How did these films get away with CGI this bad!
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00So, until recently, computer-generated imagery was mainly used for movies that focus on action,
00:06fantasy, or superheroics.
00:08But as cinema keeps on evolving, so too do the tools of the medium.
00:12In today's world, green screen, motion capture, and CGI are used more than ever.
00:16But what's interesting about this development is how you can usually tell if a movie is
00:20good or not based purely upon the quality of their special effects.
00:23If the computer-generated imagery is unpolished, it's a sure sign the film isn't up to
00:28snuff.
00:29Every now and again, a movie will come along that the whole world will fall in love with,
00:32despite the fact that the VFX really aren't up to standard.
00:36And that's what we're here to talk about today, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:39and these are 10 Great Movies With Terrible CGI.
00:4210.
00:43Deep Blue Sea
00:44In Deep Blue Sea, a group of marine explorers battle a school of super-intelligent sharks.
00:49Now based on that storyline alone, you'd assume that this would be a dumb B-movie in
00:53the same vein as Birdemic or Maximum Overdrive, right?
00:56But even though Deep Blue Sea could have been trashy schlock, it's elevated by an
01:00excellent cast, including Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, and Thomas Jane.
01:05On top of that, it's got some genuinely great jump scares, including when Stellan
01:08Skarsgard's character gets his arm ripped off by a great white.
01:12But let's not forget what Deep Blue Sea is best remembered for, which is after Jackson's
01:16character gives an uplifting monologue, a shark comes out of nowhere and rips him to
01:20pieces.
01:22Because you genuinely don't see it coming, this moment is regarded as one of the best
01:25jump scares in cinema.
01:26That's why it's rather ironic how the film's defining moment happens to have the
01:30worst special effect.
01:32Not only does the computer-generated shark look like it's composed of rubber, Jackson's
01:36CG counterpart looks hilariously unfinished and contorts its limbs like a ragdoll rather
01:41than a human being.
01:429.
01:43Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
01:45Contrary to popular belief, there was way less computer-generated imagery in Harry Potter
01:50than you would actually believe.
01:51Many moments that seemingly rely on CGI use alternative SFX like scaling, animatronics,
01:56puppetry, green screen, wire work, and forced perspective.
02:00The reason why the directors of the franchise limit digital effects is because they're
02:04expensive and time-consuming.
02:06But another reason why CGI wasn't commonly used is it makes everything look a bit crap,
02:11especially in the first film.
02:12In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry and Ron get into a scuffle with a troll
02:16in a bathroom.
02:17Because this is the first monstrous creature we've seen up close, this should feel like
02:21a magical and scary moment for the viewer.
02:24But because of the ogre's janky movements and blurred animations, he looks downright
02:28shoddy.
02:29To add insult to injury, Harry is blatantly replaced with a CG image and certain shots,
02:33making the whole scene feel less believable.
02:368.
02:37Spider-Man
02:38Sam Raimi's Spider-Man was the first movie in history to earn $100 million in its opening
02:43weekend.
02:44Even though the trilogy ended on a bit of a downer, there are legions of fans who preferred
02:48this incarnation of Spidey over the MCU version.
02:51But the biggest lovers of the first film can't deny the fact that the visual effects are
02:54subpar.
02:55Ironically, most of the worst CGI moments come from Peter Parker being, you know, Spider-Man.
03:00When the web-slinger leaps from building to building, he looks like a rubber man with
03:04Tobey Maguire's face stitched on.
03:06When Green Goblin is terrorizing the citizens, his unnatural movements make him resemble
03:10a cartoon character.
03:11Even though we should be in awe watching the wall-crawler soar through the sky, most viewers
03:16are wondering why Spider-Man looks more like his video game counterpart than the actual
03:20video game equivalent.
03:21Even though there are a couple of solid shots of the web-head swinging through the city,
03:25the bad far outweighs the good.
03:27Even though the special effects in the sequel are light years ahead in quality, this just
03:30makes the CGI in the first film look more than a little underwhelming.
03:347.
