I enjoyed Tarkin in Rogue 1, but then I’m one of those crazies who really loves R1. It’s my third favorite Star Wars movie behind Star Wars and ESB.

I agree with those who never bought it as Cushing, but absolutely buys it as the character of Governor Tarkin. To me, it looks totally real as long as it’s relatively still. It’s when he talks that the veil falls away. As others have mentioned, CG just can’t seem to accurately recreate the subtle snappy twitches of real living things. I also think there’s possibly (probably?) some issues with animators who just can’t help themselves playing with their digital toys. I feel like many digital characters movements are too smooth, but also too exaggerated. They move too much, too far, and in too deliberate a manner in many cases where it’s not necessary.

I do think we’re getting very close to realism though. For example, I thought King Kong in Kong: Skull Island was almost entirely convincing. He has the benefit of being an impossible creature in a fictional world. But I thought they got his movement incredibly believable in most shots (especially the closeups of the face). It may also help that, being so enormous, his movements SHOULD be more dramatic and exaggerated due to the enourmous mass of a creature that size.