You may not have asked for it, but it's finally here and it's pretty damn fun.

In this era of abundance, it’s easy to forget just how insanely hard it is for a film to arrive before our content hungry eyeballs in the first place. For every film that makes it onto a cinema screen (or streaming service, if you will), there are many, many more that fall by the wayside.

Of all the films in recent memory to make it through this process in one piece, perhaps the most miraculous is Solo: A Star Wars Story, our latest foray into the ever-expanding Star Wars universe. If ever there were a film destined for the footnotes of cinema history, this was it. The fact that it hasn't is still a little mid-boggling.

Of course, it helps when you’ve got Disney’s bottomless pockets bankrolling you and the prior knowledge that, no matter the end product’s quality, the Star Wars name alone is enough to guarantee box office returns; yet this shouldn’t distract from how bad things once looked for the film’s production.

Following the unceremonious dumping of original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, an eleventh hour hiring of Ron Howard, extensive and expensive reshoots, and departing cast members; the movie looked doomed. Any one of these issues alone could easily derail a film. Yet together? Well, surely this had disaster written all over it? Far from it.

Despite masterminding his escape from Corellia, young ‘scrumrat’ and aspiring pilot, Han (Alden Ehrenreich), is left devastated when his partner, Qi’ra (Emilia Clarke), is captured and forced to stay. Venturing deeper and deeper into the murky recesses of the galaxy’s criminal underbelly, Han joins forces with a band of outlaws, including future comrades Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), to attain the ship and the cash he needs to return and save his true love. With his destiny set, the galaxy’s unlikeliest hero must embrace who he truly is in order to survive.

Right now, we appear to be at something of a crossroads for Star Wars, as Solo arrives at a rather awkward time for the entire franchise. After the nostalgia-fuelled fun of The Force Awakens and the novelty of Rogue One, the stage appeared set for The Last Jedi to steal the show, yet something, somewhere went a bit awry.

While many enjoyed The Last Jedi (myself included), there were just as many who didn’t, leaving us in a situation not seen since the prequels, with cracks forming in the usually solid Star Wars fan base. The fallout has left fans divided which, together with the lingering hostility towards a prequel many saw as pointless, makes Solo appear like an overenthusiastic plus-one at a party, arriving just after a massive argument. The edginess in the air is palpable and no one really invited him, yet his determination to enjoy himself is hard not to admire.

For all the impressive operatics and grandiosity, there have been points when the Star Wars saga has ventured a little too close to self-importance for its own good, yet it’s a testament to the franchise’s fundamental qualities that the films are so often able to step back and have a good laugh when necessary. It’s what made the original trilogy work so well, yet, conversely, what made the prequel trilogy such a slog, as it took itself far too seriously.

After the intense drama, deaths, and ramped-up stakes of recent efforts; Solo feels like the franchise fully embracing its fun-loving side once again, reminding us why Star Wars remains such a unique and special cinema-going experience.

Ditching all the bells and whistles of the core Star Wars story, Solo embraces its myopic focus, preferring to avoid the bombast usually associated with the franchise for something far more personal. By dialling the scale down a few notches, Solo takes a no nonsense approach to its adventure that, while stripped back, isn’t afraid to get a little freaky when needed, as it ventures into the quirkier crevices of the galaxy.

Although it’s not scared to go dark when called upon, Solo is, at heart, the kind of light-hearted romp that embraces many of Star Wars’s greatest elements, while acting as the perfect embodiment of its titular character. Largely free from the constraints of the mainline Star Wars narrative, Solo is left free to embrace its inner space scoundrel and its carefree, roguish charm is positively infectious.

With Solo, as with any prequel, however, it’s hard to avoid the elephant in the room, as we travel along a preordained path, towards a fixed point in time. Of course, we don’t quite know how we’ll arrive at that point exactly, which is all part of the fun, yet the fact that we know what’s coming at all is enough to dull the excitement a tad, as the film makes its way methodically down a Han Solo to-do list, ticking things off one by one.

There are so many elements to the Han we first met back at the cantina in A New Hope that work precisely because of their mystery and to take that away is a real shame. In all honesty, did we really need to know the origin of his golden dice, name, or how he made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs? Probably not.

As a thief, smuggler, scoundrel, and serial blagger; Han Solo is up there with the likes of The Joker in cinematic mystique. Taking away this enigmatic nature means taking away a key ingredient of what makes the character tick and, no matter how well the film pulls it all off, there’s a definite tinge of sadness to knowing that these secrets are now out of the bag.

Of all the characters in cinema history, few are more iconic than Han Solo. Through the writing of Lawrence Kasdan and the singular performance of Harrison Ford, he has become perhaps one of the most recognisable figures in popular culture. With this in mind, it was always going to be an uphill battle to make a prequel work, however, the end result is perhaps the best anyone could’ve hoped for.

