The Cantina Scene Redux

In comments, Curatasaurus Lex points out that the cantinia scene is ruined in the revised/DVD release, anyway, what with extra CGI and then, worst of all, making Han's shooting of Greedo somehow a reaction to Greedo's firing first. I agree whole-heartedly. I much prefer the scene with Han shooting Greedo first, under the table (literally), to the alternatives. But I want to add that Han's shooting of Greedo was always "justified" by the fact that Greedo had his blaster aimed at Han the whole time. Han could certainly shoot pre-emptively, so to speak, to defend himself against a drawn weapon. That's why the revised version(s) never made any sense at all. The idea is that this is the Old West (in space), a shoot-first-or-get-buried-with-your-boots-on environment. My sense was always that this is Han as space pirate, without the good influences of Luke, Leia, etc. He should shoot first--that's in character. (Of course, character is not a concept Lucas is very familiar with.)

Greedo must also be the worst shot ever, in the revised version(s). Not a very convincing bounty hunter. I mean, Greedo's not Boba Fett, or even Steve McQueen.

BTW, I think that the DVD release is slightly different from the theatrical re-release. In the latter, Greedom clearly shoots first. In the former, my sense is that Han and Greedo shoot at the same time. The best version (which I own on VHS): Greedo never gets a shot off.

Just another example of how Lucas's tinkering almost never improves the originals. (And I say "almost" even though I can't think of a contrary case.)