‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ Blu-ray Review

14. Bossk

The criminal underworld of Star Wars takes center stage in Solo, which affords the writers plenty of opportunity to make reference to characters and events closely associated with the seedy side of the galaxy. One such example occurs early on in the movie when Han first joins up with Beckett and his team of outlaws. Though Beckett vouches for Han and Chewbacca as being up to the task, his partner Val (Thandie Newton) isn’t so sure and says that they should have reached out to a bounty hunter they know and trust – like “Bossk.”

Though he only makes a brief appearance in The Empire Strikes Back, the lizard-like Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk has become a popular character in expanded universe content such as books, comics, and animated series (he was even a playable character in last year’s Star Wars Battlefront II).  He also kinda has it out for Han and Chewie … maybe it’s because Beckett didn’t give him a call for the Vandor job?

13. Mandalorian Rally Master Armor

There are some very cool artifacts in the possession of Crimson Tide leader Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), but the one most likely to catch the attention of fans is the large set of red Mandalorian armor on display in his elaborate quarters. It’s possible that the armor could signal that Vos has Mandalorian heritage but it could also be a callback to Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware’s beloved 2003 video game that is now assumed to be non-canon since Lucasfilm was purchased by Disney.

As that game explains, standard troops wore blue armor, Field Marshals wore gold, and frontline veterans wore silver. Crimson armor was saved for the Rally Masters and was designed to make them stand out in battle. The suit’s heritage is confirmed in Solo: The Official Guide, which lists it as “Rally Master Armor.”

12. Indiana Jones Artifcacts

Speaking of Easter eggs hidden among Dryden Vos’s large collection of ancient relics, there are idols from all four Indiana Jones movies scattered throughout his trophy room. This includes the fertility idol stolen by Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark (it’s located behind Han during his initial meeting with Vos), the Sankara Stones from Temple of Doom, and the Holy Grail from The Last Crusade, though we haven’t spotted these last two (Lucasfilm confirms they’re there, however).

Much easier to spot is a crystal skull on a raised platform near one of the yacht’s exterior windows, which is no doubt a nod to the most reviled installment in the Indiana Jones franchise, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

11. Sith Holocron

Okay, last one we promise! The holocrons — tiny, polygonal forms of memory and storage information — have only played a small role in the Star Wars movies so far and we’ve only seen the Jedi variety. As revealed in Star Wars Rebels, the Sith also have their own holocrons and Dryden Vos has one in his personal collection that looks much different than the ones introduced in Rebels. Unlike those holocrons, which are small, red, and triangular in shape, Dryden’s is a massive, golden-black one. Whether or not Dryden knew how to make use of this holocron, it looks like it will be in Maul’s possession now given what happens at the end of Solo.

10. Han’s Reference To ‘Star Wars Rebels’

Solo is the first Star Wars movie to truly feel connected to the franchise’s side stories. Specifically, the acclaimed animated series Star Wars Rebels gets a couple nods in the film. In that series, the heroes travel around in their own signature ship called Ghost, which is actually a CEC VCX-100 light freighter. As a Corellian with shipbuilding in his background, Han would know quite a bit about this ship and he uses that knowledge to confidently bluff his way into a game of sabacc with Lando, telling the smuggler that he owns a VCX-100. However, you don’t need to watch Rebels to get this reference, as the ship also shows up at the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One.

9. Tam Posla Cameo

One of Solo’s best cameos belongs to a character that the majority of viewers have probably never even heard of. Briefly introduced in Rogue One as a bounty hunter on the trail of Dr. Cornelius Evazan, the pig-nosed man who assaults Luke Skywalker in a Mos Eisley cantina in A New Hope, Tam Posla has since become a popular hero among a small contingent of Star Wars fans thanks to his appearance as a loyal, just, and cool bounty hunter in the pages of the Doctor Aphra comics. He shows up in Solo as a background character during Han and Lando’s sabaac match.

8. Aurra Sing’s Fate Revealed

One of our favorite Star Wars callbacks comes in the form of a brief bit of dialogue that reveals the fate of a character first introduced in Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Aurra Sing first made an appearance as a hard-to-miss spectator during that film’s podrace scene and she eventually became a fully-fleshed out character in the second season of Clone Wars as a bounty hunter and mother figure to a young Boba Fett.

