Solo: A Star Wars Story

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Finally checked out Solo on the big screen today, 5-25-2018. It certainly has some twists and spins you won't see coming along with a slight nod/tribute towards SW Ep. 4 of ANH & Ep. 6 of RoTJ in not one but two "key" memorable scenes. Got a cool free Solo promo movie poster as well -- that's certainly cool swag (I should get it professionally framed for posterity just for kicks). Upon watching the end credits, Solo was filmed at Pinewood Studios, England and in Italy and Spain (for the primary key locations involving such expansive background scenery this time around). It turns out Solo did get the 3D conversion treatment upon watching the ending credits briefing about it, it's just that the movie theater that I watched it in wasn't showing it in 3D whatsoever (guess they thought that it wasn't worth showing it in 3D this time around -- oh well, it's their loss).

Two familiar faces/actors make another surprise appearance in this Solo film, blink and you'll miss them (which brings some new "revelations" to the SW film franchise nevertheless). I won't spoil-it for the SW fans whom haven't seen it yet. The character Qi'ra is quite an interesting character -- she has some "tricks up her sleeves", indeed.

The real star of the Solo movie is the ol' Millennium Falcon, she looks awesome in her prime with a cool white interior. Phil Tippet of Tippet Studios lends his impressive magic on the cool holographic Dejarik "holochess" game for the 3rd outing in a SW film (i.e. -- SW Ep. 4 ANH & SW Ep. 7 TFA movies come to mind with the Dejarik stop-motion clay puppetry visual EFX).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[WelshMegalodon]

the ol' Millennium Falcon

aka "We'll fill the movie with easter eggs knowing nerds will go through the Blu-Ray looking for them but we can't be bothered to be consistent with our canon because fuck nerds, we get all our money from casuals"

Why did they change it again? This is what the Falcon is supposed to look like circa Episode III:

[dan76]

I made the mistake of watching a Sam Peckinpah film earlier today, Junior Bonner. I wouldn't recommend it as a way of preparing you for one of these new Star Wars films. I kept thinking of Barbara Leigh...

Don't read any of this waffle if you haven't seen it yet.

I guess it's a thing now that all these films look exactly the same. If you think of the OT each film had a number of different planets and environments that all had their distinct colours. It's pretty basic, but Hoth was white, Dagobah was kind of grey green and Bespin was orangey pink. All these new films have different planets and environments but they're all grungy. Everything has this worn out industrial look to it. So you never actually feel as if you're anywhere different.

I've given up hoping that a director would actually have the balls to use colour in an interesting way, but right from the start of this I knew it was more of the same. Come to think of it all the Disney SW movies could have been made by the same person. But I did enjoy some of it, and it's better than TLJ. I think.

You know that bit in Jedi where Han Solo has to get rid of those two Biker Scouts near the bunker and Luke and Leia say "quietly!" And Han says "It's me" then proceeds to step on a twig and almost blow it, well

Spoiler

thats the Han Solo they've gone for in this. I didn't think much of the guy playing him, but his story was ok. The way he meets Chewey and Lando all worked. There is quite a bit of Chewey in this but I still wanted more. I know everyone has been saying it but Donald Glover is great as Lando. His robot is awful, worse than K2SO in Rogue One, but I liked how she ended up becoming part of the Falcon.

Harrelson was great as Beckett and I really liked Thandi Newton's character. Why the fuck did they kill her of so early? Easily the best female character in the film. I don't know what to make of Emilia Clarke as Solo's love interest. Can she act?

I enjoyed the first two thirds more than the last third. It's a shame there wasn't more of the Empire in it. It was doing ok, I didn't hate the film, I was smiling for most of it. Here's the thing they fuck up.

