I thought about being clever in this post, drawing parallels, making analogies, laying out a careful case, but this is not that day. instead, I just want to take a moment to note that the response of loud internet voices and a few entertainment writers to Solo: A Star Wars Story is living proof that the “the madding crowd’s ignoble strife” is a real thing.
The Real World I Live In
I saw Solo on opening night. The packed theater seemed delighted. My family was delighted. My friends that were there were delighted. Everyone I know in the real world who has seen it really likes it. I won’t take much space here to describe why I liked it, just suffice it to say that it was massively entertaining and very well done.
The World of the Internet
In the world of the internet, The End Is Near because Solo’s Audience Cinemascore rating of A- is the lowest of any Disney Star Wars. It’s been a while since I was a student, but I recall being fairly pleased when I would get an A- on a test. Not so on the internet. The A- means Star Wars is dying and this movie Should Never Have Been Made. Please.
In the world of the internet, we’re supposed to obsess about Solo’s opening weekend box office which fell below expectations, never minding that it is the biggest Memorial Day box office of recent years. It’s the number one movie in the world, and it boosted the domestic box office 23.1% compared to Memorial Day weekend in 2017, and some writers are declaring it a flop.
A flop.
We’re told that audiences are negative toward Star Wars because of the “immensely divisive” The Last Jedi which ticked us all off so much that it made 1.3 billion dollars. Now fans are supposedly staying away because Solo’s filming was marred by production troubles and the firing of the directors, even though none of that trouble shows up on the screen. The list goes on. What to do about this travesty?
The World of Solo
If you haven’t yet seen Solo: A Star Wars Story, I suggest you make the calculations for the jump to hyperspace and get to your local theater pronto. Don’t wonder about the box office, don’t think about whether or not you love Kathleen Kennedy (who fired the original directing team), don’t sit and analyze this film’s exact place in the Star Wars cannon.
Try this: watch the movie.
If you do that, you may find that it’s well acted, excellently shot, fast paced, engaging, full of twists and surprises, and incredibly fun. You might also run into me, because I need to see it again.
Thanks for reading! All of my wisest, wittiest readers sign up to get posts by email, just so you know.
If you’re a nice person, I’d love to hear your comments on social media.
If you’re not a nice person, reconsider.