A long time ago a Star Wars film used to be a rare and magical occurrence. During the initial release of what is now known as the “original trilogy”, a moviegoer had to wait three years between each episode. It seemed like an eternity and considering we’ve had a new Star Wars film for the last three years, it’s hard to imagine that there would ever come a time where anybody who became enthralled by George Lucas’s creation would dare to say that there is a limit to how much Star Wars we can have on the big screen. And yet the release of Solo: A Star Wars Story, which opens nationwide today, opens the door to the gripe of “too much Star Wars”, a notion that will be held over this particularly faulty Star Wars story like a phantom menace.

So let’s bite the bullet head on. Is Solo: A Star Wars Story a bad movie? Not at all. Is it the worst Star Wars movie ever to be released? No, that distinction still goes to Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace. So what is the problem exactly? Well to say that the Star Wars magic is gone would not be fair or true, but in the case of this film that magic is scattered, inconsistent and delivered in the most generic way possible. The film moves and looks like a Star Wars film, but the story that has been chosen to send the titular character on a new series of adventures doesn’t carry much creative spark. At times the movie feels more like a corporate maneuver instead of the defining Han Solo adventure that HAD TO BE TOLD.

The fact that most of the film’s weaknesses come directly from the script is a total surprise. This new spinoff, and the first Star Wars film to focus on an individual character from the original trilogy, was co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, the man responsible for the script of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, and his son Jonathan Kasdan. The main problem with their script is not necessarily the quality of the writing, but the plot and the structure they deliver ultimately feels like a bait and switch. The movie is set to give the story of how the main character becomes Han Solo. Instead the movie is written like the beginning of the beginning. Like the story of becoming the Han Solo we met at Mos Eisley in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope requires multiple chapters. And this very well maybe, but for this movie that register as completely anticlimactic and limits the character’s potential to deliver something new or, at least, unexpected on screen.

And while it would be very tempting to dismiss this version of the character with a quick “Not my Han Solo” hashtag, the fact of the matter is that is just not that simple. If this movie is evidence of anything is that as a character in the Star Wars universe, Han Solo is infinitely more interesting as an antihero with a mysterious past than a wet behind the ears hero who is destined to lose his innocence by double crosses and betrayals.

This particular archetype switch leaves the talented Alden Ehrenreich in a peculiar lose/lose situation. Because the character is written differently, the actor doesn’t have the chance to claim ownership of the role the same way that Harrison Ford did the very first time he played him. And because this particular Star Wars story is a set up for future adventures, the actor is also not permitted to try to connect the dots and show us a preview of the man he eventually becomes. Ehrenreich sneaks a couple of mannerisms here and there but by the time he seems fully comfortable with the character the movie ends.

Even with all these imperfections and obstacles, Solo: A Star Wars Story still manages to be highly entertaining and fun, and not just when the filmmakers bend over backwards to provide various fan service moments. Most of what’s good in this movie is directly tied to Ron Howard’s resourceful direction and his steady hand with a fantastic cast. Everything with Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian (a perfectly cast Donald Glover) is truly fantastic and provide the highlights of the films. Of the new characters that cross paths with Han Solo, only L3-37 (a wonderfully droll Phoebe Waller Bridge as Lando’s right hand droid), and Val (Thandie Newton upping her bad ass quota playing a mercenary with a heart of gold), manage to stand out.  Even so, Woody Harrelson and Emilia Clarke deserve props for making the most of their predictable stereotypes. Harrelson manages to make his smuggler an anti-mentor, while Clarke has fun keeping the audience guessing if she’s the love interest or a true femme fatale.

The answer to that last question would have more dramatic impact if the screenwriters had not written a story full of first times (the first time Han meets Chewie, the first time he pilots the Millennium Falcon, the first time his heart is broken and the first time he shoots first) while being completely convinced that what happens after that will be far more interesting.

Watch a behind-the-scenes look at Solo: A Star Wars Story below and see the film in theaters TONIGHT.