It's been a couple days now since I posted my first thoughts on Solo: A Star Wars Story. (You can see that video here.) Now that I've took some time to fully digest it, & I really didn't think I was going to enjoy as much as I did. All the problems it faced during production coupled with the long list of Star Wars characters & timelines I'd have rather seen, had me expecting a mess. What I got was a way better than decent film though. This totally lived up to the Star Wars name. The only other "anthology", or Star Wars Story I have to compare this to is Rogue One . That said, though I enjoyed Rogue One , I enjoyed Solo more. Not only does this film feel more rewatchable, it does things Rogue One tried to do, but better. For instance, it gives a better feel of what it's like to live on an Empire controlled world. For more than just our main characters. Not only that, I fell like it did a perfect job of feeling like something different, while still holding onto Star Wars . Breaking it down character for character, of course you start with Alden Ehrenreich as Han. He was my biggest worry going in. Obviously, he's the make it or break it of this film. He definitely made it. His performance is what really got me into this first. The movie's different from your typical Star Wars film, & I think his performance as Han is what steered in into the right direction early on. Next up there was Kira, Han's love interest, & really a driving piece of the film. I enjoyed seeing how her character, & all these characters for that matter, help shape Han into the smuggler we all know & love. No one more so than Woody Harrelson's Beckett. He was great as the mentor character. Harrelson was one of the only things I wasn't worried about going in, & he totally lived up to that. There were three more people that really impressed me in this film as well. One is Joonas Suotamo. He filled the mighty Chewbacca's shoes, & I feel like I've never seen this range out of the wookie co-pilot. In this age I don't know how much was digital & how much was him, but there was a level of emotion there that I've never noticed. The second is Paul Bettany as the villain. I couldn't believe he was a last minute addition, as he was amazing. I honestly couldn't think of anyone else in this part. Which is the same, exact thing I can say for the third, as he totally steals the show. Donald Glover, or Childish Gambino, as Lando was hands down the best part of this film. I went into this wanting a Lando movie, & came out wanting one even more. Glover channelled the essence of Billy Dee & totally delivered. However, his character came equipped with an example of how some parts of this film had to grow on me. His droid companion L3-37 had some good moments toward the end, but I wasn't the biggest fan early on. There were other spots here & there that had to grow on me, mainly the very beginning, but she was the biggest. There weren't any real deal breakers in here for me. I can't get over how much I did enjoy this movie. I'm really looking forward to not only giving it another watch, but seeing more. And the last thing I thought I'd be asking for were more Solo films going into this. Especially after the big reveals in this one. There's two characters put in just for us crazy comic & cartoon fans, & I want them to build on them so bad. All in all, I think this was a great start to the character driven "Star Wars Story" films. I not only hope that Boba Fett & Obi-wan wind up being this good. Part of me hopes there's a plan to all eventually end them all together on Tatooine. Leading into A New Hope . That's just hopeful thinking though. I really enjoyed this movie, I'd definitely recommend to see this at the theater. IMAX if at all possible. Side note, I went to the fan party at AMC. Which for a $25 ticket they threw in some dice like Han's, movie buttons, a movie poster, & free popcorn. Worth the extra. You also get to see the film an hour earlier, packed with a load of super-fans. Loved this movie though, want more. Let me know your thoughts. Put 'em in the comments, like, & share.
"Star Wars: The Last Jedi" Movie Review
I've took a little more time than usual to do the written review on this one. My first thoughts video is here, but I wanted to really let all of this sink in before I addressed it again. Star Wars: The Last Jedi has now become the second most successful opening weekend ever, & fans seem to be a little mixed on how they feel. I don't blame them at all either, this movie is not only a lot to take in, as it turns everything upside down on it's head. Really big decisions were made in this film, so many it makes it hard to review without spoiling the whole thing. Mainly because, it's especially built on a lot of surprises, delivering a spoiler worthy moment a least every 20 minutes. You will get answers to almost all the questions you wanted, you just won't get the answers you wanted. Honestly, that said though, you will get the answers you needed. Rian Johnson proves not only he understands the Star Wars galaxy, he probably even understands it more so that George Lucas understands it now. In my opinion he has breathed a new life into Star Wars, passing the torch more beautifully & perfectly than I've ever seen a franchise pass the torch. Most all of the characters really shine with emphasis on the main three. Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker gives the hands down best performance he has ever given as the farmboy turned Jedi, Adam Driver is absolutely amazing as Kylo Ren/Ben Kenobi delivering on every level of intensity, & Daisy Ridley, much like Luke in the original, seems as if she was born for this part. Other characters really played their parts, Leia's first appearance almost brought tears to my eyes, Poe proved he was the best pilot in the Resistance, & Benicio Del Toro's character grew on me enough for me to want more. I didn't care for Finn & the new girl's storyline, I just didn't really find interest in them as characters. They weren't bad, they were just forgettable in the whole mix of everything else going on. Phasma was once again wasted with hardly any screen time, I guess she's at least there though, more so than last time around. Even with those two missteps though they weren't at all enough to be called bad. Phasma still was cool, like last time around, & this time she at least gets some action. The Finn thing, like I said character wise I just didn't really care, but their mission on Canto Bight was awesome. The last character to mention would have to be Snoke, as I think they're going to treat him as the original Emperor, giving us no information at all. He does display power on a level that is beyond the Emperor though, intriguing me more than ever with his character. His throne room bothered me a lot for some reason, & I so need a reason for his face, but other than that Snoke was impressive for a fully digital character. So were creatures of this film. Namely everyone's new favorite porgs & the vulptices. The porgs were adorable, with the little space penguins reminding me Star Trek's tribbles. The vulptices I wish were used more as they were beautiful creatures on the salt planet of Crait. Bringing me to the planets landscapes. With this one you get three, Crait, Canto Bight, & Ahch To. Ahch To, you've seen before, as the planet Rey found Luke on in The Force Awakens. It is a spectacularly beautiful place that shines on film. Then there's Crait, you've seen Crait, in the previews with the red dust flying everywhere. At first, it's pretty underwhelming like Hoth, but once the salt starts flying with the red dust it really helps the battle's effects. Last but certainly not least, there's Canto Bight. This is the casino planet that is the polar opposite of Mos Eisley, a casino planet where all the high rollers go to kick back, drink, & gamble. I love any time we get to see regular life around the galaxy. It adds more reality to everything going on in Star Wars. Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. More so, I enjoy where this is all going. I read many hypothesizes on what was going to happen, & they were not only wrong, they were entirely in the wrong direction. I like that, I would rather no one be able to figure out where these are going next. It's fun to guess, but it's even better to be completely blindsided in the theater. That unknown is what makes it so entertaining. I know I liked this more than the prequels & Rogue One. However, that said I'm going to have to see it again before I can figure it's place with the original trilogy or The Force Awakens. As of now it's a great movie in my opinion, but I want to know what y'all think? Put it in the comments, like, & share.
Went to an AMC Fan Showing where they gave us packs of these cards, & then of course I had to purchase all three popcorn tins