This has the same IMDb rating as The Last Jedi, which puts it a little below the median for the franchise. For years, if anyone in my circles talked about it, they were complaining. Since the stand-alone prequel wasn't integral to understanding the overarching story, I saw no need to tune in. Then I heard a positive review from someone I trust, so I finally gave it a try.
The film begins with Han (Alden Ehrenreich) as a young adult street thief for a harsh gang leader. He pays his way off planet with loot, but crush Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) gets apprehended. Han joins the Imperial Navy -- where, being an orphan, he is assigned the surname Solo -- in order to learn pilot skills and use them to rescue Qi'ra. Of course, he's too unruly for a good soldier and finds the missions questionable, so that's another group to escape. For much of the plot, he's involved in a heist with fellow ex-soldier Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) for Crimson Dawn, a syndicate under Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), who just so happens to have enlisted Qi'ra. But once again, Han has more of a moral compass than he likes to let on....
Do we get any answers to long-time questions? Well, yes. We see how Han meets thick-as-thieves partner Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and later frenemy Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover). All the new actors for returning characters do their predecessors proud. If you were hoping to see his early interactions with Jabba the Hutt, I'm afraid they're merely hinted as about to happen at the end. The only other familiar character is best left a surprise.
My two favorite new characters are Rio Durant (Jon Favreau), a diminutive alien pilot; and L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), the sassiest, most independent-minded droid yet. Val Beckett (Thandiwe Newton) and Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman) aren't bad either. Of course, this being a prequel, we can't expect to see much more of any newcomer. The Han-Qi'ra pairing was doomed from the start. At least the body count is nowhere near that of Rogue One.
Actually, I wondered if that might touch on one of the issues viewers have with Solo: lower stakes than the other movies. Sure, that didn't prevent the popularity of shows like The Mandalorian, but those don't focus on key figures from the numbered big-screen episodes. (I notice how Obi Wan Kenobi ranks a bit lower.) Viewers may also regret the near absence of any sign of the Force.
Not me. I think the smaller scope contributed to a tighter plot and better pacing. It may be by the numbers (what do you expect with Ron Howard directing?), but I'll take slightly predictable over ludicrous. None of the dialogue is cringy, and none of the characters annoy me.
OK, you might hate some bits of dialogue for being unusually edgy. I don't recall any prior innuendo or swear words, however minor or cut short. Yes, Chewy crowds Han in the shower, but that's more a culture clash gag than anything else. As for Lando's alleged scandalous feelings for L3, eh, it's not like she gives in. None of these incidents matter to the plot. For a more generous interpretation, they serve to signal the most grown-up SW outing this side of Andor.
Solo is pretty much everything I hoped for: a space western with scoundrels bouncing off each other for relatively sensible action. I'm glad I was talked into it.
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