When Lando and Beckett eet in Solo, the former mentions that he heard a rumor that Beckett was the one who took Aurra Sing down. Beckett corrects him, claiming in mock innocence that it was “the fall” that took her life. In other words, Beckett is a bounty hunter-killing badass.

7. The Millennium Falcon’s Nose, Explained

Anyone who’s paid close attention to the exterior design of Han Solo’s iconic ship knows that the Star Wars films haven’t exactly been consistent with it, especially when it comes to the ship’s front end. The Falcon’s signature nose notch does not appear in this movie and while we know that Han makes some cosmetic changes to the ship in the years between Solo and A New Hope (like turning it into a “hunk of junk”), getting rid of a whole portion of the ship seems like a bit of a stretch.

Fortunately, the whole thing is cleared up when Han points out that Lando has added an auxiliary ship to the design, which also performs double duty of making the Falcon look just like Ralph McQuarrie’s original concept art. Now, thanks to Solo, we know that the notch is a standard part of the Falcon’s design used for moving cargo containers and once Lando’s upgrade is lost, the ship returns to its original design.

6. Chewbacca Breaks The Dejarik Board

Given how much focus the Millennium Falcon gets in Solo, it’s hardly surprising to see the ship’s Holochess board make another appearance (or if you want to get technical, its debut). We see Chewbacca encounter the board for the first time, as he plays the game of Dejarik with Beckett, who evidently has yet to hear the term “Let the Wookiee win.” Chewie doesn’t take the loss well and tries to swipe the pieces from the board in a fit of rage, only to discover that the pieces can’t move on account of being digital.

However, there’s more going on here than just establishing Chewbacca’s love of board games. If you look closely at the board when Chewie swipes, you’ll see that two of the game pieces blink out as a result. This is a nod to the two pieces created by animator Phil Tippett in A New Hope that were scrapped by George Lucas on account of the board not being big enough. Tippet showed off the two figures — Bulbous and Scrimp — as part of a Kickstarter in 2017, but now we have a canonical explanation for them not being in the original movie.

5. Cape Advice From George Lucas

Although he officially walked away from the Star Wars franchise when sold the rights to Disney back in 2012, George Lucas is close friends with Solo director Ron Howard, so it was hardly surprising to learn that the legendary filmmaker paid a visit to the set during production. However, Lucas went one step further and even co-directed a scene, offering a bit of advice for how Han should handle himself. The scene in question is the one where Han finds Qi’ra trying on one of Lando’s capes aboard the Millennium Falcon. The original version of the script called for Han to remove the cape and return it to its hanger, but as Howard tells Variety, Lucas felt that this was much too “polished” an action for a character like Han.

“He said, ‘You know, Han wouldn’t bother to hang it up… And then he sort of did it. George became Han Solo for a second. The body language was there and the attitude. Not only was it a nice accent on the scene, but it was also a reminder that George created this character and really understood him. He was so reluctant [to offer his opinion], and yet the choice was so right that it was fun to use it,” Howard stated.

4. Cloud City Nod

Donald Glover’s performance as a young Lando Calrissian is easily one of the high points of Solo, as the actor channels the great Billy Dee Williams while also putting his own spin on the character. As we know from his debut in The Empire Strikes Back, Lando has a taste for the finer things in life, he takes his position as a well-dressed leader of a mining colony very seriously.

While Lando hasn’t yet landed his Cloud City gig when we meet him in Solo, Glover certainly plays up Lando’s prim and proper sensibilities, so when he states that “mining colonies are the worst” upon arriving on the gritty, grimy Kessel, Lando’s distaste for his surroundings shines through. Of course, this line also references his future as someone who will eventually run a mining colony. However, we also learn that Cloud City may already be in Lando’s sights, as he has a chrome model of the station in his collection aboard the Falcon.

3. Lando’s ‘Return of the Jedi’ Disguise

Alright, it’s hard to miss this Easter egg but it still needs to be pointed out as an example of pure fan service. Though Lando doesn’t use any disguises during the Kessel job — mostly because he stays on board the Millennium Falcon for the majority of the action — Beckett dons the same disguise we see Lando wear in Jabba’s Palace in Return of the Jedi.

