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Solo did exactly what a Prequel should do.

Discussion in 'Solo' started by Jedi77-83, Jul 1, 2018.

  1. Jedi77-83

    Jedi77-83 Force Sensitive

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    There a good things and bad things that come from a Prequel. The negative is that you know most of the characters will survive because we all know their story later on. The positive of a Prequel is that it's supposed to make the original story about that character better.

    I think Solo accomplished that perfectly, as I watched parts of the OT when i got home in a whole new light:

    -You really understand now why Han was so 'selfish' in ANH, as Woody Harrelson character said to him loud and clear, "Trust no one." Why would Han trust this naive farmboy and this old wizard who are trying to save this Princess in ANH after all the people that double crossed him before? Except Chewy.

    -The Han/Lando friendship sheds more insight into that conversation on Cloud City in ESB. When Han says, "Your ship? Hey, remember you lost her to me fair and square." It's a funnier line now essentially cause Lando cheated both times. Solo movie established the dynamic on Cloud City that they are friends, but Lando could always double cross him as he pulled away with the Falcon.

    -Solo always made me look at Han/Leia relationship a bit differently too after his relationship with Quira. It showed that even though he was a ladies man, that he would settle for the right girl. First it was Quira, and then it was Leia.

    -Solo established that Han was always a good guy at heart, but still did what he needed to do to survive. That jives well with the OT as he starts off all about himself, but will eventually become loyal if he feels it's for the right cause.

    -When Han shoots first at Woody Harrelson, it foreshadows the Greedo scene in ANH (1977 Version), as even Woody admitted he would have shot him.

    Many will say that Solo was paint by numbers, but I think that it's not as easy to have a prequel that jives well with their main story. Sometimes these writers try to subvert this and that just to make it seem like it isn't a paint by numbers, and in the process they are doing the overall narrative a disservice. This movie satisfied me with every question about Han I ever had. Something I wasn't expecting, and probably why I wasn't too keen on this movie being made.
     
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  2. Jayson

    Jayson Resident Lucasian

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    Well put. The only thing I would toss in is that you can safely assume protagonists in mainstream U.S. films will survive (unless you're in a side genre like horror or dark comedy) (and also, most return on investment top winners don't have villains who die either, but instead escape), so really the only difference between a prequel and a sequel is typically the change in actors playing the roles - that's usually the biggest gamble that you face walking in.

    That was the biggest hurdle in Solo's case as well. It wasn't so much that we knew Solo wasn't going to die that everyone held their breath over. Not a lot of talk revolved around wondering if the script was going to be able to still maintain an interesting story without being able to tease Solo's death. What everyone was talking about, however, was whether or not Enrenreich was going to come off as Han given how iconic Ford's version is.

    Basically, every prequel always faces the Bond-Bias-Bomb. Every Bond film series basically is a running time bomb, as at some point the actor is replaced, and the gamble is once again massive because as soon as you flip actors in the Bond series, everyone is going to compare that actor to the previous Bonds.
    It's a staple and inherent nature of the series now that periodically a film will be threatened to bomb based on a bias of familiarity with a previous Bond actor.

    Unlike Bond films, most prequels (save for perhaps superhero films which can seemingly reboot themselves to infinity anytime a new actor doesn't work out...or even if they do) can't just reboot endlessly and have but one chance to nail it. Bond is a bit lucky in this regard because if it doesn't work, they can just drop the actor and move on to another one. True, there's a cost loss associated with it, but they can actually do it and pick up steam in relative short order if needed due to the nature and culture of the franchise series.

    If Enrenreich came out and just pulled a George Lazenby of Han Solo, there wouldn't be a second shot possible at getting that right anytime soon.
    It would have just been that film that everyone wishes rather didn't exist and mostly forgets does - like the Christmas Special.

    Cheers,
    Jayson
     
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  3. Darth Basin The Greatest

    Darth Basin The Greatest Rebel Official

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    One of my biggest obstacles was the choice of AE & DG playing our favorite human male hetrosexual multi racial non sexual duo.

    AE doesn't look a thing at all like Han. He doesn't even look like a brother of Han, if he ever had 1.

    Now DG who was better, who even sounded like BDW just came off as a Lando Cosplayer. Maybe I shouldn't of watched that SNL episode first.

    Other than that & the super annoying L3, Solo was ok.
     
