Solo: A Star Wars Story (3 Stars)

This film tells the story of Han Solo's early years, including his first meeting with Chewbacca. It continues in the long-standing Star Wars tradition of making films in the wrong order. It also tells us how he was given his name. His birth name was only Han, but he couldn't become a pilot for the Empire without a family name. The recruiting officer invented the name Solo for him.

It's partially a love story. Han is separated from his lover Qi'ra and spends three years searching for her. His love for her is the only thing that keeps him going. When he finally meets her the reaction is lukewarm. She's moved on.

Most of the film is full of fast paced action, guns blazing like in the wild west, but it slows to a snail's pace in the last half hour. It looks to me that the director wanted to slap on a few extra scenes to tie in the film with the rest of the Star Wars films. He would have done better to leave them out.

It's a vapid adventure, with a lot of action that will appeal to teenage boys, but not much of a story behind it. I can only recommend it to hardcore Star Wars fans. That doesn't include me.