Regardless of whether you loved or hated Star Wars: The Last Jedi, if you're looking for a "Star Wars Story" which will send you away with a smile, look no further than Solo. Despite a troubled production that's been well publicised and already discussed in great depth, director Ron Howard has managed to successfully steer this origin story in a direction which will result in you leaving the theater grinning from ear to ear and excited not only about where Han's story could go next (there's definitely room for a sequel) but the Star Wars Universe in general.
First things first, it's important to note that Alden Ehrenreich is a fantastic Han Solo and while you may spend the opening few moments struggling to adjust to a Han who isn't Harrison Ford, he wastes no time at all in making the role his own while also respecting what's come before. Honestly, it would be a crime for us to not see him return as this character somewhere down the line. Donald Glover's Lando Calrissian is every bit as excellent and while enough ground is covered here so that a spinoff for him really isn't necessary, he makes such an impact that you won't forget him for a long time to come. Elsewhere, the cast is made up of impressive names like Paul Bettany, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, and Thandie Newton and they're all great. My only complaint is that the latter could have done with a larger role in proceedings, especially as she's spent the past couple of years blowing us all away with her work in Westworld. Oh, and I can't forget Phoebe Waller-Bridge's L3-37. She's a scene stealer for sure.
While you might think those reshoots would have resulted in a mess of a story, it's actually handled perfectly for the most part and there are loads of great twists and turns as we learn more about what makes Han Solo the character we met in A New Hope. Some might complain that the odd doublecross and reveal are a tad predictable but I'm confident that you'll be too busy having fun with this spinoff to notice or care as I personally thought those story beats were handled well.
Visually, Solo is a great looking movie and while there's the odd occasion where a CGI character looks like a CGI creation (I wasn't blown away by Jon Favreau's Rio Durant), those moments are few and far between and, for the most part, this feels like classic Star Wars while also delivering some new visuals and locations we're not used to seeing in this franchise. John Williams and John Powell's score is also fantastic and there's just enough of those classic themes in here to make fans happy while also giving this adventure and its characters some new sounds which are sure to resonate with you. Overall, Solo is a triumph and I find it hard to imagine it not standing out as one of 2018's best blockbusters.
In the capable hands of Ron Howard, this is Star Wars done right and Solo: A Star Wars Story is a blast from start to finish. Now, give us a sequel!