No one epitomizes the word "cool" the way Han Solo does. When I first saw Star Wars, I did not admire anyone in the movie the way I admired Han Solo. His best friend and co-pilot was an enormous Wookie, he had an awesomely named ship, and the snark that rolled off of him was palpable. He was suave, and yet, at the same time, he was good-hearted. He may not have worn his good intentions on his sleeve, but we all knew that deep down, Han Solo was a good guy.

Solo: A Star Wars Story holds on to that idea in a story about the beginnings of our favorite scoundrel. I know there might be some of you (there might be a lot of you) who are apprehensive about watching this movie. Many of my friends were hesitant about coming with me to see the movie because they felt this preemptive certainty that Solo was going to be bad. I'm fond of nearly any movie, good or bad, so I'm not the best sharp-tongued critic ever to talk about movie. So while I can't tell you if Solo was the greatest movie ever, I can tell you that I had a ton of fun watching it. Enjoyment gripped me from the beginning of the movie and didn't let go until the end.

As with any movie to grace a screen, Solo is not without some less than sensible moments. There were head-scratching, brain-puzzling story bits that almost made me forget what a fantastic time I was having watching Han and Chewie in the Millennium Falcon. Read on if you want to check out some of Solo's nonsensical moments. But caution... there are going to be MAJOR spoilers for the movie here. You have been warned.

25 No Seriously: How Did Darth Maul Survive?

I saw the Star Wars cartoon television series, The Clone Wars, way after the episodes had premiered on television. There is a distinct possibility that I might have not taken the effort to watch those episodes. If I hadn't decided to check them out, I would have gone my whole Star Wars-watching life without knowing what happened in that show. As such, I am positive there are many people who haven't seen the show, and thus, were supremely confused about the surprise appearance of an old villain at the end of Solo. I have seen The Clone Wars, and I know that Darth Maul survived his fall on Naboo. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

How in the galaxy did this fool survive?! He was sliced and then tossed down what looked like a never-ending reactor shaft. Are you telling me he survived being separated from many of his body's parts? Are you telling me he survived a drop that should have seen him on the floors and walls of that shaft? Solo has confirmed it for us all. Darth Maul did indeed make it out of that troublesome situation and is now the leader of a criminal syndicate known as Crimson Dawn.

This cinematic surprise can be laid at the feet of The Clone Wars, but I'm still going to point fingers at Solo.

First Leia surviving the cold vacuum of space in The Last Jedi, now Darth Maul making it through the ultimate dismemberment. Is there anything the Force can't do?

24 How Can Han Solo Speak Perfect Wookie?

It's clear from the beginning of Han Solo's solo movie that all he really wants is to get himself and his pal Qi'ra off of Corellia. As youngsters, the two of them work for this sinister character named Lady Proxima. She is a disgusting thing. Proxima looks like a snakey worm-creature, and she resides in a watery pool within the sewers, which is where she rules from. Don't ask me how she managed to remain in power if she can't leave that moist pit. It's pretty obvious that both Han and Qi'ra have spent most of their lives living on the worst side of Corellia. It makes sense that their big dream is to get on a ship and to fly away to other planets that they've never been to before.

But if Han has spent his entire life on Corellia, how does he know how to speak Wookie (also known as Shyriiwook)? Later on, after enlisting in the Imperial Army, Han meets Chewie in a muddy cage. Han is sent to that cage as a punishment, and Chewie was supposed to be the punishment. The two of them are able to communicate with each other because they both understand each other's languages. Han even tries to talk in Wookie to Chewie, to hilarious effect. It makes for a funny scene, but it doesn't explain how a street rat like Han picked up a language other than Basic. Han must be lucky indeed if the one language he learned while living in sewers was the one language that would earn him his best friend in the entire world.

23 If Lando Will Help, Why Bother With The Game?

Solo's story revolves around Han's need to steal some coaxium for a crime lord named Dryden Vos. Han forms a small team with Tobias Beckett, Qi'ra, and Chewie. The plan is to steal unrefined coaxium from Kessel and then rush it over to the planet Savareen, where the coaxium can be refined. (In case you're wondering, coaxium is the name for hyperfuel, which powers starships and lets them go to light speed.) Unrefined coaxium doesn't last long at room temperatures. Without being kept in colder conditions, the coaxium starts to break down and the end result of that can be very explosive. That's why Han and his crew need a truly fast ship in order to take the fuel from Kessel to Savareen in the shortest amount of time possible.

