While a lot of people were bracing for (or even expecting) the worst with the new Star Wars side story, I tried to be as cautiously optimistic as usual. It did have a lot to live up to with featuring such beloved characters. I feel like the movie did those characters justice while putting them along side some really strong new ones, and was just an absolute blast from start to finish. The atmosphere just felt right for a Star Wars movie, helped both by dark locales and great lighting when needed. Composer John Powell’s score was thrilling, incorporating and blending perfectly with some of John William’s classic themes at just enough moments, never feeling overdone in that regard. Fans of The Empire Strikes Back Soundtrack like myself will be excited at the inclusion of a couple nice little surprises as well. The main cast also did an outstanding job – a couple notable highlights for me were Lando’s smooth voice and manner, and how likable I found new character Qi’ra (played by Donald Glover and Emilia Clarke respectively). Woody Harrelson’s performance (Beckett) was solid as usual. I felt like Alden Ehrenreich did a great job filling some really, really big shoes and felt believable as Han Solo while Jonas Suotamo made Chewie as lovable as ever.

If you love Star Wars, even Threepio would give you good odds on this one.

Verdict:

Double Lando smiles of approval!! (Go see it!)

What did you think of Solo: A Star Wars Story?

-Clint