Nice film shame about the acting

Rating: 6/10 (29 December 2016)

There is a great deal to like about this film. It has some excellent action sequences, some nicely realised planetscapes and a well used look to all the equipment that reflects the ethos of the original (not to mention a few in jokes for the fans). PLUS!... Well spoiler alerts later. However the area that really, really lets it down is in character development...there isn't any. I can not think of one character that was anything other than a flat cardboard caricature with the possible exception of the robot K-2S0, who is marvellously voiced by Alan Tudyk, which says a lot really.
SPOILER ALERT!! DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU LIKE SURPRISES
The CGI Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. Well the estate of Peter Cushing are fine with it but ti does open up a whole field of ethics regarding the reviving of dead actors to star in new films. That aside the CGI worked quite well and shows just how far we have come with the craft. I also liked the final scenes with Darth Vader which were actually quite terrifying. Finally the best thing about the film, in an age where everything has to have a happy ending, is that everyone dies. Just a shame that you don't feel enough for them to care.