Of course, the armor serves a practical purpose in hiding Beckett’s face from anyone who might recognize him but the visual composition of the scene is fitting as well, as much like Lando with Leia, Beckett is also serving as security detail for a woman short in stature (Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra). Evidently, Lando was such a fan of Beckett’s disguise that he decided to use it himself over a decade later when he needed to go undercover.

2. ‘I Know’

One of the most famous exchanges in Star Wars history comes just as Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back. As Han makes eye contact with Leia, she blurts out “I love you!” to which Han confidently responds, “I know.” This improvised line has become the stuff of legend and perfectly encapsulates Han’s effortless cool factor, so it’s fitting that Solo would pay homage to it in some way. This time around, it’s Lando Calrissian letting Han know how he truly feels about him, stating plainly that “I hate you,” as he looks upon the trashed Millennium Falcon. Without missing a beat, Han replies, “I know.”

1. Hey, It’s Warwick Davis!

Fans of Ron Howard’s 1988 fantasy film Willow likely noticed that that film’s star pops up towards the end of Solo in a fun cameo. That’s right – actor Warwick Davis plays one of the Cloud-Riders led by Enfys Nest and this definitely isn’t his first time appearing in a Star Wars movie. One of Davis’ earliest roles was the Ewok Wicket in Return of the Jedi and he also had a small part in The Phantom Menace as “Weazel,” a character who bets on the pod race with Watto and wins big when Anakin wins the race.

In fact, Davis plays the very same character in Solo, as the film’s official guide notes that his name is Weazel and that he “previously worked with the Hutt gang out of Mos Espa on Tatooine,” which means that the man who made a bet with Watto in The Phantom Menace turned out to be one of the founding members of what would become the Rebel Alliance. Cool stuff!

If you’re still here and want dig even deeper, join us as we discuss every time Solo: A Star Wars Story provided us with answers to questions that no one was really asking.

Questions Raised By ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ That Didn’t Need Answers

12. How Did Han Get His Last Name?

I don’t know about you, but I always just assumed that Han Solo’s full name was … Han Solo. After all, Star Wars is filled with characters with short and sweet surnames and “Solo” seems to fit right in that category. In perhaps the most cringe-inducing scene in the movie, we learn that not only is Han’s given surname not Solo, but that it was given to him on the spot for the most absurdly straightforward reason. Separated from Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke) and desperate for a way off Corellia, Han enlists in the Imperial Navy but when asked for his full name, reveals that he doesn’t have one. This prompts the recruitment officer to dub him “Han Solo” on account of him being on his own. Get it? Because he’s flying solo, you see? UGH

11. What Did Han Do To Secure A Life Debt From Chewbacca?

It’s hard to think of a better duo in the Star Wars universe than Han and Chewbacca, who were already close allies and friends when we first met them back in A New Hope. While I think most fans have always been somewhat curious to learn how a roguish man and a powerful Wookiee became joined at the hip, it’s never been a backstory that’s needed to be delved into too deeply. Unfortunately, if you’re making a young Han Solo movie, it’s kind of hard to do it without showing how Han and Chewie met and to the film’s credit, the manner of their meeting is rather unexpected.

Han gets thrown into a pit to be eaten and killed by a “monster” who turns out to be Chewbacca and after a short brawl, Han reveals that he knows how to speak the Wookiee language Shyriiwookand manages to convince Chewie to back off (wait, doesn’t Chewbacca understand English?). Han then proposes that the two work together to break out and gets Chewie to hit the support beam in the middle of the room repeatedly until it breaks. We’re led to assume this is the life debt that Chewie owes Han, but are we really supposed to believe that Chewie wouldn’t have stumbled upon this escape route previously in a fit of rage? I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more substantial, but at least it’s not as bad as the next Han/Chewie reveal …

10. How Did Chewie Get His Nickname?

After getting accepted into Beckett’s crew, Han and Chewbacca share a moment in which the former asks for the latter’s name. This prompts Han to reply, “You’re gonna need a nickname because I ain’t saying that every time,” as if shortening a three syllable name down to two is a huge relief for the vocal cords. This scene is arguably even more unnecessary than the “Solo” reveal, as it ignores how nicknames even work. No one just bestows someone else with a different name in an official manner. If Han had just referred to Chewbacca as “Chewie” in passing, it would have been a much more organic and believable moment.

