Solo: A Star Wars Story Review - 7 Ups And 4 Downs

2. Qi'ra (And Predictability)

A much bigger character than either Val or Rio is Qi'ra, the great love of Han Solo's formative years on Corellia.

Played by Emilia Clarke, we see the two of them together on the streets, and then later reuniting in some pretty unexpected circumstances, whereupon she becomes a more permanent part of the mission crew.

The character is fairly well written, at least in terms of what she represents to Han's character, but unfortunately, Emilia Clarke's performance doesn't really do it justice. There's a stiltedness that works when she plays Daenerys Targaryen, but for a character who is supposed to be more mysterious and carry an air of danger, it's not enough to work here.

The character - and a few other elements of the script - are victims of predictability too. Part of that simply comes with the territory, because we know where Han's story is going, but there are moments where surprises feel like they could've happened or they could've went down a different route, and yet hit the most obvious beats instead.