Enfys Nest. They design a cool looking marauder, a pirate with a gang. They build up a confrontation in the style of a Sergio Leone Western only to have her take of her helmet and be some twit spouting on about how hard done by the locals are and how they're actually the good guys. wtf happened here. She obviously went to the same school of acting as that Scotish guy from TFA - the one who is part of a gang on Solo's ship. Fucking dreadful. Is this Kathleen Kennedys SJW shtick? I turned to my gf and she was rolling her eyes. Again. It's like a mini Canto Bight sequence. You can't just show some people in rags and expect me to care. That's not the story, they aren't the characters. As soon as the helmet came of and she started talking it was like, oh Christ, they're doing this crap. I wanted The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Instead I got a lecture.

After that they bring back "fan favourite" Darth Maul. That was so weird. How did that crap happen? If getting cut in half doesn't kill you then I guarantee Luke is alive in episode 9. I guess this because of one of those shitty cartoons or something? Odd, but not as bad as Enfys Nest, what Enfys Nest means and what Enfys Nest signifies as the sort of crap that is being forced into these films. From what I seen of that leaked Episode 9 script there's more to come.

No Jabba, no Fett. Bossk gets a mention as does that a Masters of Terras Kassi ps1 game.

I haven't read any other reviews yet, but I thought it was ok. I won't see it again unless someone makes a fan edit and cuts out some of the above.

[BryanM]

All these new films have different planets and environments but they're all grungy. Everything has this worn out industrial look to it. So you never actually feel as if you're anywhere different.

That's something I really hate about the 2000ish aesthetic. Everything feels like it's trying to copy Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones, etc. These miserable places where everyone wants to stab everyone else in the back. They pump these reskinned clones out like Coca-Cola ships out cans of soda.

That's why I liked The Orville so much: They have lights. And empathy. These things seem so radical and new, these days.

That's one thing that was so great about TNG. When you start from a tabula rasa state, it gives you the freedom to do anything you want to do. And when you go to the dark place, it's so much more memorable because you're not living in it constantly.

[Durandal]

Spoiler

[dan76]

Half in the bag review. Pretty good.

https://youtu.be/MmPPxQnaGDY

[BryanM]

The internet helps educate people about how the giant corporations that they trust and love to give all their money to, use their power to advance their own position.

It's a good thing.

Half in the bag

I heartily recommend Space Cop, and that all further Star Wars movies have a role for Space Cop in them.

[Mischief Maker]

I heartily recommend Space Cop, and that all further Star Wars movies have a role for Space Cop in them.

Kurlan naiskos callback for the win!

[Skykid]

So by Star Wars standards at least, Solo is bombing at the box office. Colour me surprised. I would have thought with the franchise’s general pull it would achieve its projections regardless.

Not sure what’s gone wrong here, I haven’t seen it myself yet. Is this Last Jedi apathy, or is it just a boycott of Kathleen Kennedy’s practices?

[Mischief Maker]

I like to take the most charitable explanation that Han Solo was the only character not ruined by the prequels, so nobody wanted to see him ruined in a stand-alone prequel.

And within the segment of moviegoers who pay close enough attention to know who Kathleen Kennedy is, I imagine they're more concerned with the Lego Movie directors getting shitcanned in favor of Ron Howard (not exactly the director you think of when it comes to pule-pounding action) than some random tweet.

[BryanM]

Normies just got better things to do these days. Normally these things have an entourage cast to try to appeal as broad a spectrum of people as possible. Not a lot of parents are interested in dragging their kids to see a grimdark movie staring a sex pervert and his sex pervert friends.

It's best not to overthink these things.

Ron Howard (not exactly the director you think of when it comes to pule-pounding action)

What I think about when I hear Ron Howard is Arrested Development, season 5, out now.

Which does have a large entourage cast, lighted sets, and a reasonable sane budget that will probably be able to turn a profit.

[Zen]

Of course both resistance fighters above, are incorrect. Revealed, their deception is!

The cause for Solos's shunning, can certainly be found in the demographics, though. Broken down as follows, it becomes clear that "the game is up" for the narrative rewriting.

1. Smallest portion of potential viewers; Old guard. Those fans who saw it back in '77.
These true believers have, in the main, abandoned all hope but their small numbers make little difference to box office, either way.

