• Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
    • Contact
    • Hire Me
    • About
Menu

World of Reel

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Home
IMG_5212.jpg
David Oyelowo Says His ‘Rocketeer’ Sequel Got Canceled By Disney
IMG_5208.jpg
Asghar Farhadi’s New Film Tackles 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks
IMG_5201.jpg
‘Snow White’ Re-Release Tanks With $210K in 1300+ Screens
IMG_5191.jpg
‘Batman Forever: Schumacher Cut’ to Screen on May 29 in L.A.
IMG_5184.jpg
M. Night Shyamalan Shooting ‘Remain’ in VistaVision
Featured
Capture.PNG
Aug 19, 2019
3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC
Aug 19, 2019

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Aug 19, 2019

World of Reel

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
  • More
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
  • About
    • Contact
    • Hire Me
    • About

“Solo: A Star Wars Story" feels forced, and uninspired

May 16, 2018 Jordan Ruimy

I saw "Solo: A Star Wars Story" last night at Cannes. You know, that movie about Han Solo, his origin story if you will, and, truth be told, I believe it to be the single worst "Star Wars" movie ever made. Yes, worse than those George Lucas prequels, at least they had some kind of heart and striking visuals. This "Solo" film has nothing goin' for it. You can clearly feel confusion and angst in the frames of the Ron Howard flick, why? Well just click here, because I don't really want to explain, again, all the production chaos that happened within the film, including the firing of directors Chris Miller and Phil Lord. 

The movie is basically an "attempt" to give Han Solo an origin story. Fair enough. Alden Ehrenreich, who was reported to have an acting coach on-set after Disney wasn't too happy with his acting, is not bad, but he's still miscast. The 28 year old actor just can't capture the spirit of Harrison Ford's original performance. It's as simple as that. We just don't care. 

The plot has Solo and his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) separated by the war. Jump three years later and Han – nicknamed Solo because he travels with no family, an orphan – meets Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo), Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and Val (Thandie Newton). A train heist they attempt early on fails. Our heroes then have to deal with and explain their failure to the villainous Dryden Voss (Paul Bettany) whose partner in crime and slaved love interest is, you guessed correctly, Qi'ra.  Han, Qi'ra, Chewie and Tobias have Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) lend them the Millenium Falcon, bad idea, Han is reckless but brilliant in maneuvering his way and battling the empire. The Falcon is returned to Lando in beat-up, classic shape.

I just felt bored and irritated, but the relentless cutting will surely please Michael Bay and Marvel fans. Glover‘s Lando Calrissian, and the Millenium Falcon, are actually the highlight of this thing, so are the last 20 or so minutes which might save it from Razzie nominations, but at 143 minutes this is a ludicrous attempt at making something out of a problematic production that will become infamous very soon. 

Thandie Newton‘s Val, a member of Harrelson’s crew, is underused and useless. Phoebe Waller–Bridge who voices Lando’s droid companion, is nice comedic relief. And Paul Bettany‘s villainous Dryden Vos is the WORST "Star Wars" baddie I have ever seen. 

Listen folks, the film just doesn't take risks. Lord and Miller gave us hope this could be a film with a vision but Kathleen Kennedy said "NO!." Think of what Taika Waititi or James Gunn brought to Marvel, that sort of thing is missing here. There is no directorial stamp, Ron Howard has basically done this to help a friend and receive a paycheck. There's no artistry. There's predictability and lots of forced nostalgic fondness.

In REVIEWS Tags Star Wars
← Hirokazu Kore-Eda's “Shoplifters” wins the Palme d’Or Bi Gan’s ‘Long Day’s Journey Into Night’ Is A Masterfully Mysterious Effort & Maybe The Best At Cannes [Review] →

FOLLOW US!


Trending

Featured
IMG_4571.jpg
David Fincher & Brad Pitt Reunite for ‘The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth' + Plot Details
IMG_4549.png
Warners Bros. Chief Admits Missteps on ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’: “We Misread the Room”
IMG_4541.jpg
Scorsese’s Next Film? Hawaiian Mob Epic With Dwayne Johnson Eyes 2026 Shoot
Capture.png
Jim Caviezel to be De-Aged in ‘The Resurrection of the Christ'
IMG_4465.png
Harmony Korine Says Hollywood Struggling Because “Movies Suck Today”

Critics Polls

Featured
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants
B16BAC21-5652-44F6-9E83-A1A5C5DF61D7.jpeg
Critics Poll: Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Tops Our 1960s Critics Poll
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘The Godfather’ Named Best Movie of the 1970s
public.jpeg
Critics Poll: ‘Do the Right Thing' Named Best Movie of the 1980s
Critics Poll: ‘Mulholland Drive' Named Best Film of the 2000s
g4.jpg
Critics' Poll: ‘Goodfellas' Named Best Movie of the 1990s
Critics Poll: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road' Named Best Movie of the 2010s
World of Reel tagline.PNG
 

Content

Contribute

Hire me

 

Support

Advertise

Donate

 

About

Team

Contact

Privacy Policy

Site designed by Jordan Ruimy © 2023