Ron Howard to Direct Han Solo Film

[Looney]

This review captures my feelings: "Solo is fun, flawed and ultimately forgettable. It's an amiable popcorn adventure... and sometimes that's all you need." It's fine. I didn't hate it. Laughed at a couple parts. Rolled my eyes at others. Ultimately, I had no investment in the characters, and that's where it was weakest. All the actors did a fine job, and there's nothing egregiously wrong with it, but I didn't really care what happened to anyone -- which is really what you'd expect from a Ron Howard film: competent but uninspired.

Interesting. I agree with the assessment of Howard's work, "competent but uninspired." I think the odd thing is that you said you had "no investment in the characters." I guess I have to say I didn't really either, but I also look at that from the angle of this being a prequel. We know where a good portion of the characters are already headed, so I feel like that is why I wasn't emotionally invested in what was going on with them. I will admit that characters who are not already well established in the Star Wars Universe didn't manage to connect with me very much. That might just be because I've seen far too many movies. It is really tough for a movie of this ilk to surprise me. It becomes pretty predictable who will likely live and who will likely not. I don't think that is a failing on Howard or the actor's parts. I think it just becomes an inevitable cascade of events. The real question is what would someone seeing this movie think if they had never seen any other Star Wars movie and weren't really familiar with the franchise?

Anyway, I think there is something inspired in this movie and that is that I was genuinely.....

entranced by how Donald Glover gave me exactly what I thought younger Lando Calrissian might be like. That was the second best part of the movie. The best part of the movie was that Chewbacca was a character. I felt The Force Awakens (2015) was able to establish Chewbacca as more of a character and not a gimmick. The Last Jedi (2017) really dropped that ball. Now this movie re-established him as a central figure with depth and character.

If it weren't for the two factors I mentioned in the spoiler above I would agree with sarthaz assessment of this being "fun, flawed and ultimately forgettable." It definitely has some flaws - especially in the first several minutes. It is definitely fun. And if it weren't for several things that I LOVED I could probably forget it.

[sarthaz]

Lando is definitely the best part of this film for me.

[Looney]

Well it only brought in $103 million over the four day holiday weekend in the States. They were projection $130-$150 million. The shame is that I think this movie suffered from problems it didn't deserve and bad choices. I think maybe the trailers revealed things that upset fans with concepts that didn't actually end up being an issue in the movie. I think it also suffered from the fact that by and large many people didn't love The Last Jedi (2017). They are trying to blame the fact that it came out so soon after Last Jedi, but that argument seems VERY flawed. I mean what Star Wars fan would say, "I'm not seeing this because I want my Star Wars fix just once a year." That is ridiculous. If the material is good then the fans would want as much as they could get. I mean who on this board wouldn't take something new from Babylon 5 everyday as long as the material was still quality material, and/or slightly sub-standard material as well.

I think their biggest roadblock was that the concept was flawed because it was a young Han Solo movie, but when the world first met Han Solo he was pretty young. Couple that with the casting of an actor who didn't much resemble the original Han Solo and people just didn't care that much. I know people wanted to see a story about Han Solo pre-Luke and Leia, but Harrison Ford is Han Solo and that is who they wanted more than just seeing the story. It is a real shame because the movie was very entertaining and really the Han Solo aspect of it was fine. Alden Ehrenreich wasn't a revelation as Han Solo, but he was good and he got the job done. Other aspects, like Lando and Chewy, were awesome.

The good news is that this movie can pick up steam. There isn't a big blockbuster opening this week so maybe they will have a really good second weekend once word of mouth starts to spread. And they'll need it as I just found out they originally contracted Ehrenreich to play Han Solo in three movies. So if this movie doesn't pick up steam then the sequels will be canceled.

SIDE NOTE: The guys who were originally directing this movie were replaced because they were taking too long to get it done. Disney targeted this date as the date of release and those two were not going to make that deadline. Funny thing is that I do think this movie suffered from the fact it came out one week after Deadpool 2 and three weeks after Averngers: Infinity War. I'm sure several Disney Honchos are thinking they should have picked a weekend further away from those two movies.

And finally this better not put a halt to the Obi-Wan movie with Ewan McGregor.

[alpha128]

Well it only brought in $103 million over the four day holiday weekend in the States. They were projection $130-$150 million... I think it also suffered from the fact that by and large many people didn't love The Last Jedi (2017). They are trying to blame the fact that it came out so soon after Last Jedi, but that argument seems VERY flawed.

As you recall, I hated "The Last Jedi". So I decided to skip "Solo" unless the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score was 90% or better. As of this writing, the RT Audience Score is 61%, while the Top Critics Score is actually negative at 59% (All Critics Score is positive at 70%).

So on Friday I bought a ticket for "Deadpool 2" instead and was not disappointed!

I agree that the "Star Wars fatigue" argument is flawed. What about the two month gap between the two most successful films of 2018:"Black Panther" and "Infinity War"? In fact, "Black Panther" even got an "Infinity War" bump as Marvel fans turned them into a double feature. "Star Wars fatigue" is just more spin and damage control from Lucasfilm.

