No Force? No Death Star? Here’s how ‘Solo’ is unique among ‘Star Wars’ movie franchise
The new “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” which is tracking to have the lowest opening of Disney’s “Star Wars” films, is an adventure that many fans weren’t sure they wanted. The collective shrug essentially asked: Do we really need Han Solo’s origin story?
Yet as some skeptics question just how far Disney can stretch this franchise – Lucasfilm has knighted “Last Jedi” writer-director Rian Johnson to guide an entire new trilogy after the current one concludes next year – “Solo” should rightly be embraced as a refreshing change of pace.
Instead of being so tightly tethered to the main franchise’s req- uisite elements and expectations, “Solo” – sometimes rather thrillingly – gets to fly as free as a whooping Han when finally coming into his own as a Kessel Run-clearing pirate pilot.
There is a joy to these Disney spinoffs that render them worthy of creative sorties. And part of what ultimately really helps elevate “Solo” is that it bears none of the narrative payload that has freighted every single film in the franchise – since creator George Lucas first launched “Star Wars” into theaters 41 years ago Friday.
Consider: This is the first “Star Wars” movie in which the characters don’t meditate upon, or get educated on, the ways of the Force.
Veteran “Star Wars” screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan was persuad- ed to return to this universe because Han is his favorite character, and with co-scribe son Jonathan Kasdan, they set out to track a primary arc: How did Han become such a cynical dude – and what was he like before?
In other words, this might be a tale of self-discovery, but this is no deeply philosophical and spiritual journey.
This film is a first in this universe because it is not centered on the Jedi, and it does not feature fighters from the Skywalker blood line. “Solo” does not play out like a rebel fulfilling some destiny; this is not space Shakespeare. Instead, its spirit is more like the youthful whiz-bang of a family Spielberg film, as a young man simply tries to achieve a dream.
Many fans might have minimal hopes for this potential spinoff franchise, but there is plenty to be ventured and gained from the weightlessness of lowered expectations.
“Solo” will not spark hot social media debates about whether a director did wrong by Luke Skywalker, or Admiral Leia, or even a snuffed-out Snoke. “Solo” is a light aircraft, maneuvering with the easy liberty of a vehicle that has no ammunition – because, refreshingly, it has no new Death Star to destroy.
Instead, only Han’s star need be aligned, to swashbuckling derring-do, a first-time flight with a familiar flying buddy or two – and an engaging origin in which a Carbonite-bound future lies far, far away.