't help but be sorta saddened by the sheer potential this had. I mean, it sucks that Lord & Miller were apparently so inefficient, but their style would have been perfect. If they had stayed on in some creative capacity, with a non-Ron Howard director in place, it would have achieve what it was supposed.
Like, in a way, this film should be the most
fun Star Wars film to date, considering it stars Han and Chewie. But it's frustratingly not so.
So, like, the pieces are there, the infrastructure is there, but there's no connective tissue. There's no wrapping paper or pretty bow, it's just sorta handed to you raw.
What did Emilia Clarke contribute to this film exactly? Beats me. She's pretty but I'm sorry she just isn't an engaging actor. She's, like,
too sweet for this character. That role would have been much better suited for like a Karen Gillen or a Natalie Dormer. You know, someone who could play that "two-faced" role much more convincingly.
I really enjoyed what they did with Lando, and Glover was great, but again, underutilized.
Bettany played another cookie-cutter villain, and I don't know if the original Michael K. Williams would have added anything extra. Woody Harrelson ... why would you hire Woody Harrelson if you're not gonna let him do his Woody Harrelson thing?
AND WHY THE FUCK IS EVERYTHING SO GRAY?! That may have worked for Rogue One, but holy shit add some gad damn color to this shit. It's supposed to be a fun heisty romp, not a depressing and drab wartime drama.
The brightest spot, as I had predicted, was Alden Ehrenreich. Great casting, but again, the character feels neutered. Hell, I feel he actually did more than was even there in the material. Credit to him.
Also, about the end:
ugh/10