Solo, Lucasfilm’s latest addition to the canon, in no way represents a standard film. Viewers will encounter zero mythos involving Jedis and The Force. The film doesn’t grapple with massive allegorical topics, either. Destiny does not face off against free will, while franchise flagships like democracy-vs.
Of course, pushback started before anyone had even seen the thing to know that, with near-instant cries for a standalone Lando film or a smaller, original story impacted by the larger global (galactic?) situation (something like Prospect, for instance) instead. What ultimately made it to screen likely won’t change those desires. In fact, hardcore fans may also walk away from thinking more about whythis film exists or what went into specific decisions rather than the core story itself.
That’s unfortunate, because mostly makes for a fine summer blockbuster. Its creative team has taken some beloved action-film DNA and satisfyingly shifted it to a galaxy far, far away. But for those wanting more from their favorite space saga, expect to let out a few Wookie roars upon exit.
Started from the bottom…
Existing lore already explained that Han Solo came from Corellia, an industrial planet known for producing ships and good pilots. starts by showing that even at a young age, our anti-hero worked as a bit of a smuggler. Han’s initially doing some dirty work for Lady Proxima (a local organized crime boss who looks like a caterpillar) in order to earn enough money to buy a ship and leave with his main squeeze, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke, ).
Things don’t go as planned, of course. After a deal gone bad, Qi’ra and Han smuggle a bit of hyper-valuable hyperfuel hoping to bribe an Imperial ticket-taker for a one-way ride off the planet. But Proxima’s forces stay in pursuit, and the two would-be lovebirds get separated. Han suddenly has only one escape option: to enlist in the Imperial army in the hopes of becoming a pilot.
One timejump-20-minutes-into-this-film later, Han sighs his way through some grim, -y battlefields before noticing potential fellow smugglers. Han observes that Captain Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) has some would-be deadly bullet holes in his uniform, so he wants in on whatever Beckett, Val (Thandie Newton, Westworld), and Rio (voiced by Jon Favreau) appear to be scheming. Beckett at first seems impressed by the gall of young Solo, but he doesn’t want some unknown variable screwing with his plans, either. “You have a talent for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” Beckett says—and he soon tattles on Solo’s indiscretions to a nearby official.
Dire punishment awaits for such disobedience within the Imperial ranks: it becomes time to feed The Beast. Suddenly, Han finds himself chained in the mud of a monster’s lair while Beckett’s crew inches closer to swiping an Imperial ship and heading off to finish an even bigger heist. How on Earth does a down-on-his-luck soldier go from here to smooching an intergalactic princess?
