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- Jul 13, 2006
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Re: Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25th, 2018)
I've seen it twice.
This old timer likes it - a lot. And I'm gonna prattle on a bit here....
The pre-release social media and internet chatter did this movie no favors - neither did coming out a mere 5 months after the last SW movie which is STILL polarizing fans. The trailers for this movie didn't help either - they made it look dopey and light and this movie is NOT those things. They should've held this until at least August for after the rest of the summer releases had come and gone. Coming out with all it's baggage on the heels of two back-to-back hits (IW and DP2) that are still going strong probably chipped away as well.
I'll second what I've read other folks in here have said...Disney/Lucasfilm are doing well with the spin-offs, two for two now. It's the main saga that is dragging down the brand. It was easy for them to throw out the EU (and go back to pick-and-choose from it when it suits them) when they got ahold of the franchise, but unfortunately, there' is one main component of the EU (the post ROTJ stuff) that worked and kept the light on with fans.
The heroes of the original films went on to great success in the galaxy...it wasn't perfect, and they had a lot of challenges, but Luke Skywalker ws a strong Jedi and a noble character. Han & Leia had a strong marriage and family. The Disney take turns all of the heroes everyone loved into failures and losers and for no good dramatic reason and with nothing strong and developed to replace them. Han is a weak-willed man who leaves his wife to go smuggle some more, Leia gives away her son and buries herself in her work and Luke. Oh Luke. A failure who turns away from the force and his friends and family. It's weak. It's not interesting and it's a disappointment to the fans that have kept the interest alive for all of these years.
At least with the stand-alone movies...RO told a story that was interesting, had great characters and showed true sacarifce and added to the legacy of SW. Solo introduces a character's past while tying it together with connections to the EU and the "galaxy" at large- and not in a heavy-handed way,
I hope the lackluster reception this movie is getting doesn't scare Disney off of doing these stand-alones. It's such a big galaxy to pull stories from and the freedom of not having to "fit" into the main saga keeps it interesting. Not every movie is going to end up in the billion dollar club. Not when they are pumped out so fast and close together like they have been.
My concern for the next saga chapter is, after the "double scare" of TLJ mixed reception from fans and Solo's underperfomance at the BO, that JJ will make the movie so safe and fan/family friendly that it will make TFA look like an art film in comparison. Big weapon? Check. Redemption of lead villain? Check. Family connection? Check. It'll end this trilogy with a crashing bore.
But back to "Solo"....
My expectations were low (especially after coming inhere for a few days before seeing it), but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the cast (very much including Aidan) did great, the pace was good, the connections to the saga were well-placed and good. The leads had charisma. Bettany was a bit weak as the main bad guy, and yes, that reveal at the end is a groan-inducer. Where was Jabba? One of my favorite character-related things is how Chewbacca was handled here. Just great. He had more to do and felt more integral here than in almost any of the other movies.
The main star of this movie is the production design. Just fantastic. Really helped give it an edge. Loved the creature design, especially the call-outs to other movies (the Rodian, Two-Tubes). The first third of the move especially rocked hard with the design and look.
I'll see this again and gladly add it to the collection when it is available. I hope the "blame" doesn't come back on Ron Howard. He built a strong, well-crafted movie for Disney while under the gun. If there is any fault here, it's Disney. Take the foot off the gas a bit and let these projects breathe.
That's my two cents (and then some)
I've seen it twice.
This old timer likes it - a lot. And I'm gonna prattle on a bit here....
The pre-release social media and internet chatter did this movie no favors - neither did coming out a mere 5 months after the last SW movie which is STILL polarizing fans. The trailers for this movie didn't help either - they made it look dopey and light and this movie is NOT those things. They should've held this until at least August for after the rest of the summer releases had come and gone. Coming out with all it's baggage on the heels of two back-to-back hits (IW and DP2) that are still going strong probably chipped away as well.
I'll second what I've read other folks in here have said...Disney/Lucasfilm are doing well with the spin-offs, two for two now. It's the main saga that is dragging down the brand. It was easy for them to throw out the EU (and go back to pick-and-choose from it when it suits them) when they got ahold of the franchise, but unfortunately, there' is one main component of the EU (the post ROTJ stuff) that worked and kept the light on with fans.
The heroes of the original films went on to great success in the galaxy...it wasn't perfect, and they had a lot of challenges, but Luke Skywalker ws a strong Jedi and a noble character. Han & Leia had a strong marriage and family. The Disney take turns all of the heroes everyone loved into failures and losers and for no good dramatic reason and with nothing strong and developed to replace them. Han is a weak-willed man who leaves his wife to go smuggle some more, Leia gives away her son and buries herself in her work and Luke. Oh Luke. A failure who turns away from the force and his friends and family. It's weak. It's not interesting and it's a disappointment to the fans that have kept the interest alive for all of these years.
At least with the stand-alone movies...RO told a story that was interesting, had great characters and showed true sacarifce and added to the legacy of SW. Solo introduces a character's past while tying it together with connections to the EU and the "galaxy" at large- and not in a heavy-handed way,
I hope the lackluster reception this movie is getting doesn't scare Disney off of doing these stand-alones. It's such a big galaxy to pull stories from and the freedom of not having to "fit" into the main saga keeps it interesting. Not every movie is going to end up in the billion dollar club. Not when they are pumped out so fast and close together like they have been.
My concern for the next saga chapter is, after the "double scare" of TLJ mixed reception from fans and Solo's underperfomance at the BO, that JJ will make the movie so safe and fan/family friendly that it will make TFA look like an art film in comparison. Big weapon? Check. Redemption of lead villain? Check. Family connection? Check. It'll end this trilogy with a crashing bore.
But back to "Solo"....
My expectations were low (especially after coming inhere for a few days before seeing it), but I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the cast (very much including Aidan) did great, the pace was good, the connections to the saga were well-placed and good. The leads had charisma. Bettany was a bit weak as the main bad guy, and yes, that reveal at the end is a groan-inducer. Where was Jabba? One of my favorite character-related things is how Chewbacca was handled here. Just great. He had more to do and felt more integral here than in almost any of the other movies.
The main star of this movie is the production design. Just fantastic. Really helped give it an edge. Loved the creature design, especially the call-outs to other movies (the Rodian, Two-Tubes). The first third of the move especially rocked hard with the design and look.
I'll see this again and gladly add it to the collection when it is available. I hope the "blame" doesn't come back on Ron Howard. He built a strong, well-crafted movie for Disney while under the gun. If there is any fault here, it's Disney. Take the foot off the gas a bit and let these projects breathe.
That's my two cents (and then some)
