Just saw this with my brother! Oh boy, was this fun! I seriously don't understand all the internet hate I've seen in YouTube titles this past week, because this movie was so Star Wars-y.

Spoiler warnings for Solo, Rogue One, and a bit of the prequels and Return of the Jedi.

These sorts of prequel-ish films are always tricky for the film-makers, because of audience expectations going in. We know that Han, Chewbacca and Lando are going to survive, and pretty much any other newly introduced characters are . . . kind of up in the air; after all, they don't all need to be killed off, as happened in Rogue One. But knowing that certain characters can't die doesn't mean the story will be unexciting, and with the Star Wars universe, there's still plenty of unexplored points in the timeline in which we can glean new details about the setting. Even though we essentially know who Han is going in, I think the movie did a great job of "introducing" him in his first moments on screen. The actor was excellent, as he felt like a less experienced and jaded version of Harrison's Ford's portrayals. I liked Chewie's introduction, too. I was honestly fooled into thinking we were about to see a rancor, which makes it even funnier that Chewie appeared instead. (My brother just informed me he saw Chewie coming.)

My absolute favorite thing was the early scenes where Han is in the Imperial military. (There's probably a fancy name for that, but I don't know it.) Because they finally gave me something I've been wondering about forever, and was whining about in . . . one of my past SW reviews recently, and that is hearing a bit of the perspective of the Empire's grunts on the ground, and why they go along with the Empire's overt fascism. It was only a couple lines from a minor officer, but those lines about installing a regime loyal to the Emperor and bringing peace and order, but it's basically all I needed to string together the answer: it's simple fear. There's a great big galaxy out there, and the folks closer to the Empire and its military feel safer if everything is under that same umbrella. It also makes a nice transition from the prequel trilogy towards Rogue One and the original trilogy. Most of the cultures we saw in the prequels were in pretty good shape. Tatooine had a slave trade, but we're told directly that it's ongoing because Tatooine was only on the fringe of the Senate's influence. All the other planets that felt sketchy are the ones the Sith was influencing as part of their plans, like Geonosis and Naboo. By the time of RO and the originals, Tatooine has an entire city that's basically dominated by crime, and the Empire is incarcerating orphans like Jyn Erso. Right now, Solo is the earliest point we've seen after Revenge of the Sith, and I at least felt like I got an idea of the early cultural backsliding that occurred after the Empire seized power. Corellia seems like it's still fairly open and well-run, but Stormtroopers are scattered around different areas, and that worm lady was basically space!Fagin, with a whole team of orphans stealing crap for her.

Han's Love Interest Whose Name I've Already Forgotten Even Though It Was A Normal English Name . . . I think I need to start this sentence over. Han's love interest was also an interesting fake out. Early on, she seemed like a standard, off-screen source of motivation for the hero character; when she unexpectedly reappeared, even though she and other characters kept hinting there was something darker there, I (like Han) didn't guess where her character was going at all. I thought the brand on her arm, and her hesitation at the prospect of rejoining Han permanently, were hinting at Scarred Bad Guy Who Isn't An Android holding something over her that would prevent her from leaving his company. (My brother's more concrete prediction was that the tattoo on her arm represented some explosive device implanted there, which Scarred Bad Guy could detonate if she attempted to escape. He thought that after Han left and the door closed between them, that we were about to see the symbol light up and watch her explode, revealing her killing of Scarred Bad Guy to be a sacrifice she made for Han's sake.) But the revelation that she is actually idealistically dedicated to, um, Crimson Dawn (thanks to my brother for reminding me of that name—I had originally written "Sunset-Themed Crime Syndicate") is . . . interesting? And maybe a little odd? I mean, we know Han will end up with Leia way down the line, so I didn't necessarily expect them to get together at the end, but having her turn out to be an overt bad guy seems weird. I'm not really sure what to think of that right now; I presume we'll be seeing more of her in future "Star Wars Stories," so I'll have to see where her character goes from there.

The last thing I want to talk about is Darth Maul, or maybe just Maul now? Thaaaaaat really did come out of left field. I know from a discussion we had on the Board sometime in the past year that one of the SW cartoons had revealed Maul to survive The Phantom Menace. I just . . . don't entirely understand why he's now the leader or some crime syndicate? And why Palpatine hasn't sensed his activity and sent Vader to take out the potentially threatening Dark Sider who may want revenge on Palpatine for not rescuing him after he was bisected? It's the one thing in the film that doesn't feel like it fits in with everything currently surrounding the film. But like Love Interest, I may just need to wait and see what they're setting up in future films.

So overall, I liked and enjoyed this SW. It was fun! Time to go dive in to video essays on YouTube and find out what has everyone so upset.

—doctorlit is annoyed that we apparently can't use html in the subject line any more, because that means he is obligated to present titles incorrectly [You're welcome. -NA]

"I've got a really spoiler feeling about this." "I've got a really spoiler feeling about this." "I've got a really spoiler feeling about this." "I've got a really spoiler feeling about this."