03:35Rogue One – A Star Wars Story
03:37Now Star Wars fanatics were so psyched to see Darth Vader in Rogue One that they never
03:41considered the possibility that the prequel would contain other iconic figures from the
03:45beloved franchise.
03:47So when Moff Tarkin revealed himself, viewers were blown away.
03:51Nobody expected to see the architect of the Death Star since the actor portraying him,
03:54Peter Cushing, was suffering from a severe case of being dead for 22 years.
03:59But thanks to the wonders of CGI and motion capture, the VFX efforts resurrected the legendary
04:04British actor, allowing him to portray his most famous role.
04:08But with the benefit of hindsight, it seems that fans originally watched this scene with
04:12rose-tinted glasses.
04:14Viewers got so caught up on seeing the deceased actor on the big screen again that they didn't
04:18realize that the special effects aren't as mesmerizing as they initially thought.
04:22Although Tarkin's facial tics and voice is spot on, his mouth is just weird.
04:27Not only does it move unnaturally, his lips don't move in accordance with his voice,
04:31making him look like he's being dubbed.
04:33You have to commend the visual crew for pushing the effects as far as they could, but the
04:37scenes with Tarkin prove that technology still isn't quite there yet.
04:416.
04:42Social Network
04:43Nobody exemplifies this philosophy that the best visual effects are the ones we don't
04:47notice better than David Fincher.
04:50And viewers of the Social Network were baffled when they learned digital trickery was used
04:53to make Armie Hammer depict the Winklevoss twins.
04:56However, there's one visual in the Social Network that, well, just doesn't work.
05:00While Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo are speaking outside a party, their breath is actually
05:04all digital.
05:06Although the visual was inserted to illustrate how cold it is, it looks like the pair have
05:09freeze breath like Superman or Iceman.
05:11What's worse is this visual is completely inconsequential.
05:15We can see the characters are shivering, so we know it's chilly.
05:17Why did the visual team have to force such an unconvincing effect to hammer this fact
05:21in?
05:22The sad thing is that once you notice the CGI breath, it becomes so distracting that
05:26you don't even listen to a word that either character is saying.
05:295.
05:30The Hobbit Trilogy
05:31Now, The Hobbit did not live up to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings.
05:35Nobody is going to deny that, nor did anybody think that it could reasonably happen, but
05:38it doesn't change the fact that Jackson crafted a satisfying trilogy in its own right.
05:42The action sequences in The Hobbit are innovative, the battle sequences are epic, and the performances
05:47are astounding.
05:49Even though Lord of the Rings set the bar unnaturally high in terms of special effects,
05:52you'd expect The Hobbit's visuals to surpass it, right?
05:55Since technology had advanced over 10 years and the prequels had over doubled the budget
05:59of its predecessor, how could The Hobbit's CGI not be out of this world?
06:03Ironically, the visuals are the trilogy's biggest detriment.
06:06Everything looks so artificial that you can practically see the green screen.
06:10Instead of using CGI to add to the spectacle, Jackson's crew here relied on the technology
06:14like a crutch, swashing every shot with a smorgasbord of cartoonish VFX.
06:20This issue is extra noticeable when characters are substituted for CG doppelgangers.
06:25Because their bodies just don't move in a natural way, you never believe that they
06:28are really there for a second.
06:304.
06:31Forrest Gump
06:32For the most part, the special effects in Forrest Gump are absolutely breathtaking.
06:36Most viewers didn't have an inkling that the feather in the opening shot was actually
06:39computer generated.
06:41People are gobsmacked when they learn that every single ping pong ball that Forrest plays
06:44with are digital.
06:45The green screen used to depict Lieutenant Dan without legs looks just as good now as
06:50it did back then.
06:51But there was one special effect that, let's face it, looked bad even when the film was
06:55released.
06:56Throughout the movie, Forrest rubs shoulders with many famous people throughout history,
06:59including John Lennon, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon.
07:02Instead of relying on body doubles, the film digitally inserted Tom Hanks' character
07:06into archival footage to make it look like he was meeting these historic figures.
07:11Although these scenes look convincing at first, the VFX is all over the place when it comes
07:15to each character's mouth.
