So, I just came back to watch "Solo" in theater and i quite liked it a lot. The good thing is that it was EXACTLY how i thought it would be. Not in terms of story because i didn't knew the story, but in terms of quality or "size" of the movie. It doesn't have a "galactic" size like a Star Wars movie, and it don't have either this kind of Shakespearian / Freudian dimension that we can find in the Star Wars trilogies. So, if you don't expect anything like this you shouldn't be disappointed.
Basically, "Solo" is a "heist" movie in a galaxy far far away. Alden Ehrenreich is very good in my opinion. He don't play Han Solo like Harrison Ford which would have been something impossible to do, and actually he look sometime closer to a young Jack Nicholson than a young Harrison Ford. If Jack Nicholson was a character he would be perfect to play him young ( without the craziness of Jack ). The rest of the cast - Donald Glover, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Paul Bettany - yes, the same Paul Bettany who plays "Vision" in The Avengers movies - are all doing a great job, with may be a special mention to Donald Glover who plays a sympathetic - and from what i've read "pansexual " - Lando Calrissian. And yes, you'll have Storm Troopers, Tie Fighters and even a Star Destroyer but, again, don't expect epic battles like in Star Wars movies as it's not the place here.
Something else, though, surprised me, and it's the choice of photography: in 80% of the scenes, the actors are filmed at counterlight. You can see them, even if sometime it's "limit" or you see their silhouette, but it's a very odd choice of photography, specially for an American movie as usually, as a good friend of mine who is one of the best editor in France once told me, "Americans light everything" on a set.
At the end, this "Solo" movie - in which you'll also learn how Han met Chewbacca and why his name is "Solo" - should be a good surprise as i think most of you don't expect something awesome of it. And i think that Disney don't expect a huge hit either, that's probably the reason why they've been soft on the marketing and didn't spent a huge amount of money in publicity. The movie will certainly not make $1Billion at the box office but i wouldn't be surprised if it reach the $500M mark eventually as the "mouth to ear" reports are generally good and i even suspect Disney to bet on this to bring people in theaters who wouldn't have gone necessarily to watch it. And if you need another good reason to go watch "Solo", let's say that there is a famous Star Wars villain which appears in it - and i won't tell you which one! - which leaves a big open door at the end for a sequel to "Solo" if they wish to do one, and personally i'll be happy if there is one.
Pictures: copyright Disney - Lucasfilm
