Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 16, 2018

Solo: A Star Wars Story was besieged by production problems, notably the firing of Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who had previously co-helmed the terrific The LEGO Movie and who reportedly came to odds with Lucasfilm over this film's direction and tone. The Internet is filled with the story and reaction to it, so there’s no need to rehash the specifics here. Solo was ultimately turned over to Ron Howard (Apollo 13, The Da Vinci Code) who not only managed to salvage the movie but craft a cool and thrilling jaunt through some fringe corners of the Star Wars universe while exploring some -- certainly not all -- of the title character's lore, lore previously established in other Star Wars films, some created herein, and a couple of strings that come as very welcome surprises. Fun, fresh, and a nice blend of the expected and the unexpected, Solo is a success that deserved better at the box office and definitely deserves, and needs, a sequel.

Han (Alden Ehrenreich) has grown up on the mean streets of Corellia, a grim planet ruled by the likes of Lady Proxima (Linda Hunt) who take advantage of the aimless and the destitute, trading safety and shelter in exchange for the rewards of criminal undertakings. Han and his girlfriend Qi'ra (Emilia Clarke) dream of making their escape and seeing the galaxy together, but those dreams are shattered when the two are separated moments from escape and Qi'ra is left behind. Han dedicates his life to finding a way to return to Corellia and reuniting with Qi'ra, a journey that takes him into the ranks of the Empire and eventually into a criminal outfit run by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) who is eying a major score he'll have to share with the ruthless Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), one of the leaders of a nasty crime syndicate known as Crimson Dawn. But the plan goes awry, leaving the crew no choice but to undertake a risky mission to the spice mines of Kessel to secure a supply of highly valuable, though unrefined and dangerous, coaxium they hope will appease Vos.

The danger with a film like Solo, or any of the planned or discussed universe films focusing on densely pre-established characters from the Star Wars universe who have several movies of backstory ranging from offhand comments to major arc-building and sustaining development, is the temptation to simply line out a checklist from scene to scene to make sure “everything” is hit in some form or fashion, to watch the character routinely go down the line from one set piece or character meeting or life event to the next. For Han Solo, that means meeting Chewbacca, winning the Falcon from Lando, making the Kessel Run, getting mixed up with Jabba the Hut, and making sure he’s plopped down at the Mos Eisley cantina when the credits roll. Solo does that -- or maybe better said some of those things -- to an extent, but not to a level of rote fan service that would betray any creative license to build the character from the ground-up, even if the vast majority of viewers know where he’s going and by-and-large how he got there. Howard and Writers Jonathan and Lawrence Kasdan mostly take the more difficult road, constructing the character around a few necessary beats but finding the humanity in him through new adventures that intersect with a few of those choice pre-established moments.

Solo, then, feels intimately familiar yet resoundingly new. The new story builds the foundation for the character who will one day turn the Falcon around and aid Luke in destroying the Death Star. That’s perhaps the most critical component, that essential character fashioning that sets up the complex hero who evolves from smuggler and scoundrel to key cog in the Rebel Alliance. Of course none of that is directly conveyed in Solo but it is certainly implied within the context of the character’s evolution and particularly his actions in the third act. Alden Ehrenreich captures the character’s heartbeat with commendable enthusiasm and stability. He more or less looks and sounds the part and that he pulls it off is no small feat considering the enormous shoes he fills, not so much literally but certainly figuratively, finding that swagger and cadence and understanding those more minute character beats that play into the idea that Solo will one day make that choice to aid the Rebellion, to rise above his own greed and fight for something larger than himself. Donald Glover does much the same for Lando. Both men work the angles their characters give them, which requires a careful balance between the lighter beats that carry the personalities and the more intensive arcs that define them at the core.

Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

This UHD's most readily apparent differential compared to the Blu-ray is a generally darker color scheme. The mud pit scene transitions the mud from a light gray to a very dark, absorbing gray. Every color is more solidified, even Lando's yellow shirt and the Falcon's similarly colored appointments. But HDR does render an already bleak movie more so, which in some cases is not a bad thing. When Val, Beckett, and Han are scouting the train heist, lying on a snow bank below overcast skies, the UHD tightens the image, rendering it a bit darker, a little more foreboding, the sky more intensely gray and the snow a little less intensely bright. The increased darkness at least helps alleviate, but not entirely remedy, the pale blacks that run throughout the movie and that were the most problematic feature on the Blu-ray. But the UHD does see a rise in macroblocking. Nowhere is it more pronounced than at the 27:38 mark, a shot that looks like a chunky Internet stream of the movie, but it's certainly a regular eyesore throughout. Curiously the macroblocking in that scene is not particularly problematic on the Blu-ray, which is instead struggling through some of the most washed-out blacks in the entire movie.

Texturally, the movie is hopelessly flat as a rule. Whether tight shots or long vistas, there's almost no sense of apparent depth, no separation between objects. There are some essential gains to clarity and sharpness, but even for what is reportedly a 4K digital intermediate (shot at resolutions of 3.4K and 6.5K), there's just not much in the way of striking textural improvements to be found. It certainly handles all of the dense locations, grime, wear, and tear very well but not substantially over the Blu-ray, and upticks in facial and fabric definition are modest at best. The increase in clarity and color depth do aid some scenes. Take a look at a shot of the yacht in chapter 17 at the 42:42 mark. There's a marked increase in clarity, detail, and color density on the UHD. The shot is much more eye-catching, sharper and more refined. There are some interesting small examples throughout, too. At the 50:35 mark the UHD settles down some harsh backlighting and allows for a little more definition of both the foreground characters and the basic shape of whatever is outside the window at some distance. Regardless of incremental improvements, the movie is very stark as a rule and there are precious few scenes that aren't absorbingly dark or, like those scenes on the yacht, harshly backlit. Those scenes that do escape both are amongst the best on the UHD, but again the primary benefits are color stability and an increase in general clarity and sharpness, not raw textural gains. The UHD helps settle the movie on the whole. It basically boils down to Solo being a natively flat, bland movie that just doesn't lend itself to classic eye candy on either format. Both the Blu-ray and UHD are problematic on top of what they have to work with, but this UHD is the better bet overall if for no other reason than more stable clarity and better, though not perfect, blacks.

Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Solo's UHD features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack which adds some ambient overhead effects and a few examples of the top end making an impact by including additional information over the Blu-ray's 7.1 offering, but the gains are not substantial. The Atmos track allows for more layered sound and distinct and sometimes discrete object placement, such as a call for security at the 12 minute mark that offers an agreeable command of the top end and creates a more spherical sound field. Some of the film's more intense action scenes -- the wartime battle when Han meets Beckett and his gang, the clash at the spice mines, everything in the Maelstrom -- do benefit from the additional top end channels, rarely with anything quite so discrete as that first mentioned call for security, but the greater sense of absolute space and immersion does elevate the proceedings a fair amount. It's also worth noting that little of this matters unless one cranks the volume beyond normal listening levels. Like the Blu-ray track, this is another Disney offering that requires some volume fiddling and fine tuning, but it settles in nicely enough once that new sweet spot is found. The low end can be rather strong on a few occasions. The climax of the train heist, for example, delivers a positive, weighty concussive blast through the stage. Music enjoys good, wide spacing and fine instrumental clarity. It's front dominant but not shy about extending into the rears. Dialogue is occasionally a little too intermixed with surrounding details in the most pitch action scenes but is otherwise clear and audible from a front-center position.

Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Solo: A Star Wars Story contains no extras on the UHD disc or the primary Blu-ray disc. All of its supplemental content may be found on a dedicated second Blu-ray disc. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. The release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Solo: The Director & Cast Roundtable (1080p, 21:44): Ron Howard moderates a collection of the film's key talent: Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Joonas Suotamo, Emilia Clarke, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, and Paul Bettany. They discuss landing their roles, auditions, crafting various scenes, character relationships and backstories, anecdotes, work on the set and a George Lucas visit, inspirations, and more. There's a good bit of camaraderie and humor throughout.
• Kasdan on Kasdan (1080p, 7:50): Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jonathan discuss life with the franchise, working together on the film, and Lawrence's love for the Han Solo character.
• Remaking the Millennium Falcon (1080p, 5:36): The ship's importance in the film and within the Star Wars universe and imagining the ship as a relatively brand-new vessel, inside and out with particular attention paid to Lando's influence on its design.
• Escape from Corellia (1080p, 9:59): A discussion of the movie's timeline and how Solo fits into the world. It largely focuses on making the "car chase" scene from the movie's opening minutes, including geography, vehicle design, digital effects, sounds, and more.
• The Train Heist (1080p, 14:30): Much like the previous supplement, this is a detailed breakdown of one of the film's largest action pieces: train design and inspirations, the importance of physical models, digital effects, sequence complexity, shooting locations, building the Rio character, and more.
• Team Chewie (1080p, 6:41): A look at how the film introduces and builds the Han Solo-Chewbacca story, including both the emotional connection they share and the physical requirements of various scenes.
• Becoming a Droid: L3-37 (1080p, 5:06): An exploration of the character, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's performance, and the practical and digital effects that bring her to life.
• Scoundrels, Droids, Creatures and Cards: Welcome to Fort Ypso (1080p, 8:02): A detailed examination of one of the film's key set pieces and the story elements that emerge from the time spent there. There's also an interesting look at the card game invented for the film and the alien characters who sit around the table and mingle in the background.
• Into the Maelstrom: The Kessel Run (1080p, 8:28): A fascinating look at high quality on-set visuals, piloting the ship in the scene, sound effects, digital effects, and more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 15:13 total runtime): Included are Proxima's Den, Corellian Foot Chase, Han Solo: Imperial Cadet, The Battle of Mimban: Extended, Han Versus Chewie: Extended, Snowball Fight!, Meet Dryden: Extended, and Coaxium Double-Cross.

Solo: A Star Wars Story 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are a few takeaways from Solo: A Star Wars Story. First, it's a rousing, good-time film. Second, it's very well done from top to bottom, and that the film was plagued by production problems and switched out directors midstream isn't at all apparent in the end product. Third, there's got to be a sequel. The film doesn't go the Rogue One route, ending right where one would expect. There's ample room to continue with Han's story before meeting Luke and Obi-Wan in that Tattooine Cantina, and the film's surprise revelation and character twist beg for more exploration in either a direct Solo sequel or another universe film. Maybe Disney is over-saturating the market a bit, or maybe the release date proximity to The Last Jedi (not to mention the sharp-divide responses to that movie) dampened enthusiasm, but whatever the reason for Solo's poor performance the product on the screen isn't it. Disney's UHD release of Solo: A Star Wars Story does what it can with the film's visuals, though the end result is, like the Blu-ray, a bit unspectacular. HDR improves black depth (not to perfection) over the Blu-ray and the resolution boosts base clarity. It's better than the Blu-ray but not a particularly awe-inspiring UHD by any stretch of the imagination. Audio is strong once the volume is adjusted upward and the release is crammed with extra content. Highly recommended.