Post Date: 5/29/18
THE DISCUSSION:
If you're a fan of Star Wars, it's common knowledge that people are super passionate about what they deem worthy, some see the Prequels as abominations, some enjoy them for what they are. With the releases of these newer films starting with The Force Awakens, we have seen these kinds of groupings start up again, with each subsequent release widening the gap of fans who are able to accept the newer films as they are and those that wish it had all ended in 1983. I am one of the fans that can find things to enjoy in all of the films. Yes, even the Prequels. So take my review with that in mind.
PLOT:
The writers had to reverse engineer a plot from what we know about Han Solo from A New Hope, in this I believe they actually did a great job. A space western heist film is a great fit that really lends itself to the characters and the tone. We got to see a lot of things that most fans knew about previously with the Kessel run and Han winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando but how they tied into a believable narrative and how they end up shaping Han from a well meaning starry eyed lover into the cocky scoundrel we meet on Tatooine is impressive. I wouldn't be doing this review justice without speaking on Qi'ra's arc. We don't know how she escapes Correlia once captured by Lady Proxima or how she comes into the service of Dryden Vos but her betrayal was an unexpected welcome surprise, by killing Dryden Vos it baits you into believing she's on board with running away with Han at long last. Then once she's alone she contacts Darth Maul (Yup, alive complete with mechanical legs) revealing she's made her choice. The implications on the Star Wars Universe of this scene alone make the movie worth seeing! The setup for a sequel has me hoping they dive into how this all plays out, does Han try to find her? Does she become Maul's apprentice? Do we see how Han becomes indebted to Jabba? They sold it as a heist film and hot damn was this a pay day!
ACTION:
Overall the action sequences in the film are on par with what we have come to expect from a Star Wars film. Seeing the train sequence was a treat, especially seeing the Viper probe droids! The other big highlight for me was seeing the Kessel run, you can make the argument knowing they made it takes away from the suspense, granted, but the scene was fun to watch all the same. The fight scene with Dryden Vos shows off some cool call backs to Teräs Käsi (bad game, cool easter egg!)
CHARACTERS:
Aside from some characters that were a bit too on the nose for me. I'm looking at you L3. I think they nailed the characters, whatever acting coach they pulled for Alden Ehrenreich seemed to have worked. I believed he was Han Solo, albeit not the one we know at first, but that's kinda the point. Woody Harrelson's Beckett was a perfect mentor to help young Han gain that cynicism we know him for. Donald Glover pulls off Lando with ease, the sound, look and feel are all there. I hope we see him reprise this role. Paul Bettany's Dryden Vos was intense and made you feel just uncomfortable enough to be feared. Emilia Clark's Qi'ra is deceptively lethal, beautiful and tragic.
Conclusion:
In one of the first scenes you see a Star Destroyer being built high above the surface of Correlia, it's a great scene that really adds to the more grounded approach this film takes, you may scoff at the idea of me using "grounded" when discussing Star Wars but I think with context you may agree, this movie shows us a side of the universe we hadn't really seen before, it shows that these ships are being built, the ground wars being conducted by the Empire as they try to bring all systems under their control, throwing Storm troopers into the meat grinder of war. It shows us how swiftly the Empire dealt with deserters. It shows us that even in a galaxy far far away resources are still coveted with the Coaxium fuel being central to this films plot. We see gangs taking advantage of slums, Syndicates and Freedom fighters fighting and dying for resources needed for the respective causes. I had gone into this movie with a lot of bad press in mind, the re-shoots, bringing in an acting coach for Alden Ehrenreich, changing directors late in production. It had a lot of hurdles to overcome and it definitely affected my mindset going into the movie. Maybe that's why I am so up on this movie but maybe it's just really great? Either way I have done a lot of thinking on it and I do think this movie works more than it doesn't and it opens the universe up to new stories which is something that even Rogue One didn't do.
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If you're a fan of Star Wars, it's common knowledge that people are super passionate about what they deem worthy, some see the Prequels as abominations, some enjoy them for what they are. With the releases of these newer films starting with The Force Awakens, we have seen these kinds of groupings start up again, with each subsequent release widening the gap of fans who are able to accept the newer films as they are and those that wish it had all ended in 1983. I am one of the fans that can find things to enjoy in all of the films. Yes, even the Prequels. So take my review with that in mind.
PLOT:
The writers had to reverse engineer a plot from what we know about Han Solo from A New Hope, in this I believe they actually did a great job. A space western heist film is a great fit that really lends itself to the characters and the tone. We got to see a lot of things that most fans knew about previously with the Kessel run and Han winning the Millennium Falcon from Lando but how they tied into a believable narrative and how they end up shaping Han from a well meaning starry eyed lover into the cocky scoundrel we meet on Tatooine is impressive. I wouldn't be doing this review justice without speaking on Qi'ra's arc. We don't know how she escapes Correlia once captured by Lady Proxima or how she comes into the service of Dryden Vos but her betrayal was an unexpected welcome surprise, by killing Dryden Vos it baits you into believing she's on board with running away with Han at long last. Then once she's alone she contacts Darth Maul (Yup, alive complete with mechanical legs) revealing she's made her choice. The implications on the Star Wars Universe of this scene alone make the movie worth seeing! The setup for a sequel has me hoping they dive into how this all plays out, does Han try to find her? Does she become Maul's apprentice? Do we see how Han becomes indebted to Jabba? They sold it as a heist film and hot damn was this a pay day!
ACTION:
Overall the action sequences in the film are on par with what we have come to expect from a Star Wars film. Seeing the train sequence was a treat, especially seeing the Viper probe droids! The other big highlight for me was seeing the Kessel run, you can make the argument knowing they made it takes away from the suspense, granted, but the scene was fun to watch all the same. The fight scene with Dryden Vos shows off some cool call backs to Teräs Käsi (bad game, cool easter egg!)
Aside from some characters that were a bit too on the nose for me. I'm looking at you L3. I think they nailed the characters, whatever acting coach they pulled for Alden Ehrenreich seemed to have worked. I believed he was Han Solo, albeit not the one we know at first, but that's kinda the point. Woody Harrelson's Beckett was a perfect mentor to help young Han gain that cynicism we know him for. Donald Glover pulls off Lando with ease, the sound, look and feel are all there. I hope we see him reprise this role. Paul Bettany's Dryden Vos was intense and made you feel just uncomfortable enough to be feared. Emilia Clark's Qi'ra is deceptively lethal, beautiful and tragic.
Conclusion:
In one of the first scenes you see a Star Destroyer being built high above the surface of Correlia, it's a great scene that really adds to the more grounded approach this film takes, you may scoff at the idea of me using "grounded" when discussing Star Wars but I think with context you may agree, this movie shows us a side of the universe we hadn't really seen before, it shows that these ships are being built, the ground wars being conducted by the Empire as they try to bring all systems under their control, throwing Storm troopers into the meat grinder of war. It shows us how swiftly the Empire dealt with deserters. It shows us that even in a galaxy far far away resources are still coveted with the Coaxium fuel being central to this films plot. We see gangs taking advantage of slums, Syndicates and Freedom fighters fighting and dying for resources needed for the respective causes. I had gone into this movie with a lot of bad press in mind, the re-shoots, bringing in an acting coach for Alden Ehrenreich, changing directors late in production. It had a lot of hurdles to overcome and it definitely affected my mindset going into the movie. Maybe that's why I am so up on this movie but maybe it's just really great? Either way I have done a lot of thinking on it and I do think this movie works more than it doesn't and it opens the universe up to new stories which is something that even Rogue One didn't do.
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