Thanks, frevious. That was very helpful.

In the end, I decided not to care that much what Mr. Ford thinks of Han Solo. But characterizing him as dumb just doesn't agree with what I see when I watch the films, and implying that the audience is foolish for enjoying the character is overly harsh and also kind of insulting.

He must have changed his tune at least somewhat to agree to appear in the new film at all. Really, the money and being able to put an end to him at last are the only reasons I can think of for that to have happened. Would the promise of increased wisdom alone have been enough? I'm not sure . . .

Maybe I'm just overly influenced by Timothy Zahn's portrayal of Han, who makes him out to be very clever while still being a charming scoundrel. Whatever the case, it's clear that the audience's vision of the character does not at all match that of the actor who played the part, which is somewhat disconcerting to say the least.