Alden Ehrenreich as Han Solo and Joonas Suotamo as Chewbacca.

Photo: Lucasfilm

FILM
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY ★★★★
(M) General release (135 minutes)

So thats how the Millennium Falcon made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs! For 41 years, weve been waiting to find out how Han Solo did that, when everyone else needed 20. If those two sentences make sense to you, none of what I am about to write will matter. These are not the words you are seeking, to paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi.

What I mean is that the Star Wars universe is beyond criticism. It is a quasi-religion with followers as devout as any bald-headed monk. It has not mattered since the first film whether the sequels and prequels and "anthology" films were any good, even if some were. What matters is that the universe keeps producing, both for the fans and now for Disney, which bought Lucasfilm in 2012 for a measly $US4.06 billion.

Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian.

Photo: Lucasfilm

Star Wars is Hollywoods undreamed-of dream: a goose that keeps producing golden eggs to infinity (and beyond). A middle-aged fan at the Australian premiere reminded me that Lucas imagined a nine-film opus when he was first writing, back in the early 1970s. Thats true, but Im not sure that even he thought theyd get made. Yet here we are at number 11 and opus 12 is under way.

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Solo gives us the stand-alone back-story on how Harrison Fords swashbuckling smuggler and first mate Chewbacca came to be in that bar on Tatooine when Luke and Obi-Wan walked in, looking for a fast ship. Han boasted about its speed in parsecs, which was funny since they are a measure of distance, not speed.

Ehrenreich does a fine young Han

Ford is not in the new film, being 50 years too old for the part. Alden Ehrenreich steps in and does a fine young Han. He has the same chiselled jaw, the lopsided grin, the bravado, the greed and charm that made Solo the most attractive character Lucas has written.

Han and Chewy have a moment.

Photo: Lucasfilm

Bringing writer Lawrence Kasdan back also makes sense, because his sense of humour and story deepened the character back in 1978 when he was hired to rewrite The Empire Strikes Back, the second movie, after the death of Leigh Brackett.

Kasdan was already working for Lucas and Spielberg writing Raiders of the Lost Ark. His pop sensibility and love of genre – especially westerns – brought Lucas unwieldy mysticism back to earth. He delivered some of the swagger of Mitchum and Bogart to Solo, the smuggler who becomes a reluctant hero.

The new movie has been described as a space western, but I think its more like a pirate movie – and almost pure fun from start to finish. The film explains why Chewy (Joonas Suotamo) is devoted to Han. Chewy becomes both more violent and more soulful.

Paul Bettany as gang boss Dryden Vos.

Photo: Lucasfilm

We learn about the seamy side of the galaxy as rival gangs of smugglers pursue the "spice" (drug) trade. Paul Bettany curdles the blood as gang boss Dryden Vos, who has Hans childhood sweetheart Qira (Emilia Clarke) in his thrall. We learn how Han won the Falcon off Lando Calrissian (played with charm by Donald Glover).

If Errol Flynn had turned up swinging from the rigging, I would not have been surprised. The film has plenty of space and spaceships but replaces light sabres with knives, the Death Star with sandy cliffs and sea and old industrial ruins that evoke Mad Max. Its a little more human in scale.

Emilia Clarke as Qi'ra.

Photo: Lucasfilm

It also has more double crosses than the plot of Silverado, Kasdans western, which it resembles. There is strong sympathy for the downtrodden in both films, and scepticism about power. Woody Harrelson plays Hans mentor, a pirate who teaches him to trust no one. Han learns the cynicism of the streets.

How much of it Ron Howard directed will be debated forever. He came on after the two younger guns, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, were sacked for trying to make it too funny. They had shot 75 per cent of the picture. Howard recast Dryden Vos and reshot many scenes, while returning the project to its traditional roots.

Whoever is responsible, the film delivers what the fans want: action, comedy, pace, endless twists, weird critters, lots of bang-bang. Its one of the better Disney-era clones. Certainly, it looks back rather than forward, but Star Wars was always profoundly nostalgic.

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