I am a STAR WARS Nerd and I am Not Excited for SOLO

I have been a fan of Star Wars since I was a little boy. When I was home sick from school, I would constantly go to the basement and pop in our VHS tapes. When I heard people coming through, I would pretend to be asleep because that’s what you do when you’re sick, but how could I sleep while watching some of the best movies ever. I love Star Wars and have some unpopular opinions such as The Phantom Menace is not the worst Star Wars movie, but rather Attack of the Clones is. I even have the opinion that The Last Jedi was really good and better than The Force Awakens. I have been excited for every film. That is, until Solo: A Star Wars Story.

I’ve never been a huge Han Solo fan, although I did like him. He was the rogue, the scoundrel, the scruffy looking nerf-herder. Harrison Ford was brilliant in the role. He’s a fan favorite and a lot of people love him. His popularity is most likely the reason why Lucasfilm decided to make Solo in the first place. After all, who doesn’t want to see more of their favorite character? That’s why I’m so excited they announced Kenobi (although if Ewan McGregor does not reprise his role, the film is dead to me). I’ve never felt like I needed or even wanted to know Han’s backstory. Even as I write this article, I can’t bring myself to care about how he became indebted to Jabba the Hutt or how he got the Millennium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. I don’t need to see some tragic story that led to Han being a loner. I like the idea of this bada-- smuggler always being a bit of a bada--. That being said, I decided to not pass judgment on the film until a trailer was posted.

The trailer was posted after the Super Bowl and it cemented my lack of excitement for the film. We still don’t know too much about the plot, but the trailer felt flat and uninspired. As we learn that Han was kicked out of flight school for being an individual, we are treated to a chase scene that is probably supposed to inspire us, but as I watch it and hear the dialogue, it reminds me of Kirk from 2009’s Star Trek. A rebel who can’t listen to orders and is denied his dream, who then stumbles upon a way to make that dream come true. Honestly, by him talking about trying to be a pilot and such makes him less cool. It would’ve been much cooler to learn that he was always running scams until one day another scoundrel took him as his own until he was big enough to go off on his own with Chewbacca. Think Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy kind of deal. Then one day he comes across Lando Calrissian who happens to have the fastest ship in the galaxy and Han decides he wants it so he wins it in a game of Pazaak or something. I feel like the trailer further points to the whole reason Greedo shot first in the Special Editions. They want Han to be a good guy through and through. However, that messes with the whole scoundrel image. To me, it makes him more of a poser than a scoundrel if he’s good through and through. He runs with some bad crowds, he’ll have some nasty habits such as pull the trigger first when you know things are getting hairy.

I’m sure I’ll see Solo when it goes to a really cheap theater or after it’s available to rent, but I don’t know that I’m going to go opening night. This movie to me just seems pointless and unnecessary. The person I’m most excited to see in it though is Donald Glover. I think he will do a great job as a young Lando Calrissian. Who knows, maybe future trailers will be able to convince me that this is a film worth getting excited about.