2. Next would be the fad chasers (which would most definitely include the virtue signalling SJW types). Contrary to what is being sold via Disney marketing, these people are small in number.
They are not going to see every Star Wars film released, buy the merch etc., So these people dropping off, make fuck all difference to the box office either.

3. The lion's share of ticket sales go, in fact, to new Star Wars fans. Those who, even though they have seen the films outside of the era in which they were released, have been bitten by the Star Wars bug.
These people are the box office for Star Wars going forward BUT . . . they are being "problematic" . . .

Oh, dear!

They have used their feelings and sensed a great deception in the force. (well done padawans )
They refuse to drink the alien tit milk.
They have sensed a plot to destroy the Jedi.

So, no moolah Solo!

[Skykid]

I like to take the most charitable explanation that Han Solo was the only character not ruined by the prequels, so nobody wanted to see him ruined in a stand-alone prequel.

And within the segment of moviegoers who pay close enough attention to know who Kathleen Kennedy is, I imagine they're more concerned with the Lego Movie directors getting shitcanned in favor of Ron Howard (not exactly the director you think of when it comes to pule-pounding action) than some random tweet.

But Howard actually had a Lucasfilm relationship in the past with Willow, which is pretty much the kind of adventure movie Solo should be, replacing general fantasy with Star Wars fantasy of course.

The problem is the producer system is so abhorrent and controlling that Howard ends up making shit films just like everyone else these days.

[dan76]

I think it's because none of the films so far have been particularly good in their own right. They're average films with a Star Wars skin, much like most Star Wars videogames. Everyone got hyped for TFA and it was an enjoyable ride while it lasted, but once seen it was obviously a soft reboot with zero originality... and Han died.

Rogue One.. who cares. TLJ, too serious and they killed Luke. Six months later a Han Solo prequel that know one wanted and Harrison Ford isn't in it. Four films in two and a half years. We had to wait three years between the OT and PT films.

I'd like to think it's some kind if rebellion against KK but it's probably an over saturation of mediocrity. Star Wars isn't special anymore. I think it's a bit of a shame for Solo as it's probably the best one.

[BryanM]

Of course both resistance fighters above, are incorrect. Revealed, their deception is!

If Charles Dickens didn't get to be mainstream forever, I don't see how Star Wars can or should be a cash cow forever either.

Some hack frauds illustrate modern competition splendidly. It's not 1977 anymore.

Disgusting Internet People like us care about culture thetans assaulting their sensitive dirty brains, but normies don't. They see a movie based on whether they like the trailer or not, whether they feel like it'll be worth it or not considering the cash on hand, and whether the people they'll go with will enjoy it or not. Or they're giant fans who'll blindly give their money to anything if it has the right name brand on the bottle no matter what.

Anyway this is the Arrested Development thread now. Anyone see the new season?

[EmperorIng]

Almost done with Season 4's original cut. Not perfect, but way better than it was told to me (watching jokes pile up is great classic AD). Looking forward to getting started on 5. Ron should take a break from anything SW and focus on clearing up casting schedules (and convincing Portia deRoss that retirement is dumb at her age ;-; ).

[Zen]

Of course both resistance fighters above, are incorrect. Revealed, their deception is!

If Charles Dickens didn't get to be mainstream forever, I don't see how Star Wars can or should be a cash cow forever either.

Some hack frauds illustrate modern competition splendidly. It's not 1977 anymore.

Disgusting Internet People like us care about culture thetans assaulting their sensitive dirty brains, but normies don't. They see a movie based on whether they like the trailer or not, whether they feel like it'll be worth it or not considering the cash on hand, and whether the people they'll go with will enjoy it or not. Or they're giant fans who'll blindly give their money to anything if it has the right name brand on the bottle no matter what.

Anyway this is the Arrested Development thread now. Anyone see the new season?

Dickens? No longer mainstream? “God bless us, every one!”