Enter Lando Calrissian and his ship the Millennium Falcon.

The Millennium Falcon is reputedly very fast, and Han's bright idea is to try and win the ship from Lando Calrissian in a game of Sabacc. Sabacc is a betting card game that plays very similarly to poker. Han fails to win the game since Lando cheats at the end, but Qi'ra later simply asks Lando if they can use his ship and he agrees for a part of the profits. If it was that easy to get Lando's help, why did they even bother with that Sabacc game? Qi'ra should have stopped Han from making a fool of himself and just insisted that she could deal with Lando herself.

22 Why Does Chewie Choose Han Over His Own Kind?

Of all the things I was looking forward to seeing in Solo, the one I was most excited to witness was the beginning of Han and Chewbacca's friendship. Since the first Star Wars movie, the two of them have been closer than peanut butter and jelly. Any fan of Star Wars would look forward to seeing that burgeoning partnership. Solo delivers, showing us the moment when Han and Chewie first met in prison and how they escaped by working together. After that, their closeness only continues to grow. Both of them were kind of like cast-offs, but they had plans to use whatever money they earned from their heists to achieve their respective goals.

When the pair make it to Kessel, where they're going to steal some coaxium and finally get themselves some cash, Chewie runs into some enslaved Wookies. He goes off by himself to help them with Han's blessing. However, when Han and his crew are escaping the planet, Chewie makes the decision to stick with the young smuggler instead of going off with his fellow Wookies. Han and Chewie had clearly formed a friendship with each other, but they had only known each other for a couple of days. Was that enough to merit Chewie choosing a man who is essentially a stranger over his own kin? Don't get me wrong. Han is cool and all, but Chewie expressly stated (in Wookie) that he wanted to find his family. But he just ends up abandoning them to help Han.

21 How Does That Creature Even Live?

Star Wars has had its fair share of ridiculous monsters. The giant space slug in The Empire Strikes Back was unbelievable to behold, and the Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine was vaguely terrifying. But I think Solo has topped all other monsters in sheer absurdity. The planet Kessel is apparently obstructed by a giant mass of cosmic clouds. There is only one, surefire path to get to Kessel safely. If you were to try and forge your own path through the clouds, you might find yourself smashed by a random asteroid or...eaten by a giant monster?! That's right. Giant monsters can exist in space. The space slug is not the only behemoth found in the deep reaches of the galaxy.

Han and everyone on the Falcon encounter this large creature with tentacles and a mouth ringed with sharp teeth just drifting in the clouds around Kessel. How does this creature exist? Does it breathe? And why was it so close to the Maw, a giant black hole-esque celestial body that glowed an eerie red color? The Millennium Falcon has to navigate between the tentacles of the creature and avoid getting sucked into the Maw at the same time, all while the clock on the coaxium they're carrying is ticking. Han ends up tricking the monster into getting sucked into the Maw itself. Well, if the monster lives in the weird space clouds, wouldn't it know about the Maw and its dangers? And wouldn't it have known not to get too close to the Maw? The whole monster segment was insane.

20 Did They Really Need To Explain This?

This is perhaps one of the biggest mistakes the Star Wars universe has to its name. Okay, maybe not the biggest, but definitely one of the most long-lasting mistakes in the Star Wars universe. Han Solo is known, in both the original trilogy and in his new solo movie, to say that he completed the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. Whenever he says this, he makes it sound like a parsec is a measure of time. It's like someone saying that they've run a mile in less than three minutes. However, in reality, a parsec is a measure of distance. One parsec is a little longer than three light-years. So Han boasting that he did the Kessel Run in twelve parsecs is like me proudly declaring I completed the one-mile race in one mile.

After seeing Solo: A Star Wars Story, I do agree that completing the Kessel Run at all seems like a feat worthy of pride. There were giant space monsters trying to eat Han and his ship, chunks of asteroids flying everywhere, and a large hole rippling in the fabric of space that sucked in anything that got too close. So boast away about surviving the Kessel Run, Han. But how about instead of incorrectly using the wording of it all, you just say that you went up against Cthulhu's cousin and lived to tell about it. That makes for a way more interesting story than merely saying you flew the Run in twelve parsecs.

19 Why Do The Pros Risk Everything?

Every young hero needs a mentor. In A New Hope, Luke's mentor is old Ben Kenobi. Kenobi teaches Luke about the ways of the Force and imparts what quiet wisdom he can in the short amount of time he had with young Skywalker. In Solo, Han gets his own mentor in the form of Tobias Beckett, a smuggler working for the crime syndicate called Crimson Dawn. Han first meets Beckett on the war-torn planet of Mimban. Beckett is leading a crew of two other smugglers on a heist to steel some coaxium from an Imperial train. Before they can go to this train and steal the coaxium, the smugglers need to get themselves a ship to carry the coaxium away.

That is why the smugglers are on Mimban at all; they had to sneak away with a ship. They're pretending to be Imperial soldiers in order to steal said ship. I may not be the smartest book on the shelf, but surely there are better ways to get yourselves a ship than going to a war zone for it. Mimban's surface was scarred with trenches and blaster-fire. There was a very real possibility that Beckett and his crew could have gotten themselves injured while there. Should they have risked that? Surely, as a gang of cunning criminals, they could have gotten themselves a ship somewhere a little safer.

18 Right-Hand Woman? Or Something Else...

I have to admit, I'm so used to hearing and seeing Paul Bettany as the hero Vision in the Avengers, it took a little getting used to seeing him as the villain in Solo: A Star Wars Story. The scars on his face and the reddish tint to his eyeballs helped in that regard at least. Bettany plays new villain, Dryden Vos. Vos is one of the leaders of Crimson Dawn. (I adore these names that these criminals give their criminal enterprises. So cute.) When Tobias Beckett and Han Solo convince Vos to give them a second chance in stealing some coaxium, Vos allows them that chance. He does, however, send his lieutenant, Qi'ra, along with them.

The relationship between Vos and Qi'ra seems very odd.

On the one hand, Vos is clearly Qi'ra's superior. She has his personal symbol seared on her wrist, and she appears subservient to him whenever they're near each other. On the other hand, Qi'ra is called his second-in-command and he refers to her as someone he trusts. This makes his decision to send her with Beckett and Han all the more perplexing. If he doesn't trust her, he is sending three people he doesn't trust to get something vitally important for him. If he does trust her, he is sending her into a dangerous situation that she may not survive. You know, I really do enjoy these movies where you're not entirely sure who is the good guy and who is the bad guy, but I'm not always sure of the motivations behind any character's actions. Vos is either really idiotic or really cruel. Maybe he's a bit of both?

17 A Ridiculous Change Of Heart

Beckett's first attempt to steal coaxium for Dryden Vos is foiled by the appearance of a mysterious figure in a mask. This person, known only as Enfys Nest, swings in right when Han and Beckett's gang are about to make away with the coaxium. Beckett's plan to take the coaxium involves traveling to the icy world of Vandor and hoisting a cart off of a speeding train. Nest and Nest's group of Marauders stop Beckett's plan, leading to the demise of two members of Beckett's crew, Val and Rio Durant.

This lets the audience know that Enfys Nest meant business.

Near the end of the movie, it is revealed that Nest is a young girl looking to join the Rebellion against the Empire. She was trying to steal the coaxium to take it to the Rebels, who could make good use of that hyperfuel. She approaches Han, Beckett, Qi'ra, and Chewie after they obtain their second batch of coaxium. She removes her creepy mask and tells them that they are not on opposing sides and that they can resolve their dispute peacefully. Exsqueeze me? Where was this peaceful disposition when Han and the others were taking the coaxium on Vandor? While Enfys Nest and her Marauders were attacking the convoy, they actually shot Beckett's pilot, Rio Durant, down. Nest calling herself and Beckett allies is as logical as a cat sidling up to a mouse and saying they are the best of buddies.

16 Come On, Really? Best Pilot In The Galaxy Makes No Sense...

Despite being one of the criminals in Tobias Beckett's group, Rio Durant seemed like a cool dude. Durant was an Ardennian pilot, so he was in charge of the flying portion of Beckett's plan to steal some coaxium on Vandor. Han Solo kind of reminded me of Luke Skywalker during Solo because he kept begging Durant to have a chance to pilot the ship. He was the Eager McBeaver of the group this time around. During the heist on Vandor, Durant gets injured by the Marauders, and unfortunately, the wound is fatal. This unhappy incident gives Han the chance, however, to prove himself a capable pilot.

Han clambers onto the pilot's seat while Durant struggles to nurse his wound. Then all Han has to do is fly the ship in a straight line over the train tracks as Chewie and Beckett hook up one segment of the train to the ship. As his life drains away, Rio Durant manages to look at Han and weakly murmur that Han is, in fact, a great pilot. When Durant said this, it caused me to crinkle my eyebrows in disbelief.

Sure, Han was doing a great job of piloting the ship in a straight line.

I may not know how to fly a ship, but I think that flying it in a straight line is not a great display of piloting skills. Rio must have been hallucinating that Han was doing epic dodges and exhilarating flips instead of just cruising along horizontal to the train tracks.

15 It Takes Nothing To Convince Lady Proxima

If I was stuck working for Lady Proxima within the sewers of Corellia, I would do everything in my power to escape that life, just like Han and Qi'ra. However, I would like to think that I would come up with a better plan than the one they came up with. Han stole a speeder that the two of them could use to cruise their way to Corellia's space port. He also stole a bit of coaxium as well, which is extremely valuable, in order to use it as a bribe for the Imperial officer at the space port gates to allow their admission. And that's it. A stolen ship and a stolen piece of coaxium were all Han and Qi'ra collected to ensure their freedom.

I'm no brainiac, but caution is something I'm not averse to. Did Han and Qi'ra really think that a single bribe would be enough to ensure they got off the planet? So many things could have gone wrong with their "plan." (So many things did go wrong with their plan.) When they reached the space port, only Qi'ra seemed to show any sign of sensibility when she hesitated to just hand over the coaxium immediately. Qi'ra knew that once the coaxium was gone from her hands, there was nothing that guaranteed the officer at the gate would let them through. Qi'ra even tried to have the officer open the gate before the coaxium was given. That's the only good sense Han and Qi'ra showed while escaping. Alas, they were young and desperate for freedom.

14 Bringing Newcomers Along For A Crucial Heist ...

As Beckett later reveals to Han, stealing the coaxium from Vandor was more than a simple cash grab. Beckett and his group had been hired by the syndicate Crimson Dawn to obtain that coaxium. By failing to steal it, Beckett was placed in a very precarious position with Crimson Dawn. As a matter of fact, Beckett's life was on the line. Beckett knew what was at stake when he took the job, how could he not? He was appropriately fearful of not just Dryden Vos, the man in charge of Crimson Dawn, but of Darth Maul as well, the man who was Vos' superior. If Beckett knew what was on the line for this job, you have to question his decision to hire Han Solo and Chewbacca without properly vetting them.

Val, Beckett's partner, was wary of bringing Han and Chewie along, and she did not hesitate to let Beckett know of her concerns. But Beckett dismissed her advice. We as the audience know that Han and Chewie are trustworthy, but Beckett had no way of knowing that. Plus, Beckett looks like he's spent most of his life dealing with the criminal underworld. That should make him more likely to distrust strangers. Instead, he allows Han and Chewie to tag along on this big heist that truly impacted Beckett's future. If the job was that important, newcomers should have been one giant no-no.

13 The Spice Mines Are Feeling Salty

Han comes up with the idea to nick some coaxium from the spice mines of Kessel. After Beckett fails to nab the coaxium on Vandor, he's in hot water with Crimson Dawn, the crime syndicate that really had a hankering for the stuff. Han helps to bail him out by coming up with this awesome plan to steal unrefined coaxium from Kessel and then rushing it over to Savareen to be processed. There were concerns about the dangers of stealing from Kessel because the mines there are owned by another criminal group, the Pyke Syndicate. Since their spices and coaxium are such valuable commodities, the amount of security the planet has would be immense.

