Topic: "Solo: A Star Wars Story" Fan Reactions (Spoilers OK)

OK fans, the film is now out in theaters. Let's discuss the film here. Spoilers are OK.

I've seen 'Solo' twice this weekend and I loved it! I was very skeptical when I went to the first showing considering the changes and rumours that were associated with the film's production. As well, I really REALLY disliked 'The Last Jedi'.

One of my favourite moments was when Beckett first meets Lando and Lando credits him with getting rid of Aurra Sing! Loved it!

I didn't see the twist with Darth Maul coming! I like how they kept the Crimson Dawn storyline open, because I think it will continue as a subplot that ties the Kenobi and Boba Fett stories together with Solo.

Disney has ruined the Saga storyline, but they still have my interest with the anthology films!

I saw it on Friday, and though I had my doubts, I actually loved it.
I thought Alden Ehrenreich did an amazing job as Solo. As I predicted, I liked his Han Solo better than Harrison Ford's.

However I disliked how they changed Lando's character. It was different than in Empire Strikes Back, and I hate it when they change the fundamentals of an already well established character.

Personally, I hated the bit about Beckett killing Aurra Sing, because I think we all know that she would have kicked his butt. I'm sorry, but the woman can survive crash landing inside the Slave 1 but she can't survive or be smart enough to avoid being shoved off a ledge???!!!! Sorry, but no. Just no. Beckett was good, but he was NOT Aurra Sing level good. She can and has killed JEDI. There is no way Beckett could take her. She trained Boba Fett himself, and was good enough to fight alongside Jango. There is no way. Absolutely none.

I thought the Darth Maul ending was brilliant! I heard his voice and realized that I knew it. My younger brother thought it was Darth Sidious but I knew there was no way. The voice was wrong, the cloak was wrong, but I KNEW his voice. Then he pulled his hood down, and I freaked out. It was Darth Maul and Sam Witwer was playing him! It was amazing. I had been hoping Witwer would get into an SW movie as Starkiller, but this was almost as good. And it tied in perfectly. We knew from Clone Wars that Maul had brought together all the major crime syndicates (Black Sun, the Pikes (their appearance was also brilliant, by the way), etc.) in order to take over Mandalore. But Sidious ruined it all when he killed Savage and sent Maul into hiding. This just confirms that Maul still had plenty of connections within the different syndicates. Enough to fully form his own.

Another problem I had with it though was how they changed the Maw. The Maw was supposed to be a CLUSTER of black holes in the Kessel system, not one single giant one.
And they changed how Solo accomplished his feat of completing the Kessel run in 14 parsecs. He was supposed to skirt the edges of the black holes in order to get through. Now we know that parsecs are actually units of DISTANCE not TIME. So the reasoning for him being able to do this was that black holes warp time and SPACE. There was nothing wrong with the original story line and the Maw is well established in Legends to be a cluster. I just hated that.
I did love how they FINALLY made it clear to everyone that he completed the Run in 14 parsecs not 12. It has been taken for truth that he did it in 12, but in the movies (and it is clarified in the canon books on the actual movies) he did it in 14. We know this because of Ben's reaction when Han says 12. I just loved it. And all in one line: "Not when you round it down."

^ @banthahunter And I think that is an excellent theory. I didn't think about it before, but it would be perfect to tie them together with.

I didn't like Solo at first because it was too dark and murky. I seen it for the first time at a dump theater. Then I watched it at one of those fancy cinema eateries called The Spot and it was an infinitely better experience. :D I like the movie except for the loud and sarcastic female droid. The design of that droid is outstanding but she needed to be dialed down a bit and that business with Lando being a pansexual is just totally unnecessary. And I'm also bummed that Boba Fett wasn't in the movie. :( The Imperial Recruitment Center stuff is pretty neat though. :D Join the Empire! :P

banthahunter, glad you enjoyed Solo, including the Aurra Sing mention and the Darth Maul cameo! May your faith be renewed. We'll see if they continue anything with future "story" films, which are just rumors at this point still.

MandaloreRising, better than Harrison Ford?! Woah, that's quite an endorsement. Nice Alden's performance won you over. As for Beckett vs. Aurra, maybe he's lying and taking credit for something else. He could be that type of guy. Glad you liked the "Not when you round it down" zinger.

ctxboy1981, good projection definitely helps, especially with more contrasty cinematography for sure. Too bad Boba wasn't in the movie indeed.