10 Movies Totally Ruined By Fan Service

10. Solo: A Star Wars Story

There's a fair argument to be made that a number of Star Wars movies were fatally compromised by excessive, nostalgia-fuelled fan service - namely The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens and Rogue One - but no single Star Wars film feels quite as perfunctory and cynical in its conception as Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Many groaned when it was first announced, simply because there wasn't a huge collective desire from fans to have Han Solo's past demystified with a prequel, to say nothing of the fact that Harrison Ford's portrayal is so iconic and statuesque that even the best-fitting actor would struggle to fill his duds.

And despite Solo being a well-acted, action-packed and competently helmed film, it's also a frequently cringe-worthy outing rife with pandering shoutouts and callbacks that fans never asked for.

To name just a few of the toe-curlingly embarrassing scenes: Han's surname and Chewbecca's nickname have their origins needlessly explained, numerous classic Star Wars lines are invoked in cutesy says ("I've got a good feeling about this!"), Han shoots someone first, we witness the Kessel Run, there are appearances by a younger Lando (Donald Glover) and Darth Maul (Ray Park), Han's dice and blaster make their debuts, and at any one moment the screen is littered with countless visual nods to franchise iconography. Phew.

It adds up to a flashy yet hollow film that's certainly easy to watch, but ultimately a rather lazy and insulting effort for all but the most committed Star Wars zealots.

It tanked at the box office as a result, and clearly, both fans and Han Solo himself deserved better.