However, is it just me, or did it seem a tad too easy to infiltrate Kessel and steal the coaxium? The way that everybody talks about hyperfuel, it makes you think that coaxium is the most sought-after item in the galaxy. If that's the case, there should have been no way that Qi'ra, Han, Chewie, Lando, L3, and Beckett could have waltzed onto Kessel and stolen it. Qi'ra and L3 pretended to be selling Han and Chewie as workers for the mines, and for some reason, that was just allowed. No one was searched thoroughly, and Qi'ra and L3 were led directly to the control center of the mines. Honestly, the Pyke Syndicate deserves to have their coaxium stolen if their security was so lax.

12 Space: The Final Frontier

At some point, all of the nifty places we visit in the Star Wars universe were unexplored. When we visit Yavin 4, we can see by the temples that a civilization once resided there. When we travel to Naboo, the beauty of the capital city of Theed lets us know that the people of Naboo have dedicated themselves to constructing such architecture. I actually wonder sometimes (when I'm just chillaxing on a nice summer's day) about the first people who made it to these planets, the first explorers who began the slow process of creating cultures. Never before have I wondered about first-timers as when I saw the Kessel run in Solo: A Star Wars Story. 

The route to Kessel is completely overrun by these space clouds, and there is only one safe path to take to Kessel. If you stray from the path, odds are you're not going to survive your little deviation. Little lights have been set along the tunnel through the clouds, guiding ships along until they reach Kessel. It's visually exciting, but I really have to wonder how in the world the first people who ever discovered Kessel made that path. Was it just a series of trial-and-error flights through the clouds until the entire path was laid? Did any of them ever run into the Maw? Did any of them ever run into the Cthulhu monster that lives near the Maw?

11 The Sniffers Don't Actually Smell Anything...

When Han and Qi'ra tried to make their escape from Corellia, Lady Proxima sent some of her people after them. (I seriously wish there were pictures of Lady Proxima available right now. You have no idea how hideous this water-monster is.) The people Proxima sent after Han and Qi'ra took with them some dog-like creatures. I'm using the term "dog-like" very broadly. I love dogs, and these things looked nothing like dogs. However, from what I could tell, their purpose was similar to the purpose humans use hounds for when on a hunt. The critters were these slavering, growling animals that scrabbled against their cages to be released in pursuit of the fleeing Han and Qi'ra.

Eventually, Proxima's people and these alien hounds follow the two kids to Corellia's space port. But once they're there, the alien hounds don't actually sniff out the runaways. They appear like they're tracking Han and Qi'ra, but they don't actually do anything to find them. I can tell that some good old doggos from Earth would have had more skill in locating the elusive kids. Well, I didn't want Han or Qi'ra to be caught by Proxima's people. I'm just saying that Proxima's pseudo-dogs could have been more effective. Those alien hounds were just around for show; they were only meant to look scary.

10 That's A Ridiculous Way For Han To Get His Name...

Even though we had barely met the young Han and Qi'ra, it was still heartbreaking to watch them get separated at the Corellian space port. After bribing the person at the gate, Han makes it through the gate, but the it shuts before Qi'ra can follow him. Proxima's people come to take Qi'ra away, and all Han can do is watch helplessly as they drag Qi'ra back to the sewer hole she had just escaped from. Afterwards, the Imperials begin combing the space port, searching for someone without a proper ID, namely Han.

Han has nowhere to turn to except for an Imperial drafting stand.

In the space port, there's this randomly placed center for Imperials to recruit fresh meat for the Imperial Academy. Those who enter the Academy have the chance of joining the Imperial Navy and becoming a pilot. Han's plan then becomes enlisting so he can become a pilot and then return for Qi'ra once he can fly. The man at the enlistment center asks for Han's name when Han says he wants to join. Han doesn't have a last name, so the recruitment officer calls him Han Solo. First of all, is this really the story of how Han Solo got his name? An Imperial gave it to him? Second of all, the standards for the Imperial Navy must have really sunk low if they're picking up runaways with no surnames. It's a wonder Qi'ra and Han didn't try to enlist before as a means of escaping Corellia.

9 The Best Laid Plans

Enfys Nest's attack on Beckett and his group should not have been as disastrous as it was. When Nest and her Marauders tried to steal the coaxium Beckett was taking right out from under him, she indirectly caused the demise of Val and directly caused the demise of Rio Durant. It was almost as if Beckett was caught with his pants down. Well, he shouldn't have been! The night before and the morning of the heist, Val, Beckett's partner, warned him that Enfys Nest might make an appearance while they were stealing the coaxium. And Val wasn't being jokey or anything like that when she mentioned this to Beckett.

