It’s hard to avoid the endless stream of Hollywood rumors touting troubled productions, potential reboots, nine-film contracts, and embittered directors that makes its way from Los Angeles, California to the weird little “trending” box next to your news feed. Now that our films are bigger and more connected than ever, we like to know what’s up on the set of, for example, the 19^th and most expensive entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This constant access to information means that we’re spending more time anticipating films than we could ever spend watching them. Hollywood’s 21^st-century marketing machines make sure that their next blockbusters will be in your face from the Super Bowl until Christmas. Some of these movies are starting to feel the weight of their overexposure.

The latest and most public film to suffer from a swirl of Hollywood drama is “Solo: A Star Wars Story”. It started early. Harrison Ford was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” saying “Don’t do it!” before Alden Ehrenreich was even cast as Han Solo. The film’s original directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, claim to have auditioned a thousand actors to play the titular character before settling on Alden Ehrenreich, who was the first guy to audition. They apparently auditioned at least 999 other actors to play one of American cinema’s most iconic characters with a desperate hope that they could find someone better than the kid who went first. Things got even worse once the cameras started rolling. In June of last year, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were replaced by Ron Howard following reported concerns from Lucasfilm over the tone and style of the film. Around the same time, rumors circulated that studio president Kathleen Kennedy was also unsatisfied with Ehrenreich’s performance and had hired a last-minute acting coach to salvage his performance. In less than a year, the narrator from "Arrested Development" scrapped and reshot as much as seventy-percent of a $250 million Disney movie[1]. The Frankenstein’s monster of a spin-off that nobody asked for hit theaters over Memorial Day weekend. It’s not doing great.

The actual movie may have been lost in the hoopla. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” is a galaxy-trotting, Kessel-running adventure worthy of Han Solo’s swashbuckling reputation. It’s a popcorn seller that audiences should find refreshing just five months after the divisive-but-ultimately-much-more-successful premiere of “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”[2]. It’s not going to break any box office records, but it also isn’t going to make you think about Marry Poppins at the worst possible time. It might take you the better part of the film’s bloated 2hr 15min runtime to accept it, but Alden Ehrenreich makes the most of his turn as the dashing rogue with a heart of coaxium.

The cast of characters is what keeps “Solo” afloat when the pacing starts to drag. Emilia Clarke is a pleasant surprise and earns back some of the goodwill she may have torched after stepping into the “Terminator” franchise. Her acting is more engaging and complex than anything she’s done thus far on “Game of Thrones”. Woody Harrelson’s Tobias Beckett dishes out life advice and gunspinning in equal parts. His performance is business-as-usual and gives some necessary experience to a cast of young actors. People are going to be watching Donald Glover closely in a performance as Lando Calrissian that’s been getting hyped ever since we saw his mustache on The Tonight Show. Just remember that a. it’s totally unfair to ask anyone to do a Billy Dee Williams impression for that long and b. there’s nothing wrong with being in love with your favorite artificial intelligence[3]. But if you’re going to use the bathroom, do it early. “Solo: A Star Wars Story” suffers from the same dragging first half that’s been plaguing big-budget movies for the better part of a decade. I won’t go as far as to call it boring, but we all know where the movie is going and it still takes its time to get there. There’s also a strong insinuation that Chewbacca eats people. I would just like to say that I found that very concerning.

For the fourth “Star Wars” film in 3.5 years, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” feels a little bit more like Harrison Ford’s second blockbuster franchise, “Indiana Jones”. Save for one scene that will have fans more dedicated than myself checking their “Star Wars: Rebels” timelines, there is a merciful absence of the Force. And despite its troubled production, “Solo: A Star Wars Story” should rank near the top of the franchise’s revival in terms of sheer enjoyment. Don’t let the rumor mill steer you away from a nice way to spend too much money at the movie theater.

[1] This means that somewhere on the editing room floor is a Han Solo movie by the same guys who brought you “21 Jump Street” and “The LEGO Movie”.

[2] No one asked, but I hated it.

[3] I can’t believe we’re getting closer and closer to a serious conversation about human-A.I. romance.