Key to this is the safe hands of Kasdan who, along with his son, Jonathan, brings a deep, profound affection for the character that stretches all the way back to The Empire Strikes Back. Solo has felt like a pet project for the screenwriter since it was first announced and he alone ensures that everything about this iteration of Han Solo feels authentic and as respectful to the original as possible, while offering just enough to freshen things up a bit.

To his credit, Ron Howard does as solid a job as ever in bringing this young Han to life. It’s a shame things didn’t work out with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as their free-wheeling style would’ve certainly added some welcome sparkle to proceedings; however, Howard has always been one of Hollywood’s steadiest practitioners and, while his name will hardly get pulses racing, it’s hard to argue with his proficiency in docking a ship that looked set for a crash landing.

Unsurprisingly, it’s upon the shoulders of the film’s eponymous hero that Solo lives or dies and, while the decision to tackle one of the most iconic characters in cinema history is certainly brave, it leaves young Alden Ehrenreich absolutely nowhere to hide.

As tough as it sounds, you have to go into Solo without the image of Harrison Ford in your head. While Ford in inextricably linked with the character, it’s important to approach Solo from as neutral perspective as possible, divorcing yourself from any preconceived notions of who Han is and who you expect Ehrenreich to be; because, no matter how hard he tries, this isn’t quite the Han we know.

Thankfully for all involved, Solo doesn’t disintegrate into a two-hour long impression from Ehrenreich and, to the actor’s credit, he does a fantastic job of evoking the cantankerous spirit of Ford’s Han Solo without tripping over into pastiche. For obvious reasons, his performance doesn't quite touching the original, yet it’s more than strong enough to stand on its own two feet.

As we rewind the clock from the jaded figure we met in the original trilogy, this is a far more naïve, carefree, and emotionally receptive version of Han and Ehrenreich plays this to a tee; showcasing the sweet, lovable charm that turned heads with his scene-stealing performance in Hail, Caesar!. It’s all a far cry from the hard-nosed rebel we’ve grown up with, yet the attention to detail and dedication from all involved ensure that this is fundamentally the character we know and love.

Integral to any Han Solo story, Lando Calrissian may not be as iconic as his friend/enemy but that doesn’t make him any less important to the Star Wars mythos. In many ways, the character always had the potential to outshine anyone and everyone he shared a stage with and that was frequently the case whenever the effortlessly magnetic Billy Dee Williams would glide onto the screen.

In the shape of the outrageously talented Donald Glover, Lando has once again stolen the show with a brand of charm and chilled out charisma that can’t be faked. In another step towards all-out world domination, Glover grabs the baton from Williams and runs with it, as he struts his stuff, cloak and all, around an impressively fresh Millennium Falcon like he owns the joint. Which, in all honesty, he does.

In a film of solid, if unspectacular, performances from the likes of Woody Harrelson, Emelia Clark, and Paul Bettany (although the latter puts in a suitably campy turn as the villainous Dryden Vos); Glover, together with his droid companion, L3-37 (wonderfully brought to life by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), brings a level of cool and style that’s otherwise missing amidst the film’s somewhat vanilla palette. After such an impressive, scene-stealing performance, it’s surely only a matter of time before Donald Glover starts landing those lead roles his abundant talents warrant.

Glover feels like something of an anomaly in a film that, for all its endeavour and spirit, feels rather unspectacular. As perhaps a natural reflection of Ron Howard’s Steady Eddie approach to directing, Solo never quite hits the heights we know Star Wars is capable of.

In many ways, Solo is as ordinary as a Star Wars film has the potential to get, with a narrative that goes nowhere new and plot points that feel far too predictable, yet there’s something rather liberating about the whole experience, despite its relatively conservative approach. Free of Jedis, Skywalkers, and Death Stars; Solo is able to stretch its legs a little, as it branches out into parts of the galaxy we’re yet to visit.

Built around a string of thrilling action set pieces and with free reign to get a little weird with its characters and locations, Solo feels like a prototype for what the franchise could potentially be after Episode IX. Although it sounds counterintuitive to expand your universe by looking inwards at the well-worn characters you already have at your disposal, there’s certainly an energy, quirkiness, and daring spirit to Solo that could serve Star Wars well with brand new adventures, as we head deeper into that galaxy far, far away.

Amidst all the hiring, firing, and extensive reshoots; many had Solo pegged as DOA, so the fact it not only made it, but is as downright fun as it is, has to be considered a success. With an inflated budget, overtly superfluous feel, and the shaky atmosphere among Star Wars fans; Solo will have its work cut out to turn a decent profit, yet, as a slice of enjoyable, no nonsense blockbuster cinema that both honours and celebrates its iconic protagonist, the film does its job perfectly. No one really asked for it but, now it’s finally here, it’s hard to deny Solo its hard-earned place in the upper end of the Star Wars pantheon.