After its less than stupendous run in theaters, Solo: A Star Wars Story is making its way to digital services and home video.
The Han Solo origin story had a troubled production, with directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The LEGO Movie) being fired after much of principal photography had been completed. They were replaced by Oscar winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind), who re-shot much of the film and tried to make the two styles work. The result is a muddled but acceptable Star Wars adventure, with some highs (Bradford Young's cinematography) and lows (the predictable twists). Donald Glover's performance as Lando Calrissian is in a class by itself, since sometimes he does an accent and sometimes he doesn't, but looks incredibly stylish for the entire film. It debuted in first place, but made less money overall than even Return of the Jedi 35 years ago.
The Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases include a roundtable with Ron Howard and the cast, writers Lawrence an Jonathan Kasdan discussing the script, deleted scenes, and lots of looks into some of the film's big setpieces. Fans can pick up their physical copies on Tuesday, September 25. But if you just can't wait, it will be available on digital platforms on Sunday, September 14.
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About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
