Solo: A Star Wars Story
Discussion
Firstly, full disclosure - I’m a life-long Star Wars fan. Every birthday and Christmas as a child was Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. And in later life, being a bit more affluent, I’ve accumulated a collection of Master Replicas Star Wars items (lots of helmets, Han’s blaster, Millennium Falcon, Vader’s lightsaber… too many to list).
In other words, I like Star Wars!
Went to see Solo last night with my 11 year old son who’s also a big fan (what a surprise!). 7.30pm showing at Cineworld, Middlesbrough.
Alarm bells started to ring when there was no sign of the 501st in the foyer - they’ve been there for the opening day of the other 3 films, collecting money for charity and entertaining the crowds. Last night though, there were no crowds to entertain.
Cinema itself was quite busy but plenty of spare seats.
Film started at 7.50 pm - and after a while, my son nudged me and asked what time it was - it was only 8.30 and he was bored. And to be perfectly honest, so was I.
No spoilers from me, but the film started out gloomy and we struggled to see who was who, and then it went misty and we struggled to see who was who, and then we could see who was who but didn’t care by that point. It was just one action sequence after another after another. If there was any character development, I must have missed it. The plot was dull. There was very little humour. It just didn’t work for me. And I agree wholeheartedly with the previous poster who said that he wasn’t watching Han Solo on the screen - nor was I. It could have been anyone.
Afterwards, my boy was trying to think of a positive - was it a decent enough film as a non-Star Wars experience, and he concluded that it wasn’t. And he’s right - it was a dull film whichever way you look at it.
Which is a real shame.
Still, we enjoyed our MacDonald’s tea so the evening wasn’t a complete write off!
In other words, I like Star Wars!
Went to see Solo last night with my 11 year old son who’s also a big fan (what a surprise!). 7.30pm showing at Cineworld, Middlesbrough.
Alarm bells started to ring when there was no sign of the 501st in the foyer - they’ve been there for the opening day of the other 3 films, collecting money for charity and entertaining the crowds. Last night though, there were no crowds to entertain.
Cinema itself was quite busy but plenty of spare seats.
Film started at 7.50 pm - and after a while, my son nudged me and asked what time it was - it was only 8.30 and he was bored. And to be perfectly honest, so was I.
No spoilers from me, but the film started out gloomy and we struggled to see who was who, and then it went misty and we struggled to see who was who, and then we could see who was who but didn’t care by that point. It was just one action sequence after another after another. If there was any character development, I must have missed it. The plot was dull. There was very little humour. It just didn’t work for me. And I agree wholeheartedly with the previous poster who said that he wasn’t watching Han Solo on the screen - nor was I. It could have been anyone.
Afterwards, my boy was trying to think of a positive - was it a decent enough film as a non-Star Wars experience, and he concluded that it wasn’t. And he’s right - it was a dull film whichever way you look at it.
Which is a real shame.
Still, we enjoyed our MacDonald’s tea so the evening wasn’t a complete write off!
Halb said:
That added Jaba scene in Star Wars is atrocious and the song from Jedi
I could understand things like the snow speeder cockpits in Empire being tidied up, but the added ships and giant lizards in Mos Eisley in ANH are just rubbish.Alot of the allure of the originals was watching the making ofs and then watching how they turn models into the different scenes. At least with R1 the modern CGI is almost at a flawless standard, so everything ties in because everything is CGI.
Tony Starks said:
Alot of the allure of the originals was watching the making ofs and then watching how they turn models into the different scenes. At least with R1 the modern CGI is almost at a flawless standard, so everything ties in because everything is CGI.
Lucas has a tendency to use (or insist on) completely pointless CGI.....and is prone to inserting stupid cutsey stuff for no reason.Just look at Kindom of the Crystal Skull. Despite Frank Marshall's claim that they would rely on practical effects and would use CGI "only when necessary" - the opening shot of the film is........CGI prairie dogs. Those, the CGI monkeys, the CGI ants, the CGI waterfall tree jump had 'Lucas' written all over them.
Edited by Moonhawk on Friday 25th May 11:59
Nick NE said:
but the film started out gloomy and we struggled to see who was who, and then it went misty and we struggled to see who was who
Forgot to mention this in my thoughts but absolutely. Most CG films have got away from the Transformers style action blur now (Marvel are excellent at avoiding that too) but this really was a muddy, jumpy mess during some of the action sequences. We have lovely bright new screens at our cinema so I haven't suffered with some films that other posters have mentioned being too dark, but this was pretty poor. I can't imagine how bad the 3D version must be as the editing is very frantic at times.Edited by ukaskew on Friday 25th May 12:58
oldaudi said:
In addition at the end of Solo a character appears that I presumed was dead after the end of episode 3..
That character is in the Rebels TV show which is set after Solo, but has obviously been released first. Same character has also been the topic of a few books which explain what happened.What a f
king relief that was. Ron Howard I could kiss, you, absolutely splendid. A few clunky moments early on where i though the chemistry between Han and Kira was off, it certainly wasn't later on. And the #meetoo droid was a pain in the arse glad when it bit it.
