Strange that the only new release this week is about a guy named Solo, isn’t it?
1. Solo: A Star Wars Story (Disney, 4,381 Theaters, 135 Minutes, Rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi action/violence, Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer at press time: 69% Fresh [228 Reviews]): Han Solo is arguably the best character in the Star Wars universe. He definitely has one of the best character arcs in the franchise and people love him. And a lot of that love comes as a result of the performance of Harrison Ford. There is a razor thin line between “Charming Rogue” and “Obnoxious Despicable Rogue” and Ford made sure that the character stayed on the right side of that line.
So, this is to say that this film was behind the 8-ball from the get go–delivering a new take on the iconic character in a film with another actor taking over for Ford. It did not need a mid-filming directorial change to make the film a risky venture, it already was one.
But a mid-filming directorial change it got, which sent the naysayers a-squawking. Will it be a good film? Maybe. Will it be a good enough film to overcome all the negative energy surrounding it? Probably not.
Next week, we have a trio of new releases, one lost at sea, one lost in an amusement park and one that might get lost on the shuffle. See you then.
