Kessel Runner

Classic Star Wars’ iconic smuggler and privateer-turned-reluctant hero is the subject of the latest Disney SW (not SJW) movie, the second such stand-alone story following the surprisingly good and hugely successful ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.’  ‘Solo: A(nother) Star Wars Story’ seeks to further expand and enrich the SW cinematic vault by fleshing out one of the franchise’s most beloved characters, the one “who always shoots first.”  You tell 'em, Wil.

 

1:56 - 2:00

Sure, we all know that Han Solo is Leia Organa’s husband and sire of Kylo Ren, that he accomplished the “impossible” feat of making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs with the Millennium Falcon, and that he unsuccessfully tried to turn his son away from the Dark Side.  But who is he really, and how did he develop into the man he will become?  ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ answers these questions and more by delving into the checkered past of this complex, “morally flexible” character, showing us how his life’s harsh circumstances – and unique opportunities – made him a true Star Wars legend.

 

In the titular role, Alden Ehrenreich was more than adequate as the early twenty-something Solo, a fiercely independent and cocky maverick who had no doubt that he’s destined to become the “Best Pilot in the Galaxy.”  As a stand-alone film, ‘Solo’ is smaller and more focused than the typical run-of-the-mill SW “event” movies, and the screenplay by veteran SW scribe Lawrence Kasdan (and his son Jonathan) tends to play it on the safe side, but all this do not make the Space-Western Adventure caper any less enjoyable thanks to the capable stewardship of director Ron Howard. 

 

Grade: A-