REPLACING the most charismatic character in the Star Wars saga was never going to be easy.

Harrison Ford’s Han Solo gave the classic trilogy its sense of mischief and roguish charm, not to mention its best lines.

And if that factor alone gave the standalone movie, about a cocky fly-boy and smuggler, stakes higher than a game of Sabacc, fans ended up fearing the worst when the production fell apart half way through.

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, behind the The Lego Movie, left the project due to ‘creative differences’ before being replaced by Apollo 13’s Ron Howard.

So the chances of Solo: A Star Wars Story being a success were, well, as Han once said himself: ‘Never tell me the odds’.

Nevertheless – in true Han Solo-style – the gamble has paid off.

Howard’s film, written by Lawrence Kasdan who also did the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, is about Han’s early years.

In truth, the story is a bit of a ‘join the dots’ exercise with lines from the classic trilogy about Han’s past turned into a plot.

So the film becomes a bit of a checklist of references and fan service and yet remarkably it is coherent and the ‘seams’ are not obvious connecting Lord and Miller’s work with Howard’s.

You see Han’s scrappy struggle for survival on his home planet of Corellia, his brief time with the Empire and, of course, how he ‘made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs’.

Alden Ehrenreich, who met with Harrison Ford while preparing for the part, has Han’s characteristics and mannerisms down to a tee as the young rogue, although he does not quite have Ford’s charisma.

There is also a lot of fun to be had in how he meets his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and the stylish scoundrel that is Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover on top form).

The plot is pretty basic with Han caught up by the criminal underworld as a way to be reunited with love interest Qi’ra (Game of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke)

From then on it becomes a heist movie with Han joining a team to steal a volatile but dangerous source of energy called coaxium.

Qi’ra is disappointedly thinly fleshed out and underworld boss Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany) is a bit dull and two-dimensional – he’s no Jabba the Hutt – but Woody Harrelson’s gruff leader Beckett is a great addition to the canon.

Howard’s picture is also incredibly well paced and keeps your pulse racing despite a long runtime and few surprises. We should have listened to Han all along when he said: ‘Let’s keep a little optimism here!’

RATING: 8/10

DAVID MORGAN