‘Solo’ Doesn’t Deliver the Origin We Wanted, but Still Delivers Overall

I think that managing expectations is a huge part of living a happy life. Your boss is likely not gonna swing around to your cubicle to talk about intersectionality. Your MAGA-hat-wearing neighbor is not going to donate time or energy to the Community Garden. Solo, the latest standalone in the Star Wars universe is not going to offer the origin story of Han Solo. Okay. *Deep breath*. I’m not going to get what I wanted: a true origin story with characters that evolve and become who we have known them to be. Nope. Han arrives as… well, Han. Fully formed, arrogant without enough to back it up, scrappy, and generally Han-ish. Lando, as well, arrives as Lando in all his caped, pansexual magnificence. Chewie, too.

Here’s where I take a step back, breathe, and reevaluate my expectations. Despite not offering what I thought it would offer, the movie is a fun, good time. Alden Ehrenreich’s Han is the likable rogue he had to be. His interpretation of the character makes perfect sense in light of the universe two generations have grown to love. I’m biased, but Donald Glover as Lando did a fair share of scene-stealing. Reportedly, Billy Dee Williams told the musician and driving force behind Atlanta to be charming. Welp, Glover listened. His Lando is talk-you-out-of-your-last-drink-of-water-while-you-walk-through-a-desert-together type smooth. And the capes. And the hair. And the voice. At some point, you think “this is the world’s most untrustworthy dude” and a second later “he seems f…