  4. Jedi77-83

    Jedi77-83 Force Sensitive

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    I felt exactly like you did leading up to the release of Solo, as it was one of the biggest reasons I just was never hyped for the movie. Then when I started to watch it, I realize it worked for me because he wasn't a spitting image of Harrison Ford, nor he wasn't doing a straight impression of him either (Like Jim Carrey did of Andy Kaufman in 'Man on the Moon.')

    I guess my point is when you get someone who looks and sounds EXACTLY like that character, it feels more like a A&E or PBS Biography then a movie. So in a strange way, I was able to settle in and enjoy Alden Ehrenreich for 2 hours as Han Solo, and not think about Harrison Ford. If I kept thinking about Harrison Ford, then I would start to want to see Harrison Ford on screen. I was able to accept AE as he was, and I think it lent me to enjoy the movie in that context. I hope that makes sense?
     
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  5. HuskyRunner

    HuskyRunner Rebel Official

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    I think the fact that Alden doesn't exactly look and sound like Harrison was something that benefited this movie. I think it would have been more distracting to have a carbon copy of Harrison on screen the entire time and I would have been more focused on that rather then focusing on the story that was being told. I think Alden did a great job of capturing the essence of Han, while still giving the role his own flair.
     
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  6. Too Gon Onbourbon

    Too Gon Onbourbon Rebel Official

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    I think On Her Majesty's Secret Service to be one of the best in the franchise even if Lazenby is one toke over the line on smarminess.

    The Christmas Special thankfully wasn't a movie of any sort but rather an abortion of a terrible variety TV special.

    Caravan of Courage on the other hand...
     
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  7. Darth Basin The Greatest

    Darth Basin The Greatest Rebel Official

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    So DG was "too much" like BDW as Lando then, 4 u?
     
  8. Jayson

    Jayson Resident Lucasian

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    Agreed. (Actually, I don't have a line up of the best Bond films, but OHMS is a good show, and I agree that Lazenby comes across a bit off as Bond.)

    Agreed.

    Cheers,
    Jayson
     
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  9. Jedi77-83

    Jedi77-83 Force Sensitive

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    Actually, I thought DG put his own spin on Lando too but was still faithful to the character. I guess the way I can sum up my feelings is when I watch the OT, I see Ford and Billy Dee Williams. When I watch Solo I see AE and DG. That’s a big reason why Solo worked for me, but I totally get the opposite happening to other fans.
     
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  10. Jayson

    Jayson Resident Lucasian

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    I suppose I'm lucky in this regard.
    I grew up as a stage rat because my Mom was in just about everything that was going on either on stage singing or acting, or backstage making costumes and sets (or both), and I had the anchor between actor and character shattered when I was about 4 or 5 years old and my Dad explained that Indiana Jones wasn't made like cartoons; that there was an actor named Harrison Ford who was playing him just like he played Solo (which was my confusion at that moment, because I didn't understand why Han Solo was used as Indiana Jones unless it was like when Bugs Bunny did the Opera bit or something).

    The net result is that I've never been stuck to a person as a role. I know people do (see Bond-Bias-Bomb description above), but for me, it's never been a problem in that way.

    Hmm...I suppose there is one film that is that way to me, come to think of it.
    The Princess Bride. That's a film that I wouldn't be able to get passed the other actors.
    However, in that case, it's not because I couldn't see anyone else as those characters, but instead that I seriously doubt such a solid and perfect casting job through and through could ever be accomplished to such a sharp beat again. There's no wiggle room in that film; it's the ideal form that it could have ever been satirically in that one shot.
    But I'm betting that I could be surprised if someone actually went for it and tried to make it again.

    Usually, though, I don't care. The actors are just actors; not characters. Films make it seem like actors are characters and characters are actors because they are often done once and never again, but plays shoot right over that like chump change, and always have.

    I'm accustomed to seeing a different face as a new take on the same character - most often even saying the same lines in the same play.
    Especially growing up in a household that bragged (strangely) about being (incredibly remotely...) connected to Doyle, so the amount of Sherlock that I've seen in both film, television, and play form is more than any individual should have ever had to experience.
    The modern forms, thankfully, are a breath of fresh air because both RD Jr. and Cumberbatch bring a very outstanding take on what was a very worn out and watered-down caricature previously.