As for Star Wars; the tale of the once an future king, of a golden age of balance, of wizards and sacred swords is, was and always will be, "mainstream".
As is the awareness of when "it is done incorrectly", which has more to do with why Solo bombed, than the fact that it is no longer 1977 or, indeed "The Blurring Effect".

Back to Dickens; you think if the next "Tiny Tim" was to be a "differently-abled" "drag-kid", that the film wouldn't lose bank from it?

The kids know, BryanM. Because they are our kids.
The have seen it with their own eyes.
The culture thetans will fail, as they always have. If "The Huts" want to lose money, let them.

The force is cucked and the kids know.

[BryanM]

Almost done with Season 4's original cut. Not perfect, but way better than it was told to me

The later stuff with Buster is pure gold. Made the entire thing worth it.

A complete send-up of those horrible movies that are supposed to make well-off people feel warm and fuzzy about race relations for no justifiable reason. You could even call it a commentary of "Social Justice". But its something with much more bite than the vapid safe tokenism the Kathleen Kennedy/Zen types are fond of. Because it actually has something to say.

Maybe not a lot. But, something.

[Zen]

the vapid safe tokenism the Kathleen Kennedy/Zen types are fond of.

Exactly what kind of response were you expecting to get from that? I'm disappointed in you, brother.

[Skykid]

I think it's a bit of a shame for Solo as it's probably the best one.

Oh it’s the best one so far, without a doubt. Saw it tonight, and despite the heavy handedness of the fan service, Ron Howard’s veteran director chops managed to pull off the best go-at-it to date.

And this is what I hate, you see. Because Kennedy and Co. have literally fucked it all real good up to now, shoving politics where it doesn’t belong and pissing off the fan base until they literally boycott your franchise. Now it’s a massive flop they’ll go back to the drawing board, sit down, and find a way to make sure that they steer as far away from Solo as possible and find their way back to Rogue One. And that, friends, is an absolute catastrophe, because Solo is the only one that actually manages to finally achieve a proper approximation of a “Star Wars” movie. And I expect it to be the last.

Let’s get on with it then.

Dan, agree with many of your points but not all. Actors that didn’t belong and were miscast:

- Paul Bettany. No. Stop putting him in films.
- Thandie Newton. Playing exactly the same character she always does with her one-note repertoire, and just as averagely.
- A few other useless shitbags, especially the freckle faced highschooler they dragged out on her lunch break to fill a prominent role.

I kept thinking at the beginning that the Han actor was very little like Harrison Ford, which bothered me initially. But I warmed to him. He wasn’t badly cast, and I thought he was a good choice overall. He was a Han Solo who was ‘coming of age’ in a way, and while I think being more rogueish would have been more interesting, I feel like there’s room to do that in the sequel that will probably now never happen.

I think Donald Glover was a good Lando but as an actor has been wildly overrated. He never quite became a character as such, he never seemed to manage any depth. But it could have been far worse, admittedly.

What the movie did have was pace and a sense of adventure for almost its entirety. Impressively, it actually managed to capture that thought lost element of kids adventure stories that Star Wars was birthed from. Howard keeps the thing hopping, and not in an ADHD way, but in a way that brings characters together and allows breathing space for scenes and locations. And the scenes and locations were good, well handled, Star Wars stock. Everything in them seemed right, the background characters were right, and generally speaking I believed in them enough not to notice they were there. The dialogue was occasionally very poor, but the characters spoke like actual SW characters. Set-pieces were nice, especially the train, and Harrelson’s alien cohort was a nice entry into the universe (sadly short-lived but far better than Sebulba, that big-eyed bitch from TFA, and every other attempt at an alien companion in-between.)

The direction of action sequences was done properly, Howard again showing some old-school ability to frame properly and give scale to events. And he was clearly following the OT playbook all the way, which I have no problem with.

So it’s a damn shame that the movie, while far from perfect and not hitting the sweet spot of genuinely likeable characters, had the occasional nigh-on catastrophic turn.

