Solo: A Star Wars Story first reactions — Donald Glover is 'legit fantastic' in this non-stop adventure
A giant replica of the Millennium Falcon towered over Hollywood Boulevard and Chewbacca walked the red carpet at Thursday’s world premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story, a movie about the early years of the space saga’s famous smuggler.
The first reactions for the movie are out and they're mostly positive except for a few complaints about the pacing.
The film tells the story of the early years of smuggler Han Solo, who was played by Harrison Ford in seven films in the Star Wars franchise. The film stars Alden Ehrenreich as Solo and Donald Glover as a Lando Calrissian, both actors playing younger versions of the characters made famous by the original Star Wars trilogy. Solo also features fan favorites Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon — in its earlier and spiffier days before being introduced as a grimy, albeit fast, hunk of junk in the original Star Wars film.
(From L-R) Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian, Alden Ehrenreich as Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca in Solo: A Star Wars Story promo. LucasFilm
The film is the second stand-alone film set in the Star Wars universe. Rogue One, released in 2016, told the story of the theft of plans for the superweapon the Death Star, which was destroyed at the end of the 1977 film that made Star Wars into a global sensation.
Here's what the early reviewers had to say.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is a goddamn delight. It’s a non-stop adventure packed with way more emotion than your expecting. You’ll have a smile on your face the whole time and leave eager for more. pic.twitter.com/fOsF7Tr95L
— Germain Lussier (@GermainLussier) May 11, 2018
Oh, and this is for sure now the Solo Franchise. It's not really hiding the fact it's setting up more Han Solo movies. — Mike Ryan (@mikeryan) May 11, 2018
I figured if @DisneyStudios was willing to show 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' a few weeks before release it must be good and it absolutely is. Film is a blast and a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe. @RealRonHoward you did a great job. Congrats. pic.twitter.com/1pkWH2y6qE
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) May 11, 2018
People were pleasantly surprised especially considering all the production trouble. And of course, everyone loved Glover.
SOLO was SO much better than I was expecting! It balanced fan service w/ meaningful storytelling, and it’s an absolute blast. Full of Easter eggs & deep cut references. The cast oozed charisma, especially Donald Glover as Lando & Phoebe Waller-Bridge as L3-37. #HanSolo #StarWars pic.twitter.com/xzXNWleU15 — Dan Casey (@DanCasey) May 11, 2018
My one GIF review of #SoloAStarWarsStory @starwars pic.twitter.com/g4dGJGZiyF
— Angelique Jackson (@angelique814) May 11, 2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story has a light tone and has some great action sequences. There were great moments but some were a bit too on the nose for me. The Chewie/Han bromance is the thing to watch for. — Wendy Lee Szany (@WendyLeeSzany) May 11, 2018
Some said the second half is better than the first.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is... fine. It's slow to find its footing, but picks up in the second act, and it's definitely fun. Has the occasional prequel problem answering questions I didn't need answers to, but also some fun references. Overall I liked it, didn't love it pic.twitter.com/dV02yRYueA
— Eric Eisenberg (@eeisenberg) May 11, 2018
#SoloAStarWarsStory: It takes a bit for it to find its feet and for AE to turn on enough charm to make you forget he’s not HF. But once it kicks into its hey-let’s-make-a-crew and yes-also-do-a-heist stuff, it totally flies. — Kate Erbland (@katerbland) May 11, 2018
Solo is the biggest role yet for Alden Ehrenreich, who starred in the Coen Brothers film Hail, Caesar!.
Another thing about 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' that really stood out are the action set pieces. They were GREAT and so well choreographed.
Also thought Alden Ehrenreich was perfectly cast as Han Solo. Trust me entire cast was fantastic. Can't wait to see it again. pic.twitter.com/Sh5IC8qnSF
— Steven Weintraub (@colliderfrosty) May 11, 2018
Alden Ehrenreich is the real deal, Thandie Newton is who I want to be when I grow up, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s L3... well we’ll talk about that later. 😃 #SoloAStarWarsStory — Angie J. Han (@ajhan) May 11, 2018
Solo: A Star Wars Story releases on 25 May.
(With inputs from agencies)
Updated Date: May 11, 2018 15:09 PM
