Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Solo: A Star Wars Story - 2018

Our next film is 2018's "Solo: A Star Wars Story", which explores the origins of pilot Han Solo and how he came to meet his Wookie friend and sidekick Chewbacca.

The film's cast includes Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Erin Kellyman, Linda Hunt, and Anthony Daniels.

Han (no surname) has been forced into slave labor by crime boss Lady Proxima.  But he longs for something more.

Lady Proxima is a sort of worm/snake that lives below ground in the darkness.

Han engineers a diversion which causes light to be shed into Lady Proxima's dark den.  She instantly starts to burn.  Han manages to escape and finds an available speeder.

He takes with him his good friend Qi'ra.  They have a small amount of precious commodity coaxium, which they plan to use to barter their way off the planet of Corellia.  Unfortunately, Qi'ra gets caught in the escape.  Han tells her he will return for her.

Han decides to join the Imperial Navy, where he is given his surname "Solo".

Three years later, Han gets in trouble.  His punishment is to be thrown into a pit where he is to be fed to a Wookie.  Han, however, understands the Wookie language, and he convinces this Wookie (Chewbacca, of course) to help him escape.

Han and Chewbacca hook up with Tobias Beckett and his wife Val and their crew.  They work to steal a shipment of coaxium (a sort of hyperfuel).

Everything goes according to plan until a renegade band led by someone called Enfys Nest arrives.  Val is killed, along with a much loved member of Beckett's crew.

Beckett tells Han that he was ordered to steal the coaxium by Dryden Vos, who is a crime boss with a syndicate called Crimson Dawn.  Han tells Beckett that he and Chewbacca will help him steal another shipment.

They make their way to Dryden Vos's yacht.

On the yacht, Han is delightfully surprised to run into his old friend Qi'ra, who now works for Vos as his right hand woman.  After they get some drinks, Qi'ra asks Han, "What should we drink to?"  Han smiles and replies, "Let's drink two and see where it goes."

Once they meet with Dryden Vos, he agrees to a plan that involves stealing some coaxium from the mines of Kessel, but he wants Qi'ra to accompany them to make sure nothing goes wrong.

They need, however, a ship to get them there.  Han meets Lando Calrissian who owns a freighter that may be useful to the group.  He agrees to play a card game called sabacc.  If Lando loses, Han gets the ship.  He cheats though, and Han loses.  However, Lando agrees to take them for a share in the profits.

The ship he owns is called the Millennium Falcon, and Han gets a first glimpse at the ship that becomes an integral part of his future.

Han uses the time on the Falcon as an opportunity to get closer to Qi'ra, and the two share a kiss.  (In Lando's cape room, Qi'ra tries on the cape he wore in the original Star Wars trilogy).

Once they reach Kessel, they work out a plan where Han and Chewbacca are prisoners Qi'ra is delivering to the mines.

They end up starting a slave revolt, but they also steal a large quantity of coaxium.  Lando is injured on their way out, and Han has to pilot the Falcon.  It's during this time that he makes his famed Kessel Run in twelve parsecs.  (Just FYI: in real life, one parsec is equal to about 3.26 light years or about 19 trillion miles.)

The Falcon, however, is badly damaged during a run in with an Imperial blockade, and they land on the planet Savareen to make repairs.

On Savareen, they come face to face with the group led by Enfys Nest, who sabotaged their earlier attempts to get coaxium.  Nothing has changed.  The group still wants it.  By this time, Lando has left with the repaired Falcon and abandons Han, Qi'ra, and Chewbacca. 

Enfys Nest is revealed to be a woman.  She says that she and her group are rebels that are trying to get back at the Empire.  Her message comes across to Han, who doesn't want Dryden Vos to end up with the coaxium.

Dryden Vos has followed them to Savareen.  Tobias Beckett alerted him to Han's double-cross.  He has his Cloud Riders go out and attack Enfys Nest and her rebel group.

Through quick thinking, Enfys Nest and her companions overtake the Cloud Riders, leaving Vos with no protection.

Han tries to fight Vos, but he is unarmed.  Qi'ra, pretending to be on Vos's side, gives a speech which seems to convince Vos of her loyalty.  In reality, she's gearing up to take him down.  After a fight, she kills him.

Han and Qi'ra share in their victory with a kiss.  She tells Han to go after Beckett.

After Han leaves, Qi'ra contacts Vos's boss, who turns out to be none other than Darth Maul, who survived his epic fight with Obi-Wan Kenobi.  (Notice that Darth Maul is wearing the same emblem on his chest that Qi'ra was when we first met her.)  Qi'ra takes over Vos's position in the crime syndicate.  She tells Darth Maul that Vos was murdered by Beckett with no accomplices.  She makes no mention of Han or that he has the coaxium.  Darth Maul orders her to the planet Dathomir so they can take down Beckett together.

Han, however, is way ahead of them.  He shoots Beckett before Beckett has the chance to shoot him.

He and Chewbacca deliver the coaxium to Enfys Nest, who offers them a chance to join the Rebellion against the Empire.  Han politely refuses.  She gives him a vial of coaxium so that he can purchase his own ship.

He challenges Lando to a rematch at sabacc, using the coaxium vial as his entry fee.  If he wins, Han wants the Falcon.  Han steals Lando's cheat card and doesn't allow him to use it.  Han wins the game fair and square.

Han and Chewbacca fly off in the Falcon towards a lead for a job he heard about from Beckett on Tatooine, where a big gangster is putting together a job.

Cast rundown:

   Alden Ehrenreich..................................Han Solo

   Woody Harrelson..................................Tobias Beckett

   Emilia Clarke.......................................Qi'ra

   Donald Glover......................................Lando Calrissian

   Thandie Newton...................................Val

   Phoebe Waller-Bridge............................L3-37

   Paul Bettany........................................Dryden Vos

   Jon Favreau.........................................Rio Durant

   Erin Kellyman.......................................Enfys Nest

   Linda Hunt...........................................Lady Proxima

   Anthony Daniels...................................Tak

And that's all for Solo: A Star Wars Story.  This is first Star Wars film to never mention the Jedi or Jedi Knights.  It is also the first Star Wars film not to mention anyone of the Skywalker bloodline.  An R2 unit was also used as a barbecue pit on the opening scene in Corellia.

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