Lando’s robot is the literal embodiment of fingernails down a chalkboard. This robo-feminist is the most offensive thing I’ve ever seen shoehorned into a SW movie and I can’t tell you the actual relief I had when I saw her get blown apart because I knew I wouldn’t have to hear that voice again. I disagree with Dan about her AI getting downloaded into the Falcon - I’m hurt by that. I want that robot to be completely eradicated from existence, letalone be part of the series most iconic vehicle.

And she’s all political too. You can’t watch the movie without being jarred completely out of it because you’re so painfully aware of the fact you’re somehow being spoon fed someone’s personal agenda. I think that’s an awful thing to do. It could just be any old droid with any old personality oddity and it would be neutral and fine. But no. They couldn’t resist waving it in your face. The line when Lando asks “do you need anything?”, and she replies “equal rights”, I actually involuntarily said “Wow” out loud in the theatre.

My second major gripe is the movie’s final act. It’s anti-climatic and fairly clunky compared to the rest of the film. I liked certain character twists, but it all felt a bit flat. It didn’t have TFA or TLJ high points in terms of action sequences. And it’s arguable it didn’t need them. But at the same time they should have done a lot better than they did here, because everything prior was a cut above what I was expecting.

So there we go. A success in many ways, a failure in others, but the most “Star Wars” of Star Wars movies since Jedi and also the biggest failure. Go fucking figure.

[Xyga]

Well there's been so much internet bashing since VII, and Solo being the most spin-offy, things converging you'd expect people would grow wary of the revived franchise productions and skip the theatre release.
And yeah the pacing, too many films in too little time.

[Axelay]

Train scene was great.
Design on the space ships was great
Lots of cool star wars stuff (weapons , mud troopers , aliens)
Woody was brilliant.

Skykid is spot on , last act is the weakest.

It's a shame we won't see the developments at the end in a new film.

[Mischief Maker]

I'm just curious where all the Kathleen Kennedy bashing comes from.

Do we have concrete examples of her demanding this droid gets shoehorned into the picture, or otherwise saying she wants girl-power characters in Star Wars?

[Jonny2x4]

This picture kinda speaks for itself.

Spoiler

[Mischief Maker]

This picture kinda speaks for itself.

Spoiler

That's it?

I mean this is the woman who produced E.T, Gremlins, Back to the Future, and several other classics.

I'm not saying that makes her a good person, but it does require a little more than a picture of her showing solidarity with #metoo to dump all the blame for "ruining" Star Wars on her lap.

[EmperorIng]

People need a figurehead, and one corporate vampire[ss] is as good as the other! Who else is visibly 'in charge' of the franchise? Georgie-Porgie was visibly in charge of all the bad decisions of Ep1-3 + the special editions. All these bad writing and bad production issues has to fall on SOMEONE's lap, right?

There is equal amounts of hate and vitriol towards Rian Johnson, JJ Abrams... and I was going to say Colin Treverrow, but Rogue One inspires a great big shrug in anyone so it's not like you can pin anything on him. You'd think baby-face Johnson would never work in Hollywood again based on what people 'tweet' about his movie. Cue that funny RLM joke, "he directed that Star Wars film, 'The Last Rian Johnson Movie'"

I think I'll just side with BryanM and say I don't care about Star Wars right now; fuck Star Wars I'm watching Arrested Development. That Buster episode was really good too. Loved that malfunctioning robot hand!

Spoiler

All in all S4 is lower in quality than the first three, but a low-quality Arrested Development is still head-and-shoulders above most TV. Still lots of big gut laughs: Gob's plot to have 'fake' gay sex with Tony Wonder in order to trick him into having 'normal' straight sex later to prove he's not really gay - stands as a highlight of the series.

[dan76]

@skykid - what do you think of the theory that L337 is some kind of parody? I found her annoying, but I kept thinking she's supposed to be annoying, but then she's REALLY annoying. Is she a parody of SJW's?

It would be funny to think that she was considering the amount of stick KK is getting at the moment. I think KK deserves some criticism for what she done to Star Wars. She's the one steering the ship, and we haven't had a great movie yet, we only just got a good one. I don't like the direction these films have gone in, BUT they're better than the prequels, but like the prequels they're squandering potential.

