Let's be honest here, for an origin story this film ended up with more questions than answers.
(Again Spoilers - just making sure you get the warning)
What's going to happen with Qi'ra? How did Beckett kill Aurra Sing? Where's Darth Maul fit into all of this between what happens in Clone Wars against Sidious; to his eventual return in rebels with Ezra? Clearly there are multiple gaps that still need to be filled, whether that be in the *yet to be confirmed* next Solo film, or in other media? Who knows? One thing I can say is that this movie is fun. Alden makes for a decent younger Han; although at times the disconnect between his performance and that of Harrison Fords made me sometimes forget this was 'The Han Solo'. Nevertheless he was solid, and with Donald Glover pumping out a performance possibly even more devil-may-care than Billy D. Williams (seriously, who is cooler?!) the films acting performances were certainly true to form.
Most importantly however, this felt maybe not like a traditional Star Wars story, but it certainly felt like the Star Wars universe. This film touched on the gritty underbelly that we've always known was there, and expanded on this mythology in a fun way. Yes the story was at times muddled and seemed to pack in a lot of story arcs resulting in quite a dense film, but the energy: particularly of planets like Correlia, felt all too familiar to underworld planets we fans have seen in the now 'Legends' since Return of the Jedi, and for me it's another welcome addition to the Star Wars mythos. Again, the story was at times messy, lacking clarity in a lot of sequences; I personally would have liked to see Hans time with the academy explored: something more akin to his EU origin story, but I suppose times are a-changing. I'm also slightly perplexed by Chewbaccas motivations in hanging around, and there was nothing in this story that would really have warranted a life debt. But mostly I just look forward to seeing the next film: if we get one, where hopefully Darth Mauls leadership of the various crime organisations (forget Crimson Dawn, where's Black Sun?) can be fully fleshed out. It's also pretty likely that this next big heist on Tatooine will introduce Boba Fetts anthology film (crossover anyone?) But yeah, in so few words, we aren't done with this story and so far it's been fun.
(Again Spoilers - just making sure you get the warning)
What's going to happen with Qi'ra? How did Beckett kill Aurra Sing? Where's Darth Maul fit into all of this between what happens in Clone Wars against Sidious; to his eventual return in rebels with Ezra? Clearly there are multiple gaps that still need to be filled, whether that be in the *yet to be confirmed* next Solo film, or in other media? Who knows? One thing I can say is that this movie is fun. Alden makes for a decent younger Han; although at times the disconnect between his performance and that of Harrison Fords made me sometimes forget this was 'The Han Solo'. Nevertheless he was solid, and with Donald Glover pumping out a performance possibly even more devil-may-care than Billy D. Williams (seriously, who is cooler?!) the films acting performances were certainly true to form.
Most importantly however, this felt maybe not like a traditional Star Wars story, but it certainly felt like the Star Wars universe. This film touched on the gritty underbelly that we've always known was there, and expanded on this mythology in a fun way. Yes the story was at times muddled and seemed to pack in a lot of story arcs resulting in quite a dense film, but the energy: particularly of planets like Correlia, felt all too familiar to underworld planets we fans have seen in the now 'Legends' since Return of the Jedi, and for me it's another welcome addition to the Star Wars mythos. Again, the story was at times messy, lacking clarity in a lot of sequences; I personally would have liked to see Hans time with the academy explored: something more akin to his EU origin story, but I suppose times are a-changing. I'm also slightly perplexed by Chewbaccas motivations in hanging around, and there was nothing in this story that would really have warranted a life debt. But mostly I just look forward to seeing the next film: if we get one, where hopefully Darth Mauls leadership of the various crime organisations (forget Crimson Dawn, where's Black Sun?) can be fully fleshed out. It's also pretty likely that this next big heist on Tatooine will introduce Boba Fetts anthology film (crossover anyone?) But yeah, in so few words, we aren't done with this story and so far it's been fun.