4 Things 'Star Wars' Fans Need to Accept About George Lucas

Star Wars fan myself. I've seen the films, I've played the games, I even went through a regrettable Star Wars novel phase in high school. (The phase was what was specifically regrettable, although the novels are no things of glory, either.) I know all about Han shooting first, and I know the logical explanation for the Millennium Falcon making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs (it makes so much sense when you think about it). I am, for lack of a better word, a tremendadork. What I'm not, though, is upset about the changes Lucas keeps making. Here's why:

The Phantom Menace as some kind of cultural monument to poor plotting. We're just not talking about something that's that important -- it's not the Constitution, or the Bible, or The Godfather. I should be clear that none of this is to say that Lucas is right or wise to make these changes. Irrational or not, he knows these changes will piss off a portion of his fan base, and although pissing off his fan base hasn't done much damage to him yet, it's not something many other creators get away with so readily. And under no circumstances should this be taken as a blanket defense of the artistic merit of the changes, which Lucas has a very spotty track record on.

But it turns out that not all of the changes Lucas has made have been bad ones, nor is it a guarantee that any future changes he makes will be bad ones. In fact, there's always a chance that ...

Episode IV: A New Hope prefix wasn't there in the original theatrical release. It was added a couple years after, when it became evident that Star Wars was going to be a thing. Isn't that a nice little tweak? Doesn't it make the movie seem like part of a greater whole? "What an epic story this must be!" the audience says. "But where the hell were the first three parts? Did I ... did I black out for several years again?" These troubling questions set the hook perfectly, priming the viewers for an unforgettable cinema experience and forcing them to confront their demons. Let's look at the biggest change being made in The Phantom Menace 3D, aside from the addition of the dreaded Z-axis. The original release featured a puppet Yoda that has since been replaced with the CGI version we see in the other two prequels. Now I've seen The Phantom Menace a few times, and I can't recall a thing about Yoda -- which I'm inclined to say is a good thing. In retrospect, this was probably my favorite interpretation of Yoda, in that he didn't do any goddamned backflip sword fighting in this film. But if you look at new Yoda side by side with old Yoda, both look fine. I don't see what the problem was with the old one, and I don't see what the problem is with the new one. There's just nothing here to get worked up about, and there never will be, so long as there's no goddamned backflip sword fighting. Finally let's go back to "Han shot first" -- the most egregious violation of everything, ever. I won't defend this completely -- it's a clear-cut example of Lucas making his film worse -- but it's nowhere near the big deal some people would make it. For the uninitiated, here's the Coles Notes version of the controversy: While in the Mos Eisley Cantina, Han Solo is getting the gears from Greedo, a bounty hunter looking to collect space dollars. In the original film, as the conversation turns sour, Han gets the drop on Greedo, blowing him away under the table. In the revised version of this scene, Greedo shoots and misses, then Han shoots a fraction of a second later, finding his mark. Many people loathe this change, preferring the original version, where Han shoots first because they think this makes him more of a badass. I've since found out that Lucas has made about five more versions of this scene with small variations, but in all the versions, the same three things are unchanged: 1) Han was reaching for his blaster because he was about to use it. 2) After shooting Greedo, Han walks away coolly, like he's done this kind of thing before, and is kind of bored of it. 3) George Lucas is an idiot. Whether George Lucas is an idiot and Han is a badass or George Lucas is an idiot and Han is a

very lucky badass honestly makes no difference in how we think of Han or watch the rest of the film or live our lives. I will freely acknowledge that it's a stupid change to make because of how it muddies the waters, but it's way less of a big deal than everyone makes it. And even though it is undoubtedly a mistake, that actually turns out to be a good thing, because ...

But if I had one final word of advice for the complainers and bitchers rushing to the ramparts to battle these latest revisions, it would have to be "moderation," because lest we forget ...