I'd like to see a sequel to this movie, especially the job that was mentioned at the end.

[BryanM]

It's even better, if you're aware of The Blind Side. Really the kind of movie that makes you want to punch comfortable people in the face.

As far as human punching bags go, my favorite one by far is sushi eating monster Bill Roper. He's just a voice actor, not a game developer, not responsible for anything really, but they put him out there in the media so there it is. An incredible career of failing upwards for no reason - he managed to peak at Vice president of Disney Games (hey guys, another connection with Han Solo: A Star Wars Story! This would be way more impressive if Disney didn't own about 30% of everything.). It would be impossible to have a similar career trajectory as a mere voice monkey starting in the industry in this day and age. New markets are always more exciting when they're new. (Another similarity with the movie industry.)

There certainly have been examples of assholes more smug than he (such as "Fuck that loser" Jay Wilson, and "you may think you do, but you don't" What's-His-Face), but there's just something warm and fuzzy about being mean to Bill. Just feels right, you know?

2008 was a glorious year for video games. Pretty much the final crash of all the MMO Diku clones. Not a single one of the bastards bothered making a real Pokemon Online clone. Giant pot of money just sitting there screaming "pick me up" and no one bothered to even try. Can anyone explain that one to me?

All in all S4 is lower in quality than the first three

A lot of stuff woulda been cut if it was time-constrained. I was completely put off by Michael's complicated rube goldberg plan in the first episode, until the punchline drops like 20 minutes later when he's talking to the guy at the airport. It's like it's experimental or something.

I hope that they managed to gather everyone together at the same time and did better with S5. If you watch it no spoilers just impressions please - I wanna wait until the second half of the season is released first.

[Jonny2x4]

This picture kinda speaks for itself.

Spoiler

That's it?

I mean this is the woman who produced E.T, Gremlins, Back to the Future, and several other classics.

I'm not saying that makes her a good person, but it does require a little more than a picture of her showing solidarity with #metoo to dump all the blame for "ruining" Star Wars on her lap.

Well she also said something along the lines that she doesn't feel need to "cater to male Star Wars fans" in an interview in 2016.
http://comicbook.com/starwars/2016/11/2 ... ed-to-cat/

[EmperorIng]

It's even better, if you're aware of The Blind Side. Really the kind of movie that makes you want to punch comfortable people in the face.

Noted! I don't always catch the references thrown my way. I hate that fucking schmalz movie! It's even funnier that they keep on calling Buster Blindside in that ep.

All in all S4 is lower in quality than the first three

A lot of stuff woulda been cut if it was time-constrained. I was completely put off by Michael's complicated rube goldberg plan in the first episode, until the punchline drops like 20 minutes later when he's talking to the guy at the airport. It's like it's experimental or something.

Ha ha, I was dying laughing at Michael over-explaining his plan to vote p-hound out. By the time he was trying to justify what went wrong to the airport it was like the icing on the cake. AD has never been shy about delaying the gratification of a punchline (like how it took 3 seasons for Annyong's punchline to matriculate!), though S4 might have stretched that to the breaking point. It was delightful to learn about the identity of Shaman Sheman several eps later, or the increasing number of "person missing" photos at Lucille's hearing. Or having everyone refer to seeing Herbert Love with "a literal hooker" several episodes after Lindsay.

I say "lower in quality" but I still -almost- thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Seeing how different characters perceive the same events and react differently was indeed 'experimental' and didn't always work, but when it did it was top notch. I agree though that I would have cut some things out, but I guess this was the early "wild west" of Netflix original programming.

I've only watched one ep of S5 and I liked it but for some reason it was spending way too much time recapping S4, as if they just didn't release a remixed Season 4 (which I didn't watch; OG was fine for me) or as if people have no way of catching up. I mean, who is going to tune in to the show by now if not your biggest fans? Once the recapping is out of the way, there were a number of moments that make me smile and laugh though.