9. How Did Han Get His Blaster?

Han Solo has always favored a blaster pistol as his weapon of choice (who can forget his famous “good blaster at your side, kid” line to Luke Skywalker in A New Hope?). Specifically, Han has always used a modified heavy DL-44 model, a popular choice among smugglers thanks to its above-average firepower and accuracy. However, it’s never really been a big mystery where he got it. As iconic as Han’s blaster is, it’s not like it’s on the same level as Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber, for instance, and never really needed a backstory.

While Solo thankfully doesn’t make a big deal out of the moment Han gets his blaster, it’s still hard to miss the small bit of ceremony that’s evoked when Beckett tosses him the weapon. Han even asks Beckett if he can show him how to do his spin trick, which is unfortunate because it makes Han feel like less original if he just copied someone else’s style. Oh well, at least the film spares us from showing us the origins of Han cutting off sleeves to make a vest.

8. How Did Han Beat Lando At Cards?

The fact that Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon in a game of cards is all part of his legend and it also provides context for his uneasy relationship with the ship’s former owner Lando Calrissian when the two meet in Cloud City during The Empire Strikes Back. However, reality rarely measures up to the stories we’re told and such is the case with the famous card game between Han and Lando, which is an all around disappointment. From the fact that Han enters the game with the goal of making Lando bet his ship to Han never having played Sabaac yet somehow being amazing at it, there’s little that works in these scenes outside of the banter between the characters.

The pacing is also a problem, as we have to watch Han and Lando play twice after Lando wins the first game (by cheating, mind you), only for Han to return later on to expose Lando’s deception and take his ship. Perhaps if most viewers actually understood the rules of Sabaac these scenes would have worked better but as it stands, Han beating Lando at cards worked much better as backstory than it does actually seeing it played out.

7. Who Did Han Love Before Leia?

You can tell by the way Han Solo begins putting the moves on Princess Leia almost immediately after meeting her in A New Hope that he’s a bit of a womanizer, but the knowledge that Han has had romantic trysts in the past is something that we were able to just quietly assume about him rather than needing to be explicitly told. In fact, Han never discusses his romantic past with Leia or anyone else in the original trilogy, so it’s rather surprising to see just how deep the connection between him and Qi’ra is in Solo.

We can tell by the way Qi’ra selflessly tells Han to leave her on Corellia or how Han then spends the next three years of his life trying to find a way back to her that their love runs deep and even though Solo ends with Qi’ra betraying Han, their story feels far from over. Qi’ra is clearly someone who left a permanent mark on Han and his ability to trust people, but we don’t really get a sense of this in his interactions with Leia. I get that the character of Qi’ra  didn’t exist when the original trilogy was written but it’s going to be weird going back to those movies now with the knowledge that Han loved someone before Leia (possibly even more so) and yet never mentions her once.

6. How Did Han Do The Kessel Run In 12 Parsecs?

Han’s famous line in A New Hope about the Millennium Falcon doing the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs was really just a throwaway bit of backstory meant to establish the Falcon as a more capable ship than it looked. It’s also an example of Han being boastful and I’d argue we’re led to believe that he may have been making it to help sell himself as the pilot Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi should hire to take them to Alderaan. Of course, now we have Solo, which centers almost its entire second act on the Kessel Run and while parts of the sequence definitely work, seeing it in action is somehow less exciting than hearing Han talk about it.

Solo takes that throwaway line and constructs a huge action scene that shows off Han’s piloting skills, but also kind of undermines him when you realize that that L3-37’s navigational data and using the Star Wars equivalent of NOS to make the Falcon go fast at the right moment are the only reasons he succeeds. Solo also confirms that parsecs are a unit of distance, not time, which means that all Han really did was take a shortcut, confirming that the Falcon really isn’t as special as Han makes it out to be.

5. Why Does Han Talk To The Millennium Falcon Like It’s Alive?

The original trilogy has a number of scenes where Han Solo offhandedly personifies the Millennium Falcon, such as when he tells C-3PO to talk to the ship and see what’s wrong with it in The Empire Strikes Back. Han clearly has an affinity or special connection if you will with the Falcon, so it makes sense that he would treat it like a valued companion. We’re never meant to question his choice of words but thanks to a certain storytelling decision in Solo, every interaction Han has with the Falcon now takes on a disturbing undertone.

