Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise

5/10/2023

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise

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Smug stars crowd this retro-styled poster for Ron Howard's Solo: A Star Wars Story that seems like it wants to hide the fact that it promotes a hyper-commercial venture for one of the world's largest media giants

As a young pilot rapscallion, Han Solo is a cocksure space adventurer, when he meets Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is written by father and son Jonathan Kasdan (Dawson's Creek (2000-02)) and Lawrence Kasdan (Mumford (1999)) and directed by great Oklahoman filmmaker Ron Howard (Grand Theft Auto (1977)). It is the 2nd Star Wars anthology film after Disney's acquisition of the franchise, following Rogue One (2016), and is a prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy (1977; 1980; 1983).

The film is catastrophically uninspired, empty and vapid, a character-focused outing for the Mouse House that's a complete misfire from Howard, likely his career's costliest fail.

Alden Ehrenreich (Stoker (2013)) is like a thorn in the eye for any one who remembers and appreciates Harrison Ford in the role as Han Solo, a reminder that inevitably comes up again and again when watching Solo: A Star Wars Story. Emilia Clarke (Me Before You (2016)) is another petite, female, British heroine in the popular universe, (following Daisy Ridley and Felicity Jones in the immediately preceding films); and Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)) is awkward and vulgar in ways that don't seem like the original Lando as portrayed by Billy Dee Williams.

The plot is superficial, and we never come to care for a single part of the slick affair. There's handsome CGI effects, - but the gigantic budget is still wasted sorely here. Solo: A Star Wars Story is the worst Star Wars movie to date.

Star Wars franchise: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker/Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - A solid saga ending

Star Wars: The Last Jedi/Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017) - Glorious, rousing, superb adventure

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) or, Ginny's Fate: A Star Wars Calculation
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - Abrams scores big time, makes beautiful space opera blockbuster

Ron Howard: Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011) - Stapleton's Corman doc. is among the year's best films (interview subject)

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess
Frost/Nixon (2008) - Howard's political drama is gripping, superiorly acted
The Da Vinci Code (2006) - Howard's first Brown adaptation is a popcorn thriller hoot

2001 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
A Beautiful Mind (2001) - John Nash given the Epic Treatment
EDtv (1999) - Phenomenal cast shine in Howard's witty mega-flop

Far and Away (1992) - Howard, Hollywood's sweethearts visit the old West with dull result (co-writer/director)
Backdraft (1991) - Howard's giant, stupid Chicago-set firefighter movie

Grand Theft Auto (1977) or, Crash Bam Boom!
American Graffiti (1973) or, Cruisin' Modesto '62 (actor)

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 275 - 300 mil. $ (different sources)

Box office: 392.9 mil. $

= Big flop (returned 1.36 times its cost)

[Solo: A Star Wars Story premiered 10 May (Los Angeles) and runs 135 minutes. The film started production with directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at the helm. Ten days into production, 54.5 mil. $ had already been spent on the film, reportedly. Almost 4½ months later, the duo were fired from the project due to their comedic angle on the film, and Howard was instead hired for the job. He eventually reshot about 70 % of the film. Shooting took place from January - October 2017 in Italy, Spain and the UK. The film opened #1 to an 84.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another weekend at #1 and then 2 more in the top 5 (#2-#4), grossing 213.7 mil. $ (54.4 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 25.8 mil. $ (6.6 %) and Japan with 18.9 mil. $ (4.8 %). The film was nominated for the Best Visual Effects Oscar, lost to First Man. It is the first Star Wars movie to become a flop. The franchise continued with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). Howard returned with Pavarotti (2019, documentary). Ehrenreich returned in Brave New World (2020, miniseries) and theatrically in Fair Play (2023); Clarke in Leading Lady Parts (2018, short), Game of Thrones (2011-19) and theatrically in Above Suspicion (2019); and Glover in 2 music videos and a video game prior to his theatrical return in Guava Island (2019). Solo: A Star Wars Story is fresh at 69 % with a 6.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Solo: A Star Wars Story?

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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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5/10/2023

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) - Disney, Howard and Co. drive expensive stick through beloved franchise

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Eagerly anticipating this week ... (5-24)

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