I’ve been trying to finish Solo: A Star Wars Story for over a year now. Here’s the drill.

The first step to watching Solo is experiencing extreme boredom. Once I am extremely bored I always manifest the idea: “I’m going to watch Solo today.” There are usually three places I end up stopping; after the train heist (which is the best part of the movie), when they reach Kessel, or during the Kessel Run. If I make it past the Kessel Run sequence I’ll finish the movie.

When I watched Solo for the first time in theaters three years ago I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was actually pretty entertaining. But after subsequent viewings I began to dislike the movie more and more.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad. In fact, it’s a solid Star Wars movie. But there is one common denominator that makes it a challenge to finish (and enjoy) this movie…and that is Alden Ehrenreich.

From the first leaked set photos of Ehrenreich sporting the “Han Solo” hairstyle I had a bad feeling. After watching the film, I tried to convince myself that he was a worthy choice to play the lovable smuggler. But that’s just it. He’s not that likable in the role.

I don’t mind him not looking like Harrison Ford. No one was expecting a Ford lookalike (Harrison Ford has one of the most iconic, unique faces of anyone in Hollywood) but what I was expecting was an actor who could take the role, make it his own, and make me actually like his rendition of the character.

Take Donald Glover for example. He doesn’t exactly look like Billy Dee Williams but he takes the core values of Lando Calrissian and puts his own swagger to the role.

There’s a reason why we’re getting a Lando Disney+ series and that #MakeSolo2Happen campaign is falling on deaf ears.

Ehrenreich’s portrayal of Han Solo becomes more and more blatantly cringe-worthy with every viewing. Whether I’m noticing the hairstyle that just doesn’t fit him, the clear attempt at trying to emulate the Han Solo we know and failing, or the simple fact that this Han is supposed to be 21-years-old but Ehrenreich clearly looks like he’s pushing 30.

There’s something disingenuous about Ehrenreich’s version of the character that distracts from the overall enjoyment of the movie. Maybe Phil Lord and Christopher Miller saw something different in him and were going to utilize his talents in a unique way. I remember, before Kathleen Kennedy fired the directors 75% into filming, hearing rumors milling that their version of Solo felt like Ace Ventura. Who knows? Maybe that would’ve been better. Or maybe that would’ve been a very, very bad idea to pursue.

All in all, there’s a reason we haven’t any news about that follow-up Solo sequel or even a Disney+ series. At the end of the day, the best and most interesting characters in the film was everyone else but Han.

Hence the reason why it was a chore to finish Solo the other day.

I did reach the end and when I did I was elated. I couldn’t believe it. In over a year I had finally gotten to the credits of that movie. It was like an accomplishment…which feels sad when I say it because this is a Star Wars movie. It shouldn’t be that hard to finish a film in one of my favorite franchises.

But it’s the truth. There’s a reason why Solo is the lowest-grossing Star Wars movie of all time. It really was never that appealing. In fact, if I wasn’t a die-hard Star Wars fan, I wouldn’t have gone to see this movie on my birthday three years ago. But I did because what the heck. And I liked it…that first time. But now I just stare at it.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a fantastic day.