That is a really good question! I think it is a bit of both.

I don’t know how much of it is intentional on George and Larry’s part when they wrote Luke this way, of course having Luke be a swashbuckler in this instance is a lot more fun than if he talked their way out of it, but I think the film constantly shows Luke kind of in this grey area between the dark side and “the good side” that is meant for us to wonder if Luke is going to turn or not.

Of course Luke and company had limited resources with their knowledge and experience so they had limited options, but I think a wiser Jedi would have found a way to resolve the situation without violence, or at least non-fatal violence. The only instance of violence from Obi-Wan or Yoda in the OT is when Obi-Wan cuts off that guy’s arm in the Cantina, but even then it appears he didn’t kill the guy, just “disarmed” him.

I mean yeah, Luke’s intentions are totally in the right place, he is doing it to save his friends, but I think even just in the OT it is demonstrated how even good intentions can lead you down the path of the dark side. Yoda feared Luke turning when he was so desperate to save his friends on Bespin, and Luke almost turned when he got a taste of the dark side when Vader threatened to turn Leia.

I think the old ROTJ even implied that Luke is happy to destroy people who caused his friends pain. As Luke is growing in power, he clearly is still coming to understand his relationship with it, and I think that is pretty compelling for his character.

I’ll leave you with this one important question: Did Max Rebo deserve to die?