Fun, but flawed

Rating: 5/10 (23 December 2016)

I went into this film with high expectations based on the internet hype and I must confess I was disappointed. The high use of CGI, especially on character faces, was something that should have been flagged and eliminated. As one who grew up watching the original films, the use of practical effects was what pulled me into the world of Star Wars. The CGI effects of the prequels were everyone's biggest complaint and that trend detracts from some great performances. Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, and Mads Mikkelsen are fantastic, and Alan Tudyk easily has the best lines of any character in the film. I think Forrest Wittaker character was wasted in this film and more could have been done with him. But my biggest disappointment was the tease of the Kyber crystal that Jyn Urso has in her possession and nothing comes of it. I had hoped there was some latent Jedi hidden in her, which may have another been a reason Urso hid his family from the Empire. But after the hype has died down and we sit down to watch it again, the CGI will bring back the pangs of disappointment, just like Jar Jar does for episode one. Tarkin should have been re-cast. Plain and simple. The AT-AT's in combat looked like a video game battle and the Leia cameo at the end was completely unnecessary. By all means, see it. It is Star Wars after all and the story is worth the viewing. It has a lot of heart, character diversity and depth.