Solo

One of Ron Howard’s best movies, which means: lower those expectations, folks! If you do, it’s a fun but light Star Wars prologue. It might have worked better as one of those animated things like Clone Wars or Rebels. The introduction and bromance of Han and Chewy works really well, and it’s the best part of this. But other subplots: failed heists, double crosses, and Casablanca-lifted thematic elements are less dazzling, even though they do eventually work. The cast is strong, especially Alden Ehrenreich, who delivers the right balance of youthful swagger and emotional inexperience. The stakes just feel… low. The fate of the galaxy isn’t on the line. There’s no real love lost. It’s just kind of a slapdash adventure. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you need to make a billion dollars, some planets need to explode.