[Looney]

As you recall, I hated "The Last Jedi". So I decided to skip "Solo" unless the Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score was 90%

I agree that the "Star Wars fatigue" argument is flawed. "Star Wars fatigue" is just more spin and damage control from Lucasfilm.

Solo is not bad. I don't know how much you can trust Rotten Tomatoes other than the fact that you said, "All Critics Score is positive at 70%." I think part of Solo's problem is there is an organized fan movement against it that I hope goes away as word of mouth spreads. I'm not going to lie, you might not like it. Very little about it made me say "WOW!", but it has a few of those "WOW!" qualities and, for the most part, it was just a fun popcorn movie. 70% positive seems pretty accurate in my estimation, so maybe you'll end up between 50% and 70% or maybe even higher - but possibly lower. (I highly doubt you'll end up lower than 50% unless you are the most die-hard Star Wars fan ever and they did something that violated a part of a book you read once or something like that.)

My thoughts on The Last Jedi (2017) can be summed up by breaking the movie into three parts that involve different characters.

Part One: Luke, Rey, Kylo - Absolutely LOVED every minute.

Part Two: Leia, Poe Dameron, Vice Admiral Holdo - Meh, it was okay.

Part Three: Finn, Rose Tico, DJ - Thought it was awful.

Now comparing that to Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in three parts.

Part One: Lando, Chewbacca, - Absolutely LOVED every minute.

Part Two: Han, Qi'ra, Beckett - It was okay. Nothing too outstanding, but pretty decent. A little better than what I felt about Leia, Poe, Vice Admiral Holdo.

Part Three: Everything leading up to the introduction of Chewbacca just didn't have that much of a Star Wars feel for me. I really struggled until Chewy became a part of the story. I think it may have just needed that Chewy/Han dynamic. After that point everything got better.

So overall I probably enjoyed Solo: A Star Wars Story a little more than The Last Jedi (2017), but if I was ranking aspects of both movies it would go:

1. Luke, Rey, Kylo

2. Lando, Chewbacca

3. Leia, Poe Dameron, Vice Admiral Holdo / Han, Qi'ra, Beckett

4. Everything in Solo prior to Chewbacca entering the story.

5. Finn, Rose, DJ

They have totally failed to give me any interest in what happens with Finn. Everything they have done feels completely forced. The character doesn't seem believable because he has never really seemed to fit the background story they gave him and honestly it just doesn't seem like they have really given him any real purpose yet. I was hoping more would be explained in The Last Jedi (2017) and instead he was just a plot device that did some stuff to move the plot along. And side note I feel they completely wasted Benicio Del Toro in The Last Jedi (2017) on a sadly predictable character.

[Truth66]

I enjoyed the Solo movie. I think that it relied too much on adrenylin and special effects though and not so much on connection with the characters like Rogue One did.

Now it is concerning that financially, Solo is being viewed as a box office flop. Lucasfilm really needs to get their act together before they completely alienate the core base of Star Wars fans. How accurate the supposed backlash against The Last Jedi was and the alleged boycott of Solo was, is anyone's guess. Yet, clearly something happened for Solo to do so poorly.

[Ubik]

I enjoyed the Solo movie. I think that it relied too much on adrenylin and special effects though and not so much on connection with the characters like Rogue One did.

Now it is concerning that financially, Solo is being viewed as a box office flop. Lucasfilm really needs to get their act together before they completely alienate the core base of Star Wars fans. How accurate the supposed backlash against The Last Jedi was and the alleged boycott of Solo was, is anyone's guess. Yet, clearly something happened for Solo to do so poorly.

It's definitely one I'll see on the small screen. None of my friends were that hot on it, so I'm not slapping down cash at the cinema.

[sarthaz]

I seriously doubt there's any boycotting going on. "Solo" simply didn't look that interesting to me. I only went because my daughter wanted to go. This is the first time since the prequels that we've gone back to revisit a known character with a different actor, and those films are near-universally regarded as shit. And of all the characters in all the films, Han had the most personality, so recasting him raises so many issues that many fans might not want to deal with. I don't really equate it with the main arc.

That said, numbers are going to go down regardless. I thought "The Last Jedi" was one of the smartest and most nuanced films in the entire franchise, but half the fans totally hated it. The point is, they can't win. Either you make new, smart films and piss people off, or you keep making the poorly written pulp from the originals and piss people off. You can't fight nostalgia. Hopefully they just make the best films they can and let them stand on their own instead of trying to appease a fickle and crybaby public.

[alpha128]

I seriously doubt there's any boycotting going on...

I thought "The Last Jedi" was one of the smartest and most nuanced films in the entire franchise, but half the fans totally hated it.

Believe me, there was a serious boycott going on, and it was one of the reasons Solo bombed at the box office.

