BY IAN VAN ORDEN
MANAGING DIRECTOR
million budget. This success, however,
From its arguable origins in Mary
has proven more fleeting than expected.
S h e lle y ’ s / ‘ F ra n k en ste in ” to the
Original projections believed “ Solo’s”
incredible action set pieces found in
opening weekend would land around the
“ The Matrix, ” the science fiction genre
$130 million mark, but the movie missed
has changed and evolved throughout
that mark by a wide margin. Netting
its histbry. It has become the most
only $84.4 million, “ Solo” marked the
prom inent fantasy-oriented ^enre
least successful opening weekend for
found in film , spawning massive
a Star Wars movie since Disney took
franchises spanning decades.
control; many have been quick to call
One of the most prolific franchises
it a flop.
to date is “ Star W ars,” Though thé
volume of media may not match other. . The movie itself is far from bad. Alden
Ehrenreich, who could easily have been
popular franchises such as “ Star Trek”
the film’s greatest weakness considering
or “ Doctor W ho,” “ Star W ars” Jias
the shoes he was cast to fill, brings just
become ingrained in our society more
enough of the smuggler’ s charms to the.
deeply than any of its peers.
movie while also managing to depict
Released on May ^5, “ Solo: A Star
what truly feels like a younger, less
Wars Story” is the most recent entry in
cynical version of the beloved character.
this long funning franchise, serving as
Donald Glover also shines in his
a backstory for one of the most beloved
portrayal of Lando Calrissian, creating
characters found in the “ Star W ars”
a believable, youthful version of the
universe, Han Solo.
fast-talking con artist. Ehrenreich and
The movie appears to be à certain
Glover play well off each other, easily
success on paper, allowing viewers
allowing viewers to understand how the
another glimpse into the history of the
two become friends later in life.
universe’ s history, into the history of
one of its star characters. “ Rogue One,” f The visual effects are just what would.
be expected from a Star Wars movie, with
Disney’s first attempt at fleshing out the
some of the most beautifully crafted
backstory of the universe after taking
space sequences seen in film to date.
mver the franchise from George Lucas
One of the most striking occurs near
was a massive success with box
the middle of the movie, depicting the
office revenue settlin'
equently mentioned boast about
¿he Millennium Falcon’ s ability
make the Kessel Run in less
.than 12 parsecs.
The movie’s music also hits
¿11 the right notes.
Though
1 o n g
t im e
ove r
$1 billion against its $265
W a rs” co m p o se r Jo h n
Williams only contributed one track to
the movie; John Powell, known for his
work on the Bourne franchise, Kung ,
Fu Panda, and X~Men: The Last Stand,
serves as an adequate replacement.
With so many elements hitting the
right m arks, why then has “ Solo”
struggled so much? Perhaps fans simply
don’t know what they want from the
franchise.
Though each of the previous “ Star
W ars” movies have performed well ,
in the box office, each has been m e t ;
with great criticism despite exploring
different aspects of the universe.
“ Jh e Force Aw akens” served as a
throwback to the original trilogy, a
love story to the franchise that so many
fans have enjoyed oventhe years. It
heavily referenced the earlier movies,
specifically “ A New Hope,” while also
setting up something new, This was met
with severe critical feedback from many
fans who felt that it was too derivative,
adding nothing new to the universe.
“ The Last Jedi” attempted to resolve
that issue. The core concept of the
movie was moving in a new direction.
It explores the idea that perhaps some of
the preconceived notions held by the
movie’s protagonists; are wrong, that
it is time to try something different.
And yet again, the movie was met with
severe criticism for straying far from
the franchise’s established lore, even
if many of the com plaints, such as
Luke’s use of force projection, have been
referenced in “ Star Wars” media before.
Now “ Solo” struggles, with many of
the complaints focusing on its lack of
impact on the “ Star Wars” universe,
though some of the implications found
in the movie are quite fascinating, such
as bringing the “ Clone W ars” and
“ Rebels” animated series solidly into
the “ Star Wars” canon with the surprise
reveal in the movie’s final act.
“ Star Wars” will likely continue to
struggle with future releases, unless
fans can decide what they want and
expect from future entries.
Solo receives an 8/10, with specific
praise at Ehrenreich’s performance and
the movie’s visual effects.