Han is a dynamic character introduced as a scoundrel so that he can grow to be a good character by the end. Darth Vader was similar, in that he began as evil (in episode 4) and later grew caring toward the end when family was involved to show him he was wrong. Many of the others characters were static, in that they remained either good or evil through the series.
Agreed. As I said, throughout most of the first movie, Han was not a good guy. He was shifty, greedy and selfish, even to the end of the movie. He didn't participate in the assault on the Death Star, but did, in the knick of time, clear the path for Luke. It could be argued that he did the "right" thing, but only after any real danger to himself had been mitigated. In other words, he waited until the battle was largely over. In street fighting terms, Han Solo is the guy who waits for your friends to leave, then kicks you in the back of the head while you're struggling on the ground with one of his friends.
Regarding your suggestion that characters who remained good or evil were static, I'd argue that isn't necessarily the case.
And of course Han was justified shooting first. Otherwise, Luke and Obi Wan wouldn't have had a pilot and not been about to leave... ending the movie before even getting into space. The plot has to move along.
Agreed, and if we want to go and get all meta, we can talk about the motivations behind how each character is written. Motivation has to work at the very least on a superficial level, or the suspension of disbelief begins to suffer. It makes perfect sense to me now as then that the writers were trying to establish that Han Solo is a badass dude willing to get his hands dirty. He's a honey badger.
The story was written using the Hero's Journey" very intentionally. it could be argued that he is a hero, and really, the filter of the HEro's Journey can be applied to many of the characters, but in the story of Star Wars (episode IV), Han is not a hero. Luke is the hero. Obi Wan is the Mentor. The death of his Aunt and Uncle is the catalyst. And Han is an ally who I also believe is a shapeshifter, in that he represents Luke's journey from naïve, idealistic farmboy to a seasoned warrior and the destroyer of the death star. Throughout the movie, Han is the guy who identifies and provides the catalyst for Luke's growth.
A more important topic is Leia's slave outfit. Why would Jabba put her in that? I know it made the film appealing to human moviegoers... but from a giant slug's viewpoint, I can't imagine he would have found her appealing, even wearing something so skimpy. I mean, lets reverse the premise... if I somehow capture a 2000 lb female slug, I doubt putting it in a bikini would "do it" for me, even if by slug standards she was a hottie. I would still find her unappealing based on being interspecies. Unless I was very VERY drunk. In which case, I'd just hope my friends didn't find out about it. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I mean... 2000 lb slugs need loving too, but... (Wait... what were we talking about?)
In the long and well established tradition of Star Trek. LOL.