07:16If you analyze the lips of Nixon, Johnson, or Kennedy's in these moments, they clearly
07:20don't match with what they're saying.
07:22And sometimes digital trickery is used to make the lips move in a certain way, which
07:26makes it look all the more superficial.
07:283.
07:29I Am Legend
07:30I Am Legend takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a retrovirus has either killed
07:35humans or turned them into vampiric mutants called the Dark Seekers.
07:39The story follows a virologist called Robert Neville, who does everything in his power
07:43to find a cure for the creatures to save what's left of humanity.
07:46It's common knowledge that this adaptation is quite the departure from Richard Matheson's
07:50novel of the same name.
07:52Nevertheless, the 2007 movie's long shots and slow build-up helps to keep the viewer
07:56on edge.
07:57Unfortunately, all that tension disappears the moment you see the Dark Seekers.
08:01Their movements and facial expressions are exaggerated to the point where they feel more
08:05at home in a comedy over a sci-fi horror.
08:08These visual effects are so heinous that viewers couldn't understand why the film crew didn't
08:12bring the creatures to life with actors wearing prosthetics instead of CGI.
08:16Well, that was apparently the original plan, but during the test screenings, the director
08:20worried that the Dark Seekers resembled angry mimes, so switched to CGI at the 11th hour.
08:26But upon watching this screen test, there's no question the original design of the monsters
08:30is vastly superior.
08:312.
08:32Black Panther
08:33Black Panther was an unprecedented success on every level.
08:37It was the first film with a black director to earn a billion dollars, and ushered in
08:41a new age for Marvel.
08:42Although Michael B. Jordan's Fantastic Four tanked, the young star redeemed himself in
08:46the eyes of Marvel fans by playing one of the best villains in the franchise.
08:50All in all, there is a lot to love about this film, but one thing that stops this film from
08:54possibly being seen amongst the MCU greats is the rather atrocious special effects.
09:00This is ironic, since Marvel has always prided itself with pushing visual technology as far
09:04as it can go.
09:05After all, it was the first studio that pretty much perfected de-aging, but in Black Panther,
09:09the VFX are astonishingly shabby, especially in the final battle.
09:13Because the visual team only had six weeks to animate the fight with T'Challa and Killmonger,
09:18simple things like shadows and textures were compromised.
09:21Also, it's nearly impossible to know what's happening, since the scene is really, really
09:25dark.
09:261.
09:27The Irishman
09:28In terms of acting, directing, story structure, and editing, The Irishman is almost perfect.
09:32Sadly, the de-aging effects used for Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino never stop
09:37getting in the way of Martin Scorsese's remarkable movie.
09:41To make these actors look up to 50 years younger, each of them wore motion capture sensors on
09:45their face and body.
09:47However, the final results look so awful that you'd swear the characters on screen are
09:50pure CG creations.
09:53Even when the effects look impressive, the characters just don't move correctly.
09:56When we see De Niro's character in his 30s, you just don't buy it because he moves like
10:00a man in his 70s.
10:01If this special effect was an issue for only one of two scenes, then viewers would be more
10:05forgiving.
10:06But since the de-aging is noticeable throughout the entire 219-minute runtime, it stops The
10:11Irishman from being better than it should be.
10:14The fact that there are YouTubers and freelance VFX artists who are able to create more convincing
10:18de-aging effects for these scenes without a $200 million budget does make The Irishman
10:22all that more disappointing.
10:23And there we go my friends, those were 10 great movies with terrible CGI.
10:27I hope that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in
10:30the comments section below.
10:32As always I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJ with a zero,
10:35or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice where I do all of my streaming outside of work,
10:39and it'd be great to see you over there my friends.
10:41But before I go, I just want to say one thing, hope you're treating yourself with love
10:44and respect, both physically and mentally, because you deserve all of the best things
10:48in life alright?
10:49And do not let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise.
10:52You are a massive ledge, and I want you to go out there and utterly smash it today.
10:56I believe in you.
10:57As always I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
11:00to you soon.
11:01Bye.