It did everything it was supposed to a few signposted twists, i feared we wouldn't end up at the Han that shoots first, Howard delivered in fking spades there
king relief that was. Ron Howard I could kiss, you, absolutely splendid. A few clunky moments early on where i though the chemistry between Han and Kira was off, it certainly wasn't later on. And the #meetoo droid was a pain in the arse glad when it bit it.It did everything it was supposed to a few signposted twists, i feared we wouldn't end up at the Han that shoots first, Howard delivered in f
king spades there Saw it this morning and very impressed.
Likes -
Alden Ehrenreich was superb and did a great job of recreating Solo. He was one of the reasons I feared the film would be crap, but I genuinely felt he fitted the role.
Donald Glover is incredible as Lando. Billy Dee Williams had that effortlessly ‘cool’ aura about him that you rarely see, Donald Glover is exactly the same. Another character I was needlessly concerned about.
Effects were beautiful (we watched it in 2d) and although the story was not the best, it flowed nicely apart from the irritating droid.
Dislikes -
Emilia Clarke is so wooden, as was Thandie Newton. They’re emotionless and dull IMO.
The ending scenes leave several stories to follow, however it could also easily finish without leaving too many fans disappointed at a lack of closure on the story.
I wouldn’t rate it as highly as Rogue One, however it’s far better than the sequels and prequels to the original trilogy IMO.
Might go and watch it in 3D next week
Likes -
Alden Ehrenreich was superb and did a great job of recreating Solo. He was one of the reasons I feared the film would be crap, but I genuinely felt he fitted the role.
Donald Glover is incredible as Lando. Billy Dee Williams had that effortlessly ‘cool’ aura about him that you rarely see, Donald Glover is exactly the same. Another character I was needlessly concerned about.
Effects were beautiful (we watched it in 2d) and although the story was not the best, it flowed nicely apart from the irritating droid.
Dislikes -
Emilia Clarke is so wooden, as was Thandie Newton. They’re emotionless and dull IMO.
The ending scenes leave several stories to follow, however it could also easily finish without leaving too many fans disappointed at a lack of closure on the story.
I wouldn’t rate it as highly as Rogue One, however it’s far better than the sequels and prequels to the original trilogy IMO.
Might go and watch it in 3D next week
Quickmoose said:
s'a crime this guy didn't get the lead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
Yep - he has even played a young Harrison Ford in the movie "Age of Adeline". He is Harrison Ford..................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLv993khfI&t
Why they didn't replace Alden as soon as they realised he couldn't act - instead of bringing in an acting coach?
Imagine if they had doggedly insisted on keeping Eric Stoltz in BTTF. Sometimes it's better just to cut your losses, re shoot with a new actor and push the release date out. Solo would have probably been better with a pre-christmas release date, like the rest of the movies so far, rather than trying to compete with all the spring/summer blockbusters.
Moonhawk said:
Quickmoose said:
s'a crime this guy didn't get the lead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
Yep - he has even played a young Harrison Ford in the movie "Age of Adeline". He is Harrison Ford..................https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwLv993khfI&t
Why they didn't replace Alden as soon as they realised he couldn't act - instead of bringing in an acting coach?
Imagine if they had doggedly insisted on keeping Eric Stoltz in BTTF. Sometimes it's better just to cut your losses, re shoot with a new actor and push the release date out. Solo would have probably been better with a pre-christmas release date, like the rest of the movies so far, rather than trying to compete with all the spring/summer blockbusters.
Wobbegong said:
Emilia Clarke is so wooden, as was Thandie Newton. They’re emotionless and dull IMO.
She is bad. She had to do very little as dragon princess in GoT, but as the part grew, she didn't. She was an albatross in Terminator.She'll either get better or continue to stink up films.
Quickmoose said:
s'a crime this guy didn't get the lead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
They had a ready-made Harrison Ford but didn’t use him
However I didn’t feel the film suffered too much without him, and Iwas pleasantly surprised by who they did use. Halb said:
Wobbegong said:
Emilia Clarke is so wooden, as was Thandie Newton. They’re emotionless and dull IMO.
She is bad. She had to do very little as dragon princess in GoT, but as the part grew, she didn't. She was an albatross in Terminator.She'll either get better or continue to stink up films.
She’s cast purely due to her role on GoT, however the series carried her rather than her contributing to the success.
Quickmoose said:
s'a crime this guy didn't get the lead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
He does a great Dr Jones Jnr and Snr as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
https://youtu.be/rG9SAq2kLFY
Wobbegong said:
Halb said:
Wobbegong said:
Emilia Clarke is so wooden, as was Thandie Newton. They’re emotionless and dull IMO.
She is bad. She had to do very little as dragon princess in GoT, but as the part grew, she didn't. She was an albatross in Terminator.She'll either get better or continue to stink up films.
She’s cast purely due to her role on GoT, however the series carried her rather than her contributing to the success.
Outside acting she's really animated but that never comes across on screen.
I guess keeping the eyebrows under control must take a lot of effort.
Quickmoose said:
s'a crime this guy didn't get the lead...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
that is really, really good.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bba_wPdLxp4
Wow just back from seeing it. Fabulous has so much heart and soul a lot of people are going to miss out not seeing this. The cast for TFA was good this lot was better felt more natural. No silly plot holes like TLJ either.. great chemistry between all the characters, lots of twists, but a straightforward adventure with romance something star wars has missed since Empire... I loved Rogue One but this was far better. 9 out of 10
Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff