One of things that bugged me the most about Solo was how it seems to exist just to tick off boxes of information we already know.
He's playing cards for a ship - we know how this ends and that it's the Millennium Falcon.
OMG, no one's made the Kessel Run in less than blah blah blah snore.
But... what if?
Think Jack Burton in Big Trouble in Little China.
But we're surprised to learn it's all bullshit. And suddenly the stakes mean something because we no longer know how this plays out.
You get to go back and relive Star Wars in new context. You get to see adult Solo running his mouth and understand he's no longer listing credentials. He's playing his con game. We get to watch him fake being a badass long enough to actually become one.
And watch him become a legit hero.