‘Solo’ Spoiler-Free Reviews Confirm New ‘Star Wars’ Is Good, But Has Issues

With the arrival of the newest iteration in the series, film critics took to the internet this week to give their verdict on Solo: A Star Wars Story,. And so far, it looks like the smuggler’s origin story won most of them over, although some did appear to have issues with the flick.

The first reviews for Solo rolled in Tuesday, with the majority praising the movie. The current Rotten Tomatoes rating is 72 percent, based on 73 reviews. That score is considered “fresh,” but in comparison to the entire Star Wars saga, it’s on the lower end, with only Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace garnering lower ratings.

Those critics who praised Solo focused on how the film moves away from the Force and the Empire to provide an exciting heist film filled with Star Wars lore. “This is a movie set in the universe of Star Wars that, for once, doesn’t feel it needs to be a rehash of Star Wars,” wrote Christopher Orr in his review for The Atlantic.

Reviewers also commended both Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover for their performances of Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. “Ehrenreich makes a fine, if not exactly revelatory, young Han,” wrote Jesse Hassenger in his review for A.V. Club. “His best moments are comic, imitating some Harrison Ford mannerisms (the stance, the pointing) with a cocksure goofiness; he might have been a more distinctly funny take on the character for other filmmakers.”

Brian Lowry at CNN applauded Glover’s performance in the film as the ever smooth Lando. “Glover instantly enlivens the movie, managing to simultaneously pay homage to Billy Dee Williams’ characterization while mildly spoofing it,” he wrote.

Negative reviews for Solo share a common thread in that they claim there was something missing from the movie: taking a risk. “Solo: A Star Wars Story keeps throwing curveballs to distract us from the fact that we know all too well where this is heading,” wrote Peter Travers in his review for Rolling Stone. “And somehow Han Solo — the roguish Star Wars hellion famous for breaking all the rules — finds himself in a feel-good movie that doesn’t break any.”

Sam Adams shared a similar sentiment in his review for Slate. “Solo isn’t a movie for the fans so much as at them, harnessing its makers’ considerable skill and experience to gratify the urge for the familiar, with no pretense or aspiration of doing anything else,” he wrote.

Alonso Duralde at The Wrap was blunt with his criticism of the movie. “Solo tells us nothing about these characters that we didn’t already learn from Episodes IV-VII,” he wrote. “This might also be the least epic Star Wars movie to date.”

Star Wars fans can find out for themselves how Solo fares when it releases in theaters on May 25.