- Simon Garner
Trailer Review: Solo - A Star Wars Story
This week we were treated to trailers galore, courtesy of the Super Bowl, as is now an annual occurrence. One of these trailers was for Solo: A Star Wars Story, and it was our first, long-awaited look at the film that has had its share of turmoil. After a number of viewings, my view, along with a fair few people I’ve spoken to, was simply ‘meh, looks alright’. The big reason for this is, with no disrespect to Alden Ehrenreich, that it simply isn’t Han Solo if it isn’t Harrison Ford. The few lines we actually see Ehrenreich deliver are actually delivered very well, but I just don’t look at him as Han Solo.
Someone having the opposite effect on me is Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. We see various shots of Glover pulling off some signature mannerisms, made famous by Billy Dee Williams. Most notably, Glover nails the smug, cheesy grin. We’re also introduced to new characters, brought to us by Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke, who play Tobias Beckett and Qi’Ra respectively.
There’s various shots of some beautiful surroundings, namely our faux-Solo stood in a snowy setting, as the camera pans round. Early Hoth, maybe? Also, there’s an excellent shot of Ehrenreich reaching for Solo’s DL44 blaster pistol from his customary leg holster, whilst facing larger numbers. It’s typical Han, and very well done.
One thing I’m really not a fan of is how they’ve used Lando’s line, “What have you done to my ship?”, from The Empire Strikes Back, to make changes to the Millennium Falcon. The front end comes to a point, instead of the split pronged look we all know and love, the satellite dish is either missing or flat, the colour scheme seems to be white and blue, and I’m sure eagle-eyed viewers will tell me there’s more. This seems a very Disney touch, in the same mould as just disregarding Anakin’s lightsaber in The Last Jedi. The new-old Falcon doesn’t impress me in the slightest. Some things just shouldn’t be tampered with, and the Falcon is at the summit of that pile.
It may sound as if I’m bashing it more than praising it, and that may be the case, but as I said at the top of this article, Ehrenreich does deliver what lines we see very well. Towards the end, after thinking he’s averted a crisis, he says “Thought we were in trouble for a second there, but it’s fine. We’re fine.” It’s typical Solo, both in delivery, and in the sense that it was premature, as a bigger threat was instantly evident!
Overall, I think this film looks like a fun, adventure-style film, that just happens to be in the Star Wars universe. I don’t look at any younger versions of characters in the same light, so I don’t expect much in terms of Star Wars fulfilment or expansion. What I do feel positive about is that it looks a little Rogue One, in terms of visuals, and I’m all for this as I thought Rogue One was excellent. Let’s just say I won’t worry about making the ticket purchase in less than twelve parsecs!
