1. You get to find out where it all began for Han

Fans knew that Han came from Corellia, but what did that really mean? Well, it turns out that he grew up on the streets of that tough, ship-building world, part of a gang of child criminals straight out of Oliver Twist. Our man Han, of course, was the Artful Dodger of the lot, learning to drive stolen cars with his bosom buddy Qi’ra (Game Of Thrones' Emilia Clarke). As Han, Alden Ehrenreich almost immediately does the impossible and convinces us that he’s nearly as cool as Harrison Ford. Nice work, kid.

2. You’ll fall in love with Qi’ra

Clarke’s Qi’ra is the only girl in the gang who can keep up with Han’s schemes. In fact, she can more than keep up: she is even smarter than Han himself, and a lot warier. But they share a determination to work together and escape Corellia to forge a new life together literally anywhere else. She is one of the more mysterious female characters in Star Wars history: she’s smart, driven and has hidden depths that even Han doesn’t fully understand.

3. You get to see what it looks like when the Empire goes to war

Things go wrong during Han and Qi’ra’s escape from Corellia and, through a long series of events we won’t spoil, Han finds himself in the middle of a war fought between the young Empire and a rebellious planet. It’s a smoky, muddy environment unlike any battle scene we've seen in Star Wars before, and it gives you an impressive sense of the Empire’s military might on the ground. You wouldn’t want to face these guys without a fully-armed Rebellion behind you.

4. You’re introduced to the blaster master

It’s on that planet that Han meets Woody Harrelson’s Tobias Beckett, a smuggler and scoundrel who becomes something of a role model to the impressionable youngster. Beckett is the kind of guy who always has a good blaster by his side, and another in his boot, but he’s also a man who inspires fierce loyalty in his crew, including his wife Val (Thandie Newton) and Rio Durant (voiced by Jon Favreau). It’s great to see Han find a father figure, even if he is, objectively, a terrible one.

5. The film is a treat for cape fans

For reasons we won’t get into, Han finds himself in need of a fast ship, which leads to him making the acquaintance of a flamboyant space gambler called Lando Calrissian. Played by Donald Glover with all the charm and flair of Billy Dee Williams in his prime (and an even more flamboyant wardrobe, full of half-cloaks and capes, aboard his ship – the Millenium Falcon), he’s the film’s secret weapon and easily its best-dressed character. Well, you need someone to shake up Han’s swagger.

6. The cast boasts the series’ most formidable droid yet

Her from Fleabag? In Star Wars? It may seem like odd casting, but in fact Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s L3-37 is an absolute delight. A feisty droid who campaigns for her people’s rights and against droid enslavement, she’s mouthy, irrepressible and convinced than Lando, her companion, is in love with her. What’s more, she might be right.

7. Because you always need more scoundrels in your life

This is a film that’s enormously rich in supporting scoundrels, which are so often the best part of any Star Wars film. Since this prequel is set almost entirely in the underworld of that galaxy far, far away, virtually everyone we meet is a thief, a gangster, a cheat, or all three – and that makes for enormously exciting storytelling. Look out, in particular, for Paul Bettany’s ruthless gang boss Dryden, and for the mysterious raider Enfys Nest, who is Beckett’s nemesis.

8. Chewbacca. Obviously

There are two kinds of Star Wars films: those where the mighty Chewbacca plays a major role, and those that would be improved if he did. Happily, this is one of the first kind, because we get to see – for the first time – how Han met his life partner Chewbacca and why they became bosom buddies. But Chewbacca has his own mission in this film, one that’s a good deal more important than his partner’s, and it’s great to see him get the screen time he deserves.

9. You finally find out exactly what a parsec is…

If you are a serious fan of Star Wars, you’ll remember that Han boasted that the Millenium Falcon was the ship that “did the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs”. If you’re a serious physicist, you’ll have been confused by that because you’ll know that a “parsec” is a measure of distance, not time, so it doesn’t prove that the Falcon is fast. Well, the whole mystery will be addressed by the end of this film, and chances are that physicists and fans will all walk away happy.

10. It’s still a proper Star Wars movie

Han’s there, albeit looking younger, and Chewie is by his side. There’s the Empire, and the Falcon, and a deeply capable brunette, and droids and aliens and ill-advised gambling stakes. Ron Howard and his team really leaned in to George Lucas’s original concept for Star Wars and delved deep into the series’ history, and it shows in every carefully assembled frame of the film. For fans, this makes it even more of a must-see.

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