I was taking care of bills and doing household paperwork while American Idol was on in the background. During one of the commercial breaks, I looked up to see that there was this really lush looking science fiction movie being shown with Woody Harrelson! Holy shit! How have I never heard of this film, I wonder, going back to my paperwork. When I looked back up again, it was another cool looking scene on a snowy looking planet. Wow, this movie looked really cool.
Then when I looked up from paperwork again, I saw Donald Glover, and things finally clicked. Oh. So this must be the latest Star Wars movie then. Wow.
Obviously my policy to avoid trailers is still in effect, but I have to admit, seeing a really fancy high budget science fiction movie starring Woody Harrelson and Donald Glover sounds like a great prospect to me.
I’m intrigued by this for two reasons - one, it reminds me of the series of books by Brian Daley from the early 80s that kind of chronicled the adventures (trouble) Han and Chewie were getting into before they ran into Luke at Mos Eisley. But then also, I would really like to see some stuff set in the Star Wars universe with lower stakes and a lighter touch, just some good old fashioned fun. Hoping this will be that.
This could easily be the first Star Wars movie I don’t see at the theatre. I’m open to going still, but whether I do or not will be heavily dependent upon its reception.
I’m with you guys about maybe not seeing it in the theater, but not because the trailer looks bad but because I bought a ticket last year to see The Last Jedi.
Strategically what you are saying is sound, but I have to believe that the percentage of people interested in both Infinity Wars and Solo who will somehow have to choose between them as opposed to just seeing both is very very small. Nerds gonna nerd and all that. ;-)
Screens, as above, but also consider repeat viewings. With ‘nothing’ coming out between Infinity Wars and Solo, that’s several weeks to get people to see Infinity Wars over and over.
Been reading a bunch of reviews of the movie and mostly they leave me with the feeling that eh, might be fun. But this one, from a screening at the Cannes festival of all places, hit me right in my weak spot:
Just so you don’t have to flick through other not-really-related stuff, this is the part that feels like a gut punch:
“… but even the most purist fans might discover something deflating about the way Solo condenses just about everything we’ve heard about Han’s past into a relatively short period of time. Doesn’t that just make the franchise universe seem smaller?”
And that right there encapsulates the root problem I’ve had with every SW movie since the original trilogy - they feel tied down to their characters, focusing mainly on Skywalkers, or at least to their epic mythological story beats. I want a Star Wars movie that feels like a revelation, even a minor one, and I don’t think that’s ever going to happen again.
This story confirms why I think this movie looks incredible the more I watch the previews… it captures Lucas’ original film better than almost anything I’ve seen since in the universe because that’s exactly what Howard was trying to do.
