Solo : A Star Wars Story
The main word used to describe the film is adventure. A varied, funny, moderately sad, twisted, adventurous adventure. A galaxy far, far away, you literally feel your skin. The twilight of alien cantins, bandits and crooks of all stripes, retro-futuristic technology, bizarre aliens - everything is like Lucas in his best years, only - sorry - cooler.
"Solo" is a space western (with a mandatory train robbery!) About desperate and daring, but in many ways noble bandits. This is a good teenage movie. Heroes behave like mischievous teenagers, make reckless decisions, rely on luck. But they do it so sincerely and vividly that you empathize with them, want to support them. Very serious people have nothing to do in this film, just spoil the mood for yourself and those around you, to whom you decide to tell that these are all infantile fairy tales. True, not worth it. This is a cinematic adventure about lightness, courage and disappointment in "adult" life, in which everything has a second meaning and nothing is simple.
I won't say anything specific about the plot, because the fans are very jealous of spoilers, which is understandable. I will confine myself to just a few general points. "Solo" tells the story of Han's formation - about the transformation of a street thief into one of the best pilots in the galaxy. In two hours you will be shown all the key milestones in the hero's biography: where his blaster came from, how Han got his last name, how he became friends with Chewbacca, and how he won the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan, but at every moment like this I was genuinely happy for the hero. I'm afraid to even imagine what emotions will overwhelm hardcore fans.
However, something else is important. Even without knowing anything about the Star Wars universe, the movie can be extremely enjoyable. The thing is that this is not only a story for the fans of the saga, but also just a great blockbuster with all the necessary components. There are many jokes, and they are all to the point. Allegorical, but very aptly depicts feminism, which is now in trend. And the most important thing is the action. It is intense, smartly delivered and holds in tension so tightly that after a twenty-minute scene filled with flights, gunfights and acrobatic stunts, you literally exhale with relief and wipe the sweat from your forehead, as if it was not Han who jumped on the train rushing over the abyss, but yourself.
The only thing that the film lacks are expressive antiheroes, Paul Bettany as Dryden Vos looks more tired than dangerous villain. And the undercover criminal organization he serves seems highly implausible, based on what we know about the Empire from the first three films of the space saga. But as Disney writes its Star Wars story, Solo fits well with that concept and even lays the foundations for new films in the franchise.
As for the other actors in the film, Alden Ehrenreich turned out to be an almost ideal young Han Solo, who is not inferior to Harrison Ford either in charisma or in the ability to stay in the frame. To match the central character and all the rest. It is a rare case - no one fiddles at all. Woody Harrelson is gorgeous in the image of Beckett, the wizened mercenary. Donald Glover's Lando is a completely irresistible villain. And Emilia Clarke is so beautiful that it is impossible not to fall in love with her. Why, even Chewbacca plays on the level.
We hardly ever know what exactly Ron Howard had to do to save the film, but the production hell apparently went to the good of the film.