Most anticipated holiday movie: We can't wait to see 'Rogue One'

Show Caption

Which of these holiday films are our Paste BN Network movie writers most excited about?

John Beifuss, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Here’s hoping that Godzilla director Gareth Edwards can bang the dashboard of George Lucas’ exhausted space saga with enough energy to relaunch it into hyperspace.

Trailer: 'Moana'

An adventurous teenager sails out on a daring mission to save her people. Joining her on the adventure is her hero, the legendary demigod Maui.

Alex Biese, The Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

Moana:  One of the most hotly anticipated animated films in recent memory, thanks to the involvement of some of entertainment’s coolest people. Voice acting by Dwayne Johnson? Music from Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda? A script co-credited to Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows)? Nov. 23 can’t get here soon enough.

Trailer: 'Allied' (2016)

Brad Pitt plays an intelligence officer during World War II who encounters a French Resistance fighter, played by Marion Cotillard. The pair reunite in London where their relationship undergoes the pressures of the war.

Courtney Crowder, The Des Moines Register

Allied:  Best known for Back to the Future, director Robert Zemeckis’ Allied, a mystery involving married spies in World War II-era London, looks to be a suspenseful character study on par with Cast Away and Flight. 

Trailer: 'Passengers'

Journeying through space to their new home, two passengers are awakened from hibernation nearly a century too soon.

Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic

Passengers:  A couple of passengers (Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt) on a long-distance space flight wake up from their sleep chambers 90 years early. Excited to see what they do with the format, and how those two interact.

Carol Motsinger, The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rogue One:  Just a few lines from A New Hope inspired this space opera-meets-heist film, first of the planned Star Wars spinoffs. Much mystery surrounds the story about rebels on a mission to steal the Death Star plans, but the casting appears inspired, featuring some of the best (and most underrated) actors working today, among them Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn.

Brian Truitt, Paste BN

Rogue One:  You've got to be pretty sure of your story to bring Darth Vader back on the big screen. But the franchise has already proven it's crazy strong in the Force and returning to the period of the original trilogy — plus adding a brand new heroine — might as well be pop-culture catnip for Star Wars fandom.

Trailer: 'Assassin's Creed'

Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor through futuristic technology in the film adaptation of the best-selling video game franchise 'Assassin's Creed.'

James Ward, Visalia (Calif.) Times-Delta and Tulare Advance-Register

Assassin’s Creed: There's never been a good movie based on a video game (Super Mario Bros. or Doom, anyone?), so it will be interesting to see if A-list actor Michael Fassbender can break the curse.