Pants

Clearly there are a lot of stupid people in the effects community. They're so damn stupid some of them believe that all a movie needs is effects and the story doesn't matter. They also are so stupid they think their awful video game quality crap is adequate to get the audience to suspend disbelief.

jaeufraser

I think the issue is that that award isn't rewarding story or plot. Effects can and should be judged irrespective to the movie, imo. Simply because some brilliant technical work can be made to service what can be a poor film. But I don't think that invalidates the work of the VFX at all. It is a special effects award.

now, if you thought the effects work was bad...that's a whole nother conversation. And really...I can't argue in a really in depth manner there...all I can say is that I was impressed by what I saw, and did think it was beyond what had been done before. At least I can't think of many movies that had that level of effects work. Whether you liked the design is also...a completely nother issue.

lesterlong

You have to look at it like MVP voting in sports. The player who receives the most votes to be named MVP is always on a winning team. Its true to any sport. And I believe that the same goes with the Academy. Great CGI? Yes. Great movie? Hell No. Yes it matters. The movie has to at least be somewhat decent. Though, I'd say Reloaded/Revolutions were about 1000 times better than the worst movie ever made: Hulk.

fumanstan

Alex Rodriguez.

TREX1993

Although I am sure many agree with this position, and I can certainly see it both ways, the official rules (Rule 22 for those who want to look it up) state that: "Achievements shall be judged within the parameters defined by the Visual Effects Branch Executive Committee and on the basis of:
(a) consideration of the contribution the visual effects make to the overall production and
(b) the artistry, skill and fidelity with which the visual illusions are achieved.

I think what the selection committee of the VFX Exec Branch is saying is that you can polish a turd to a nice shiny gleam with effects, but if the rest of the overall production is awful, you still have a turd. Did the effects in the second two Matrix movies contribute enough to make up for the overall production that was the movies? They said no, they did not, and those such as myself that concur would say (and are saying) the same thing.

jaeufraser

Based on those rules, yes I concede I can see where many are coming from. I suppose my bias makes me lean towards the second requirement, not to mention I thought fairly highly of the two Matrix films.

John Spartan

Nominations for such acclaimed classics as Pearl Harbor, Hollow Man, and Armageddon kinda rule out a "no turds" theory, don't you think? Either that or the VFX professionals in question have fatally bad taste.

Seriously though, neither of those statements imply that the overall production has to become good at all. They simply state that the effects have to make a strong contribution to the film, not that the contribution has to be good enough to make up for deficits elsewhere in the film. I would say the effects in Revolutions are integral to the picture and beautifully realize the ideas presented in the story while actually hinting at depth and detail that may make the filmmakers seem smarter than they really are. The effects are huge in scope and used to do stuff that've never been presented on film before. That strikes me as a strong contribution, and worthy of recognition.

In any case, aren't the people who decide on these things also VFX professionals? Maybe it was a case of sour grapes.

TREX1993

Oh, I've definitely said it before in posts: John Gaeta did himself NO favors by 1) saying how superior Reloaded/Revolutions was and how he was SO far ahead of everyone else and 2) whining about how many films "ripped off" effects from the original Matrix. Because Deuce Bigalow was trying to "rip off" Manex and not merely spoof their work...I'D feel theatened! As we ALL know the Academy IS a somewhat political organization, and if you bitch about every other effects house out there don't count on those people to fall all over you come selection time...

As for me personally, honestly, I didn't find the effects to be that great in either movie, especially considering all of Gaeta's (and Joel Silver's) pre-movie hype. The Burly Brawl certainly wasn't seamless as advertised, and it was readily apparent visually what was and what wasn't digital. Similarly, I found nothing in Revolutions that was, well, revolutionary, just extensions of what had already been done. The first movie truly was revolutionary and I've defended it before and continue to even today. But I saw very little of that magic in the second and third movies. The coolest effect IMO in either movie was the hydraulic car that collapsed in upon itself (simulating the agent jumping on it), shot practically at 50 miles an hour. THAT was awesome!

Groucho

Actually, none of these scenes will be copied by future movies. None of them CAN be copied. Didn't you read the pre-release hype?!?

beefjerky

Burly Brawl still looked a lot better than any of the CG humans that LOTR offered. Neither was flawless though, but that's to be expected.

Maybe the Matrix movies weren't revolutionary like the first, but they did their effects a lot better than everyone else.

Dead Star

An even bigger shame is that Don Davis wont get recognized for his score to Revolutions which is an absolute masterwork.

But i definately agree, of all films this year Revolutions is the clear cut winner in visual effects bar none. ROTK doesnt come close (and I loved loved loved that movie as well)

QuiGonJosh

The Bullit Time fist shot deserves its own FX...no ones ever did that...ever...totally CGI...a mere few inches from a CGI actors face...slow-mo...rain...lightning...and the slow-mo movement of the skin...muscle and bone structure...amazing!

Kal-El

Moving to mature.

Neeb

Great effects and will be the standard if they do another Superman movie. I am still peeved that there was a lot set up in Reloaded and was never paid off (the Twins, Merovingian, other versions of the Matrix...).

Still, can't wait til it hits DVD.

lesterlong

Don't play too many video games huh? Warner Brothers might as well of tried getting Revolutions nominated for Best Animated feature.

PixyJunket

:fist: