Hardened outlaw Han Solo remains one of the most iconic and enduring characters in all cinema. It’s madness it’s taken over four decades for the most arrogant rogue in the galaxy to finally have his own spin-off movie. Ten years before meeting Luke Skywalker in A New Hope, Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) is young, romantic, and naïve. What happened?

Though original directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie; 21 Jump Street) got the sack halfway through filming, they’re credited as “executive producers”, and there’s recognisably big-hearted silliness throughout: cheesy grins, mid-battle gun-twirling, and cape envy. Renowned director Ron Howard (Apollo 13; The Da Vinci Code) stepped in to shoot the movie, and the blend is seamless.

Fans have been waiting. Where did Solo get his name from (and how do you pronounce it)? How did he become friends with Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo)? When did he come to own the Millennium Falcon? Why did Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) betray him? How did he make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs? And — crucially — who shot first? The answer to all of these questions (and more) will be discovered.

The story plays out like a kids’ action film for the first two hours, followed by a half-hour political epilogue with some dizzying turns, yet somehow engages throughout. A satisfying space romp and origin story.

Out in cinemas now.