Faced with no other option, Han and his crew decide to upload L3-37’s brain into the Falcon in order to navigate a faster route through the Kessel Run. This decision saves the day but it also means that the self-actualized droid, who had just finished leading a droid rebellion down on Kessel, is forced against her will to become a glorified navigational computer for the Falcon (also, if this technology exists, why doesn’t EVERY ship have this functionality?). This is one of those decisions that seems like it was made entirely in service of the plot without taking into account how it might affect other aspects of the franchise, which it does because I know I’m never going to look at the Millennium Falcon the same again.

4. How Did Han First Meet Jabba The Hutt?

Alright, so technically we don’t actually see Han meet Jabba in Solo, but the film ends with him and Chewie on their way to Tatooine to meet the reviled gangster. We’re told that Jabba is putting together a team for a big score and seeing as how the film is really selling the idea of there being a sequel at the end (which is looking less and less likely given Solo’s disappointing box office performance), it seems inevitable that we’re going to witness their first encounter.

I have to wonder who really wants to go back to that strange desert palace and see Jabba try to intimidate Han in the Huttese language. We’ve already seen how this story ends. In fact, one of the first things we learn about Han in A New Hope is that he used to be one of Jabba’s trusted smugglers but is now in his bad books after ditching a shipment (something we also see him do in Solo during the train robbery). Nothing is to be gained from seeing Han and Jabba meet besides filling in more unneeded backstory, though if that first job is rustling up a Rancor to put in Jabba’s newly requisitioned pit, I may be on board.

3. Can Humans And Droids Have Sex?

Yes, yes they can.

Outside of the kinky fanfic corners of Star Wars fandom, the prospect of human-droid sexual intercourse has never been much of a concern for the franchise. However, thanks to a throwaway joke in Solo, we now know that humans and droids can indeed get it on, as L3-37 confirms as much to Qi’ra when asked how anything between her and Lando would even work. I think it’s safe to say that no one went into Solo expecting that this specific question would be addressed, but here we are.

2. How Did The Rebel Alliance Really Begin?

While I do think the third act reveal that Enfys Nest and her Cloud Riders are not pirates but rebels fighting against the crime syndicates and the Empire is a really good twist, there are parts of it that really don’t work within the larger story Solo is trying to tell. The main problem with these characters is that by having Han help them, it establishes that he is sympathetic to the rebel cause, which not only goes against his arc from optimist to cynic in the film but also makes his disinterest in helping the Rebel Alliance in A New Hope inconsistent, since we now know that he helped them out when they were in their infancy.

Speaking of which, did Solo really need to establish the formation of the Rebel Alliance? After Rogue One spent so much time showing how the Rebels went from a ragtag group of freedom fighters to a highly sophisticated army capable of striking a serious blow against the Empire, there was little need to go back further in time to explore its formative moments. I guess every Star Wars movie is mandated to include the Rebel Alliance in some form?

1. How Will The Audience Know It’s Darth Maul Talking To Qi’ra At The End?

By now, you probably know that the big cameo at the end of Solo is none other than Darth Maul (who just goes by Maul now, thank you very much), who is revealed to have been working with Qi’ra the entire time as the leader of Crimson Dawn. It’s a surprising moment to be sure, even if you’re someone who’s been watching shows like Clone Wars and Rebels and thus already knew Maul didn’t truly die at the end of Episode I – The Phantom Menace.

While it isn’t really clear at first that it’s Maul who Qi’ra’s talking to in this scene, we get a good enough look at him that anyone already familiar with the character is going to recognize him. Apparently, someone at Lucasfilm thought this wouldn’t be enough, so the decision was made to have Maul ignite his distinctive dual-bladed red lightsaber to hammer home the point. Qi’ra already knows who he is, so why would Maul need to do this? Does he just like turning his lightsaber on for dramatic effect? It’s just a silly decision that robs the reveal of a bit of its impact.

Goliath Team

Jack Sackman has been writing about movies and TV for Goliath since 2013.