    I didn't expect Ford walking in, and I didn't care if I got Ford's Solo. To me, that was never the point of it. That would be pretty interesting for entirely different reasons, but I highly doubted that was going to happen.
    All I wanted was a portrayal that felt like the character given the context and didn't feel like, oh, a young Dirty Harry or Martin Riggs.

    So, for me, it worked pretty well.

    And yeah, if anyone reading is wondering, I really wouldn't be bothered by the idea of rebooting 4, 5, 6, and having all new actors reprise Luke, Han, and Leia.
    I don't think that will ever happen, but I'm never bothered by that.

    A lot of people flipped their lids about Star Trek in that regard, but it was a fun ride and I liked everyone's take on their respective characters.

    Just give me a good show and give it the best that you can do, and nail your best version of the character you're to play - that's all I need.
    If it's bad, then it's not because the actor isn't the same actor - for me; it's because it was poorly acted, or - more likely - poorly directed (which leads to bad acting).

    Cheers,
    Jayson
     
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  11. Lando's Closet

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    Both Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover did a great job on SOLO. I enjoyed it, and felt that it was a good movie. I would change very little about it; only the cameo at the end to Jabba instead of Darth Maul. But other than that, SOLO was good. I will be buying the SOLO blu-ray. I haven't yet purchased The Last Jedi blu-ray, and I won't. But YES for SOLO. It was such a much better movie by far.
     
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  12. Jayson

    Jayson Resident Lucasian

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    Oh god...if that had happened, you know that there would be a meme-a-thon of Spaceballs slaps about the face because you have a ship, comm-screen, and Jabba.

    That being said...here's a mock-up of that for you (it's not perfect - I just whipped it up on my phone real quick).
    [​IMG]

    Cheers,
    Jayson
     
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  13. Too Bob Bit

    Too Bob Bit Jedi Commander

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    I'm not the biggest fan of that reveal (I gave my thoughts in the *That* cameo thread), but I'm not sure it would have been made better by it being Jabba. It would hardly be a reveal at all and be just what was expected. Besides, I never got the impression that Jabba had that kind of crime empire.
     
    #13 Too Bob Bit, Jul 3, 2018
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  14. Darth Basin The Greatest

    Darth Basin The Greatest Rebel Official

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    It really made no sence that
    Maul
    had this huge criminal empire AGAIN
    Maul had in Clone Wars
    & Palpatine does nothing about it.
     
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  15. HuskyRunner

    HuskyRunner Rebel Official

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    Unless Palpatine thought Maul was dead/no longer saw a need for him and focused more on doing what he needed to strengthen his empire (i.e. Death Star). He beat Maul so easily that I'm sure he was never concerned Maul would come back for revenge.
     
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  16. CTrent29

    CTrent29 Rebel Official

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    I'm not concerned over what "SOLO" did to become the "perfect" prequel, if such a thing exists. I just like the film . . . as I do "ROGUE ONE", the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trliogy.

    --- Double Post Merged, Jul 27, 2018, Original Post Date: Jul 27, 2018 ---
    Considering that Crimson Dawn was providing coaxium to the Empire, I wonder if Palpatine would have cared.
     
    #16 CTrent29, Jul 27, 2018
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  17. Lock_S_Foils

    Lock_S_Foils Red Leader

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    So what does Han look like? Got a photo of him?
     
  18. Jack_Forest

    Jack_Forest Force Attuned

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    Actually, the cameo could be anybody's except Jabba. The point Qi'ra's story arc is to have her ditch Han and make him more bitter and cynical. And Han at the end goes to work for Jabba. So, if he and Qi'ra end up with the same boss, this could their relationship in several possible ways, most of which are away from Han we see in ANH.
     
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  19. kuatorises

    kuatorises Rebel Commander

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    Either Palpatine is unaware that he still alive or the movie is simply ignoring the cartoons, which would not surprise me at all. How often does a movie pay attention to something from an expanding universe? It's very rare.
    --- Double Post Merged, Aug 23, 2018, Original Post Date: Aug 23, 2018 ---
    I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this movie. I saw it pretty late in its run and went by myself. They usually go with a bunch of family or friends, but none of us seemed all that interested in it. I was also a little leery of the casting..

    I thought it was a lot better than some people were saying and from what I remember of TL J (I haven't seen it since I saw in theaters).
     
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  20. CTrent29

    CTrent29 Rebel Official

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    I've seen a good number of films and television shows that did what a prequel is supposed to do. What else is this thread for?
     
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