By Paul 
Solo – A Star Wars Story
A few thoughts on Solo, the new Star Wars movie. The film is the back story to the rogue turned hero of the earlier movies: Han Solo.It charts the section of his life where he meets two of the main characters from the other films: Chewbacca and Lando and we learn how he acquires his ship the Millennium Falcon. It involves lots of action, some love interest, lots of nods to the earlier movies and even some humour.
I guess my main criticism of the movie would be that the first half was somewhat unengaging. I don’t even know particularly why that was. While there was action and some character development in the first half I found myself largely not caring about the characters and wondering how long the film still had to run. But… when we got into the second half of the film things did change for me. Suddenly I did care what was happening to Han and I was keen to find out who was doing what to whom and why. The themes of the second half: friendship, betrayal, loyalty and mistrust were well worked out and I was moved by the things I saw. People who were not to be trusted finding themselves betrayed and people you felt were honest proving otherwise.
I did enjoy the film and think it’s worth a second outing but it feels like a film where every one is a bit dodgy which leaves one with a slightly uncomfortable feeling at the end. Is everyone out for what they can get? Is Han a good guy? (trying to avoid spoilers) and is the fundamental message trust no-one?
I am impressed with the Han – Chewie friendship, it’s always good to see friendships portrayed well and there is something about that connection that is satisfying.