Val was being serious about the threat that Enfys Nest posed.

But did Beckett listen? No, not really. Did he adjust his plan in any way that could have helped prepare his team for Enfys Nest's arrival? No, he did not, unless you count bringing along two newbies on the heist. Beckett had a clear warning from his crew member about a possible danger and he had his own common sense to listen to, but he did nothing to change his plans accordingly. Beckett has no one to blame but himself for how things went south. That punch he threw Han Solo's way, once all was said and done, was totally uncalled for. He should have aimed his fist at his own face.

8 Droid Rights

It's not a Star Wars movie unless there's a lovable droid companion along for the ride. In the original and prequel trilogies, it was R2-D2 and C-3PO. In the new sequels, we got to meet the delightful BB-8. In Rogue One, we met the dry yet endearing K-2SO. In Solo: A Star Wars Story, we got L3-37. L3 was unlike any other droid we had met before. Most of the droids we meet, including the ones with a lot of spunk and verve in their mechanical torsos, are completely subservient to the humans they follow.

L3 is a wholly different kind of machine.

L3 speaks out loudly and proudly for droid rights, and she refuses to conform to the typical role most droids take. As with most of the Star Wars droids we meet, she's very likable. But what makes no sense is how a droid like her ended up with a man like Lando. In Lando's early life, we can see that he's mostly concerned about his own welfare. Lando and moral principles are not on close terms, which is what makes his relationship with L3 seem so strange. L3 is all about those moral principles. She follows her heart and soul more than her brain. Having those two as partners is like having Emperor Palpatine and Jedi Master Yoda declaring they're the best of friends. It just doesn't make sense.

7 Ahead Of The Curve

Tobias Beckett imparts advice and a smuggler's wisdom to Han over the course of the movie. Since a lot of us watching Solo know the kind of person that Han Solo ends up becoming, we can see the ways in which Beckett instructed Han and the ways in which Han remained largely himself. One of the ways in which Han remains himself is that he is still essentially a good guy. Beckett ends up betraying Han, showing that the only person Beckett truly cares for is himself.

Han comes up with a plan to help the Marauders-turned-Rebels and stop Crimson Dawn from obtaining some coaxium. He lets Beckett in on the plan, and Beckett ends up telling Dryden Vos, the leader of Crimson Dawn, what Han planned. But, as it turns out, Han suspected Beckett's treachery and had counted on it. He told Beckett a false plan. I applaud Han for his foresight, but what if Beckett hadn't betrayed him? If Beckett had not gone to Dryden Vos with the information, the entirety of Han's real plan would have failed. Han's plan actually counted on Beckett betraying him. It seems like a mighty big gamble to take, especially when more than one life is on the line. And, sadly enough, the rest of the movie had not shown Han to be as smart as he should be to plan a move like that.

6 Friends To The End?

Mimban did not seem like a fun place. Three years after Han Solo escaped the sewers of Corellia and enlisted in the Imperial Academy, he was sent to the war-torn planet of Mimban. He was just a regular infantryman, so he was right there in the thick of things. It almost felt like a scene right out of the beginning of Saving Private Ryan (though less bloody, of course). It's while a battle is raging that Han first meets Beckett, Val, and Rio Durant. The three of them are the only ones calmly navigating their way through the fighting, and Han can tell right off the bat that these three are no ordinary soldiers.

Han knows they're smugglers right on sight.

He gets it into his head that he must join up with them if he's ever to escape life as a grunt for the Imperials. Look, I'm all for jumping at opportunities that fall into your lap, but these smugglers clearly wanted nothing to do with Han and they were completely untrustworthy. They even had Han sent into confinement by telling an Imperial officer he was trying to desert. Yet even after this move, Han still wanted to meet up with them. I wanted to grab young Han Solo and shake him by the shoulders, shouting, "Get a clue!" Beckett eventually proves himself even more untrustworthy by the end of the movie when he betrays Han. I would have stopped trying to flee with them after they had me arrested, but Han followed them to the very bitter end.