FILM OF THE WEEK
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Cert: 12A; Opens May 24
Your average film is not a story that needs to be told so accusations that this, the backstory of one of the most iconic screen characters ever, didn’t need to be told are daft. It’s just that anything to do with Star Wars has not only to be a good film, but a good Star Wars film. A mixed bag in itself. This is a prequel, how Han Solo got his name, met his wookie and found the Millennium Falcon and, after a wobbly start it works fairly well on both levels with enough for SW geeks and non geeks alike.
It has to be daunting for an actor to play a younger version of an icon, doubly so when there is a director change during production. Creative differences meant Phil Lord and Christopher Miller ceded directorial duties to Ron Howard. Alden Ehrenreich takes some time to settle in to his role as Han Solo but he does it, managing to avoid mimicry of Harrison Ford. We meet him first on the planet Corellia where he and love interest Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) are separated. Three years later, as a minion of the Empire and still dreaming of going back to rescue Qi’ra, he hooks up with jaded mercenaries played by Woody Harrelson, Thandie Newton and Jon Favreau (in CGI). A mission goes wrong and they end up indebted to criminal boss Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) in whose company they find Qi’ra, who didn’t need saving after all. Another mission ensues. It pulls together with action from the get go and plenty of humour. Where it works less well is in the chemistry between Qi’ra and Han. Parsec experts should be happy, but so too should the uninitiated, and young kids will enjoy the non-stop action.