While some fans liked the Solo: A Star Wars Story movie, many did not. Several explanations have surfaced to explain the general disapproval of this 2018 stand-alone film. From the script and timing to Han’s character and predictability, here are seven reasons Solo was disliked.
Table of Contents
1. Bad Script
For starters, Solo suffered from a bad script. As a fan noted here, the script seemed to cram “every highlight of Han’s life”, such as the Kessel Run, how he won the Millennium Falcon, and meeting Chewbacca, “into a span of two weeks.” We end up with a crushed series of events that brought criticism from the Star Wars faithful.
2. Character Portrayal and Journey
Another reason is that Han Solo’s character was poorly portrayed. Acting aside, for the moment, we may well agree with another post from the above Reddit discussion that indicates how Han was turned into a “used car salesman” by the way the movie brought out his character.
Similarly, fans voiced disapproval over backstory elements, such as how Han was named “Solo” by a military recruiter and how Han came up with Chewbacca’s nickname. These areas of Solo’s journey seemed contrived and trivial.
3. An Unnecessary Movie
Recent and past comments about the Solo movie reflect how many fans did not think it was a necessary movie. Coming on the heels of The Last Jedi, Solo “just seemed like a movie no one really asked for.” Audience interest was not genuinely there and dropped because of the divisiveness of the second sequel.
As this video explains, we can likewise recognize the “Star Wars fatigue” that had set in since Solo was the fourth movie to come out under Disney and only five months after The Last Jedi. This short window between the two movies alone contributed to a weariness even among staunch fans.
4. A Marketing Movie
On the same plane as #3, fans disliked Solo because it came off as a marketing tool. Many saw this movie as “a cynical cash grab that traps a character who remains so beloved” into the confines of an “uninspired origin story.” We may be aware of the money-making priority of Disney’s Star Wars era, but do not wish to be hammered over the head with it.
5. The Production Process
Solo was plagued with a lack of direction from a change in directors. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were initially co-directors for the film. Known for their work on The Lego Movie and the 21 Jump Street film, “the pair’s penchant for ad-libbing and improvisation” clashed with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy’s vision for the movie.
While Ron Howard replaced them and reshot much of the movie, his efforts were not enough to redeem the wayward Solo. Many felt that it was not only a lack of direction, but (as with #4) a troubled origin story.
6. The Acting
This point is rather split, with many fans valuing the performance of Alden Ehrenreich as Han. Yet, for those who didn’t like the movie, the acting was listed as an aspect that led to its demise. This critique of Ehrenreich seems to capture the main gist of other complaints: “he had his moments,” but “he couldn’t quite capture Han Solo’s signature knowing smirk.”
The problem was not entirely with the actor, though–it was just very difficult to fill “Harrison Ford’s big shoes as the legendary smuggler.” Finding the right actor for a film that did not have a willing audience was problematic from the start.
7. Bad, Predictable Film
We can see this last reason as cumulative or separate. In this tabulation of fan responses, the final reasons are listed as “Just a bad film” and “Too predictable”. While they can be stand-alone responses to this stand-alone movie, they also read like final points on top of ones like poor timing, disapproval of prior films, and franchise fatigue. We could also add that fans disliked Solo because it had a bad script, character problems, and production and marketing issues.