54

Against The Disney Overlords' best efforts, I liked Solo as a junky space-western fantasy and *not* as a Han Solo origin - one supposedly created so that nerds across the world could gasp at the revelation that, wow, Han got the name 'Solo' because, get this, he's a loner, or that Chewbacca is called 'chewy' because Han doesn't want to say his whole name every time. Jesus christ. It's a disaster of reconstructing and mythologizing what already has intrigue burned into its skin, but Ron Howard is such a craftsman that the whole escapade flows from set-piece to set-piece, each pronounced by Bradford Young's sublime (and ruined by multiplex projectors) usage of selective lighting and exploration of the SW seedy underbelly. Tactile production design, John Powell's rousing score, and the snappy performances lift it past a Target Star Wars commerical, and yet, the difference isn't as vast as you'd like.

Random bits:

- That droid with Lando? She was the most annoying character to ever be in a Star War. Y I K E S.

- The Kessel Run and train heist are so good they honestly carry the whole movie.

- Might have the best creature design of the new films.

- Chewbacca is a pure boy.