Top 10 Bad Movies With Great CGI Effects

Starring Kevin Bacon and Elisabeth Shue, this flick inspired by H.G. Wells’ The Invisible Man didn't really make anyone happy. It received a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, and even its director Paul Verhoeven ended up disowning it, calling it “the first movie that I made that I thought I should not have made.” Despite the mediocre reception it received, the film’s one saving grace, as most people at the time agreed, were the CG effects that turned Bacon’s scientist into an invisible monster. In fact, the frightening and innovative VFX earned the film an Academy Award nomination, which it eventually lost to Gladiator.

This remake of the 1990 Schwarzenegger sci-fi classic didn’t just miss the mark, it landed on the wrong planet. The main criticisms were that it didn’t have the life, energy or fun of the original. It also removed the important setting of Mars from the story, and Colin Farrell was, quite frankly, lacking the charms of Schwarzenegger. Despite this, the film’s visual effects were widely praised. Eschewing the practical effects of the original, the remake features stunning futuristic city environments, high-tech vehicles and robots, resulting in several exciting fight and chase scenes.

A prime example of how special effects can’t save a broken narrative, this space romance starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence is a cinematic feast for the eyes, but one that turns to ash in the mouth of the viewer. The film features great use of CGI for the starship Avalon and moments of genuine wonder when the leads are flying through space. Unfortunately, the effects are based around an uncomfortable and problematic story in which Pratt’s character wakes up Lawrence’s from hypersleep without her consent, when they still have almost 90 years left in their journey. This resulted in the film getting pummeled by critics, despite most of them saying it was pretty to watch.

This book by Christopher Paolini was a phenomenon when it was published in the early 2000s, hailed by some as Tolkien for young readers. This naturally led to a movie adaptation in 2006, with the hope that it would become a runaway success like other fantasy series. Instead, “Eragon” was roasted by critics, becoming the 10th worst reviewed film of the year on Rotten Tomatoes, and labelled boring and derivative. But similar to other failed fantasy epics, “Eragon” was at least commended for its CGI work, primarily because its director previously worked as a visual effects supervisor. Special recognition was reserved for the work done on the dragon Saphira, who was called a “magificent” CG creation.

The production issues that plagued this YA adaptation are well known. The film received criticism for diminishing the anti-religious themes of the novel, and New Line Cinema meddled heavily in post-production of the film. The result was middling reviews from fans and critics, and disappointing box office returns against the budget of $180 million. At least all that money was put to great use in the film. Everyone agreed that “The Golden Compass” featured incredible CG effects, including stunning magical environments, and realistically rendered creatures, like the dæmons and the armored bears. Deservedly, “The Golden Compass” won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects that year.

Despite featuring a jacked up Kit Harrington and the backdrop of one of the greatest historical tragedies of all time, moviegoers weren’t really in a rush to see this sword and sandal disaster film. Critics were generally apathetic towards it, saying it was unoriginal and didn’t amount to much. However, underneath the seemingly bland narrative of “Pompeii” lies a surprisingly thrilling visual effects driven movie. Critics agreed that not only were the historical recreations of the doomed Roman city mostly accurate, but also the CGI recreation of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii were fun and exciting, just as long as you aren’t expecting anything more than visual spectacle.

The last film that Zack Snyder directed before kicking off of the DCEU, “Sucker Punch” was both a critical and commercial disappointment, and (in hindsight) foreshadowed Snyder’s missteps with the beloved heroes of DC comics. The film was negatively compared to a live action video game, with little in the way of story or character development. But this is Zack Snyder we’re dealing with, so you know that the visuals are going to be superb at least. The fantasies of our heroine, Babydoll, are completely bonkers, featuring dragons, mechas, and even World War I era soldiers, complete with Snyder hallmarks like gratuitous slo-mo.

By the time this film was released, Michael Bay was well-established as a visual wizard. But was he capable of pulling things off in a serious historical epic? No, no he was not. “Pearl Harbor” was bashed by critics for being too long, boring, and a rip-off of better historical films like “Titanic” and “Saving Private Ryan”. But what Bay lacked in narrative skills, he more than made up with in the film’s centerpiece. The attack sequence was commended for its masterful use of CGI, specifically when it came to warships, planes, and explosions. As epic as it may be though, it’s still not worth over three hours of your time.

The Wachowskis revolutionize the use of CG effects with every film they make, from beloved movies, like the “The Matrix” to the long-forgotten, like “Speed Racer”. For their original space opera, they created an entirely new, unique world using computer effects. This included characters that are half canine and others that are half honeybee, as well as epic spaceship chases and dogfights. Despite the computer generated magic, the effects couldn’t save the overall film. The movie was both praised and criticized for its over-reliance on CG, and the main consensus was that the effects couldn’t overcome the narrative shortcomings, such as the incoherent story or ham-fisted performances.





Before we reveal our top pick, here are a couple honorable mentions:

“Land of the Lost” (2009)





“Poseidon” (2006)





“The Lone Ranger” (2013)

There are few franchises that are as widely hated but financially successful as Michael Bay’s adaptations of this beloved ‘80s toyline and cartoon. Why are so many people willing to overlook the nonsensical storylines, schizophrenic camerawork, obnoxious performances, and two and half hour runtimes of this series? Two words: Special effects. The “Transformers” series features some of the busiest and detailed CG work in cinematic history, ranging from the epic environmental devastation to the unique, lifelike animations of the titular robots. The first and third films both received Academy Award nominations for their visual effects, and led the series to earning over 4 billion dollars at the box office - despite the hatred from cinephiles the planet over.