{"id":4477,"date":"2018-08-16T19:52:59","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T23:52:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=4477"},"modified":"2022-10-24T20:18:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T00:18:04","slug":"gorging-on-nostalgia-solo-a-star-wars-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/gorging-on-nostalgia-solo-a-star-wars-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorging on Nostalgia: Solo: A Star Wars Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like a big bowl of candy, Solo: A Star Wars Story<\/em> certainly went down easy. But also like a big bowl of candy, generations raised on too much Star Wars are going to gorge themselves sick on nostalgia. Who filled that bowl, and why? When Disney acquired the Star Wars rights, and promised a new movie every year, I don’t think I was alone in imagining there would be more than enough room for original stories. But so far Disney has spent more time facing backwards than forwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To recap: The Force Awakens<\/em> was in many ways a phantom remake of the original Star Wars<\/em>, rationalized as rebooting the franchise with a new foundation for future stories. Rogue One<\/em> and Solo<\/em> are essentially neu-prequels, plastering in the gaps deliberately left in the original foundation. Solo<\/em> is especially focussed on continuity and nostalgic callbacks, and teasing future nostalgic callbacks yet to come. It isn’t about anything other than itself. Four films in, The Last Jedi<\/em> stands alone in striking out for new territory. It’s the first to really surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I’m being overly cynical, but what is the point of the neu-prequels, if not mere fan service? Aren’t the missions to steal the Death Star plans and the Kessel Run better left to the imagination? Did anyone really wonder how Chewbacca came by his diminutive nickname? Do we feel we understand Han more now that we know where he got his surname? The one major new detail we learn about him — that he is an Empire deserter — loses its impact when even this idea is recycled: q.v. Finn in the mothership films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Alden<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The most egregious fan service in the film is of course the confounding cameo by Darth Maul — confounding, that is, only for those evidently undedicated Star Wars fans like myself that haven’t seen the spinoff animated series. My reaction was not “wow, Darth Maul survived being sliced in half!”, but rather “All this took place before The Phantom Menace<\/em>? How old is Han Solo? Does Darth Maul always fire up his lightsaber before hanging up the phone?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alden Ehrenreich has caught some flak for his performance here, but he was given an impossible job: impersonate Harrison Ford and get criticized, or don’t impersonate Harrison Ford and get criticized. He either chose the latter or was not able to pull off the former. Whichever explanation, he looks bad opposite Donald Glover, who successfully channelled Billy Dee Williams while still doing his own thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the standard set by the original trilogy and prequels, Solo<\/em>‘s three prominent female characters should count as progress. Or, it would have, had the film not quickly killed two of them off. The original Star Wars<\/em> infamously included only one woman among its cast, but Carrie Fisher’s force of personality made her instantly iconic, and that’s lacking here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, Paul Bettany was fine but Michael K. Williams got robbed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like a big bowl of candy, Solo: A Star Wars Story certainly went down easy. But also like a big bowl of candy, generations raised on too much Star Wars are going to gorge themselves sick on nostalgia. Who filled that bowl, and why? When Disney acquired the Star Wars rights, and promised a new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1700,1732,1731,1270,1735,1733,1730,1729,1502,1736,1737,1128,85,636,247,1738,1734],"class_list":["post-4477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1700","tag-alden-ehrenreich","tag-chewbacca","tag-disney","tag-donald-glover","tag-emilia-clarke","tag-han-solo","tag-lawrence-kasdan","tag-michael-k-williams","tag-paul-bettany","tag-phoebe-waller-bridge","tag-ron-howard","tag-science-fiction","tag-star-wars","tag-thandiwe-newton","tag-warwick-davis","tag-woody-harrelson"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/solo-a-star-wars-story.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1ad","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5743,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/star-wars-the-rise-of-skywalker-smothers-all-hope-and-wonder\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":0},"title":"Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker smothers all hope and wonder","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"My brilliant wife had the following absolutely perfect appraisal of the first two entries in the new Star Wars trilogy, which I will paraphrase here: \"Most of the criticism of The Force Awakens was absolutely correct, but I loved it anyway. Most of the criticism of The Last Jedi was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1865,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/star-wars-clone-wars\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":1},"title":"George Lucas Cedes Control, in Star Wars: The Clone Wars","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"July 23, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"After writing and directing three Star Wars prequels between 1999-2005, it's easy to forget that back in the 1980s, the series' godfather George Lucas opted out of directing The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Now Lucas appears once again to be ceding control over his most famous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Star Wars: The Clone Wars","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/star-wars-clone-wars-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/star-wars-clone-wars-featured.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/star-wars-clone-wars-featured.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/star-wars-clone-wars-featured.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/star-wars-clone-wars-featured.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5109,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/battle-beyond-the-stars\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":2},"title":"Battle Beyond the Stars is Star Wars gone wrong","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Battle Beyond the Stars is the rare bad movie worth experiencing. How can you not be at least a little curious about a Roger Corman-produced Star Wars pastiche, starring John-Boy from The Waltons, Hannibal from The A-Team, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., with a screenplay by John Sayles and special\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "1 Star"","block_context":{"text":"1 Star","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/1-star\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Battle Beyond the Stars","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/battle-beyond-the-stars.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/battle-beyond-the-stars.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/battle-beyond-the-stars.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/battle-beyond-the-stars.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/battle-beyond-the-stars.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5674,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/jim-jarmuschs-the-dead-dont-die-is-an-unaffectionate-homage\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":3},"title":"Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die is an unaffectionate homage","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 12, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I guess it shouldn\u2019t be surprising that Jim Jarmusch would make a zombie movie, since he\u2019s already cycled through idiosyncratic interpretations of westerns (Dead Man), vampires (Only Lovers Left Alive), samurai (Ghost Dog), and thrillers (The Limits of Control). But unlike these, The Dead Don't Die reads as an unaffectionate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dead Don't Die","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dead-dont-die.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dead-dont-die.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dead-dont-die.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dead-dont-die.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dead-dont-die.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":413,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-september-14-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":4},"title":"The Dork Report for September 14, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"September 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Zune comes in (eww...) doo-doo brown (no longer online: news.com.com\/2300-1041_3-6115689-6.html). I need to find a copy of Scott McCloud's Destroy, the most violent comic book ever! Despite what their name implies, the Star Wars \"Original Trilogy\" DVDs are certainly not definitive releases of the original films. The official word from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":504,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-november-16-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":4477,"position":5},"title":"The Dork Report for November 16, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"November 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Weird Al\" Yankovic, not only a brilliant satirist, is also a shrewd collaborator: check out his new video with Jib Jab: Do I Creep You Out (no longer online: JibJab.com\/weird_al\/do_i_creep_you_out). Entertainment Weekly tasks a Star Wars virgin (no longer online: ew.com\/ew\/report\/0,6115,1558880_1_0_,00.html) to watch all six Star Wars films in chronological\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4477"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7298,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4477\/revisions\/7298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}