Finally watched it
Had low expectations to begin with, but what can I say. Just terrible.
Cinematography is notably dull, everything is dimly lit, making it look dusty, dull, and lifeless. At times, it was surprisingly difficult to even identify the actor's faces through all the colourless mud. Special effects aren't anything special either, and a step down compared to previous Disney Star Wars.
The script and dialogue weren't great, but theoretically still serviceable enough. The problem is that nothing of what is shown in the movie needed to be told. Making a stand-alone film about Han Solo would be worthwhile if it would add anything to Star Wars—be it lore or characterisations. But nothing is added to Han's character, simply because Han isn't in the movie. Alden Ehrenreich looks nothing like Han, sounds nothing like Han, and acts nothing like Han. Yet, everybody keeps referring to this guy as 'Han'. While I'm not asking for an impersonator, I would at least expect the actor to be able to convey some of Han's personality and charisma. Even though the bland writing doesn't exactly help in this regard, Ehrenreich comes across as wooden and forced, completely lacking Han's wit and seductive charmer qualities. What's more, Ford was around 6ft 1 when he did Star Wars in 1977, whereas Ehrenreich barely clears 5ft 8. A character like Han requires a certain physicality, something Ehrenreich is entirely unable to provide. Coupled with Emilia Clarke's grimacing non-acting the two lead characters look horribly out of place throughout the entire movie. What age are they even supposed to be? Their build makes them look like teenagers, but their faces are those of 30 somethings. It just looks off.
Lastly, I'm of the opinion not everything needs to be told. Do we really need to know where Leia bought her gowns from? Is it vital for our understanding of 'Empire' to know Piett's hairdresser? Current filmmakers' need to fill all the blankets makes it increasingly harder for people to use their own imagination. It kills all mystery about characters, and even makes them less believable. When you meet people in life, you don't know every detail of their biography, and that is part of what makes getting to know people fun. Everything I needed to know about Han was already right there, in the Original Trilogy. Solo wasn't needed.
And that's what sets Solo apart from the Disney Trilogy (DT). While the DT was utterly insulting, Solo is utterly superfluous, and if anything, takes away from Han's character. In that sense, I'm glad Solo flopped as hard as it did, as it prevented further unnecessary spin-offs from being made. Instead of retreating known characters over and over again, Disney might just been forced to become creative with their $4B brand.