I hated "The Last Jedi" so much I was inspired to create this modified movie poster:
http://i1196.photobucket.com/albums/...edi-poster.png

[Looney]

I hated "The Last Jedi" so much

Woh, Woh, Woh alpha128. You can't drop that bomb and show us the poster without explaining why. I mean you went to a lot of effort to make the poster so you must have strong convictions.

I was disappointed with The Last Jedi (2017), but it basically comes down to the fact that I really didn't like the entire Finn arc. The rest was okay. I loved the Luke arc. I felt it was handled in the best possible manner. I will say what I didn't like about the Luke arc was that it was unnecessary. I don't like the the fact they even had to do the Luke arc in that way, but that is the business side of movie making.

[Ubik]

Woh, Woh, Woh alpha128. You can't drop that bomb and show us the poster without explaining why. I mean you went to a lot of effort to make the poster so you must have strong convictions.

I was disappointed with The Last Jedi (2017), but it basically comes down to the fact that I really didn't like the entire Finn arc. The rest was okay. I loved the Luke arc. I felt it was handled in the best possible manner. I will say what I didn't like about the Luke arc was that it was unnecessary. I don't like the the fact they even had to do the Luke arc in that way, but that is the business side of movie making.

The whole tonal shift was really odd, the humour too. E.g. Hux is suddenly and bumbling bufoon! I had fun, but I could really pick it apart if I wanted too. Frankly, I don't care to, and I got a chuckle out of how irreverent it was!

[alpha128]

Woh, Woh, Woh alpha128. You can't drop that bomb and show us the poster without explaining why. I mean you went to a lot of effort to make the poster so you must have strong convictions.

I previously posted my objections to "The Last Jedi" in the Thoughts After Seeing The Last Jedi (Spoiler Free) thread. I have quoted the relevant portions below.

In fact, just today I came up with the perfect nickname, which is, as far as I know, original to me. Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Laxative Jedi - because it sh!ts all over everything you loved about Star Wars!

When sarthaz asked me to elaborate, I wrote (spoiler tags now removed):

Luke Skywalker, the guy who saved his father Darth Vader, who at that point seemed to be irredeemably evil, decides to kill his own nephew, the child of his sister and his best friend, because he saw the dark side in him.

The filmmakers bring back Yoda! Does he do anything meaningful, help in the final battle? No! Which means in the final analysis, Admiral Longneck, who was generally incompetent, and only got her position due to the fact everyone above her in the chain of command was either dead or incapacitated, got to be a bigger hero than f-ing Yoda!

And what about that epic light saber duel between Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker ? Oh, that's right - there wasn't one! If they were going to have Luke die anyway, why not have him be there in person and have a epic duel like Vader's and Obi-Wan's in the original.

And don't get me started on Superman Leia!

[Looney]

Okay quick note, I totally agree on Superman Leia, but mostly because it just looked bad.

And as far as the lightsaber duel goes, I knew going in the probability that Luke would die in the movie was high. If they had allowed that to happen at the hands of Kylo Ren in a duel I would have seriously considered being done with the franchise. The only disappointing aspect of the projection scene for me was that he didn't actually survive the barrage a of blasts because he wasn't there. But like I said, I think they handled Luke's death in the best possible way. Scratch that - the best possible way would have been to not kill him off at all, but the business side of studio movie making wasn't going to allow that.

[Ubik]

Okay quick note, I totally agree on Superman Leia, but mostly because it just looked bad.

And as far as the lightsaber duel goes, I knew going in the probability that Luke would die in the movie was high. If they had allowed that to happen at the hands of Kylo Ren in a duel I would have seriously considered being done with the franchise. The only disappointing aspect of the projection scene for me was that he didn't actually survive the barrage a of blasts because he wasn't there. But like I said, I think they handled Luke's death in the best possible way. Scratch that - the best possible way would have been to not kill him off at all, but the business side of studio movie making wasn't going to allow that.

Hamill didn't seem super keen on the direction they took with Luke, as evidenced by the slightly irreverent interviews.

[alpha128]

And as far as the lightsaber duel goes, I knew going in the probability that Luke would die in the movie was high. If they had allowed that to happen at the hands of Kylo Ren in a duel I would have seriously considered being done with the franchise. The only disappointing aspect of the projection scene for me was that he didn't actually survive the barrage a of blasts because he wasn't there. But like I said, I think they handled Luke's death in the best possible way. Scratch that - the best possible way would have been to not kill him off at all, but the business side of studio movie making wasn't going to allow that.

I agree that they should not have killed Luke at all. But if they were, they should have echoed the light saber duel between Vader and Kenobi in "A New Hope". If I recall correctly, Luke actually starts quoting Kenobi. But then once again Rian Johnson decided to subvert expectations by doing something much worse than we expected.

Seriously, why didn't Lucasfilm consult with the "How It Should Have Ended" team before releasing "The Last Jedi"?!? The HISHE version of TLJ is twenty times shorter and about twenty quadrillion times better.

How Star Wars The Last Jedi Should Have Ended
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCB8DUGpYQQ