NCMojo

Some movies have CGI that is so flawless, so lifelike, that after the movie, you only half realize that you've seen computer animation. Lord of the Rings was that good, as was the original Jurassic Park.

Then... you have these other films. The kind where you just find yourself chortling and snickering. Or worse, the kind where you totally lose all faith you might have had in the film, and in the filmmaking process in general.

My bottom three CGI films are:

Number 3... The Mummy Returns
I'm not sure if the awfulness of the movie colors my perception of the CGI... or if the awfulness of the CGI colors my perception of the movie. Overall, this is a bad film with horrid CGI. The scenes with the Mummy and with the Scorpion King are laughably bad, and the much-ballyhooed battle scene at the beginning looks like something lifted directly from AtomFilms.com. (Oddly enough -- I thought the CGI in the original was quite good!)

Number 2... Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams
Just saw this last night, and man oh man oh man. The opening 5 minutes at the amusement park look like something lifted straight from Clash of the Titans... which is sad considering that we're supposed to be in a digital age. Everything in this movie is campy and fake -- check out the Spider Monkey if you get the chance. (Another movie where the first film's CGI was superb.)

Number 1... Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones
This is not a Lucas bash... this is not a Lucas bash... OK, maybe it is: what was the man thinking? He has falled so much in love with computers and digital filmmaking that he has forgotten his art and his craft. Nobody watched Star Wars exclusively for the special effects; we watched it because it had great characters, a great storyline, lots of action and fun and adventure. Now we have two hours of CGI, and bad CGI at that. The scene at the droid factor was lifted directly from a PS2 game; the digital recreation of Yoda looks more like a rubbery puppet that the original rubber puppet. The digital Hayden Christensen was abosultely --

(What? That was a real actor? Oh, sorry. Back to the riff.)

There is not a single CGI scene that I can think of in the entire film that felt genuine or believable. This movie is the very definition of what bad CGI is all about.

So what are your picks for the three worst CGI films ever?

Rypro 525

spy kids 3d, it looks like tron for gods sake, it's that bad (and it's bad enough that Stallone looks stupid in that costume)

Kechulater

Along Came a Spider - The car wreck at the beginning.
Die Another Die - Bond surfing and the Halle Berry diving scene

NCMojo

Those are such good calls, I am envious I did not think of them first.

And I like your "new" title for the latest Bond fiasco.

huh?

there is no way you can have star wars on that list.

no way. you obviously have issues with lucas, but get over it. some of the CGI in that movie is the best work done in the industry. i'm not saying the movie is great, or that EVERY scene contains great CGI, you are on crack if you think its the worst ever done.

Rypro 525

hey, when yoda got the lightsaber out, who didn't cheer?

neiname

Hulk, Hulk and Hulk

Pants

I'm gonna have to disagree with you ncmojo.

Spy Kids 2 was SUPPOSED to like like Ray Harryhausen.

And I enjoyed AOTC
"There is not a single CGI scene that I can think of in the entire film that felt genuine or believable." The scenes on Kamino worked nicely, as did the interiors on Geonosis.

Worst CGI: The plane crash in Air Force One

NCMojo

I would reply to this, but you would probably just thing I was calling you by your user name over and over...

And neiname -- I'll see about Hulk tomorrow...

huh?

right, because anyone who disagrees with your faulty logic must be dim-witted.

and its spelled think, not thing.

GoldenJCJ

Agreed! Absolutley terrible.

I'll add the underwater submarine scene at the beginning of Escape From L.A.. The surfing scene was pretty crappy as well.

devilshalo

All these films you mention are live action.

silentbob007

How about kunfu Gumby from Blade II???

DRG

My least favorite three...

Blade II - The aforementioned fight scene, just because it's so utterly pointless. There was nothing in that shot that couldn't have been done with *minimal* stunt work. Hell, it wasn't even anything crazy or fancy... yet the effect was obviously fake. Dumb all around.

The Mummy - Movie monsters, especially humanoid ones who are the size of a large person, should be done with makeup effects. Predator was done in 1987 and I have no problem believing the effect. What could've been a kickass character if done with traditional makeup ends up being phony and nonthreatening. Yawn.

An American Werewolf in Paris - The original was a pioneer in FX. This is a huge step backward. First, it has probably the worst morphing effects I've seen. Where's the pain of transformation in that? Then you have the horrible looking werebears or whatever they were... complete with non-moving fur. A muppet would've been more convinving!

BigPete

It all depends how you define worst. If you look at it from a CGI/$ or a CGI/expectations or a CGI/puppet standpoint, than it could easily rank as the worst. But you're right that on an absolute scale of "worst"ness that it wouldn't be at the bottom.

PJsig08

Star Wars Episode II? C'mon, the movie is terrible, but those are the best CGI shots out there. On DVD it looks great.

And The Hulk isn't even out yet (in theatres at least) so let's wait 'til tomorrow for that one.

There are definitely a lot of others...

Matty-O

You're right, I had forgotten how awful this is until I read your post.

lesterlong

I'm sorry but Attack of the Clones does not belong any list about "Worst CGI" Lucas' movies though lack good acting and storylines have terrific special effects. The best in the business. I'd agree with Mummy Returns and add Deep Blue Sea. I also dont understand everyone's problem with Die Another Day. I didn't notice anything truly bad with the CGI in that movie.

DonnachaOne

There is no way you can NOT have star wars on that list.

Yes way. You obviously have issues with defending Lucas, but get over it. Most of the CGI in that movie is the least believable, cartoonish work done in the industry. I'm not saying the movie is icredibly amateurish, or that EVERY scene contains diabolically bad CGI, but you are on crack if you think it's even passible.

Sorry man, it's the truth. Trust me. I use italics.

There's a part near the end where a CG... looney tune is supposed to be parasurfing. The water looks fake, the sky desn't match the other parts of the scene, and Bond looks like he's made of incredibly smooth, shiny rubber.

Edited to add: I'm a Special Edition now! What did I win?

huh?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DonnachaOne
Sorry man, it's the truth. Trust me. I use italics.



[QUOTE]

i'll take some of that stuff you are smoking too

i don't even like the movie at all, i just think some of that CGI is amazing. not all, some is even bad to horrible (elevator scene- you can practically see the blue screen behind them), but there is some truely amazing stuff in there too (clone war battle, kamino, yoda looked great, etc).

its just to easy to bash it because the movie itself was bad. but worst CGI in movie history? nope, sorry.... see the mummy returns for that.

Derrich

no way AOTC is on this list. It set the mark for best in the business.

I'm surprised no one has said 'Driven'. I honestly believe that some of those scenes were pulled from the PS2 game.

D

elias

Nearly every scene in the movie contains some element of CGI and it is excessive to the point of pulling ncmojo out of the picture. I think that's what he means when he says "There is not a single CGI scene that I can think of in the entire film that felt genuine or believable." And because of the amount of the CGI none of the film feels genuine or believable.

NCMojo

Actually, I was just poking a bit of fun at your user name. S'okay -- lighten up.

And "logic" and "opinion" are two entirely different things. Oops, I meant "thinks". Sorry!

(BTW, as a basic rule of thumb, it's really only OK to comment on someone's spelling, grammar or mistyping if you can do it in a humorous way. For example, if you had said, "How can we take the opinion of this nitwit when he can't even spell the word 'think'? Guess he doesn't get much of a chance to use that word, huh?" See, then it would be OK. )

That has got to be part of my sig material.

matome

I'll wait till I see it, but I definitely t hink The Hulk will give The Mummy Returns a definite run for it's money.

Pants

For the record, here's how I feel about Episode II: http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...ight=Star+Wars