Top 10 Good Movies RUINED by Terrible CGI

“Blade” was a milestone for comic book movies with the superhero genre ice-skating uphill ever since. The film still holds up thanks to Wesley Snipes’ charismatic performance, the gothic atmosphere, and slick stunt work. Whenever the film incorporates CGI, though, we’re suddenly reminded that this came out in 1998. At least “Blade” doesn’t drape itself in digital imagery like some other superhero movies at the time… *cough* “Spawn!” These fleeting moments of dated CGI stick out like a pair of cheap vampire fangs, however. The CG shoddiness is unfortunately at its most apparent during the final fight between Blade and Deacon Frost. As pumped as we are watching these two duke it out, Frost’s bloody CG hand and explosive fate take us out of the climax.

With the original “Matrix” being such a special effects game-changer, the pressure was on for its sequel to be even more ambitious. To an extent, it was with the highway chase raising the bar… Then you have Neo’s fight against a horde of Agent Smiths. The setup is promising and the choreography is inventive. Once Keanu Reeves is replaced with a digital double, though, we question if this was a scrapped section from “The Animatrix.” Admittedly, the Burly Brawl could’ve worked as a fully animated sequence. If the filmmakers wanted to go live-action, they might’ve considered dialing back some of the more complicated shots. They tried to have it all with a mix of practical stunt work and CGI, but the technology wasn’t ready in 2003.

The “I Am Legend” marketing team wisely downplayed the mutants in the advertising. The premise and Will Smith’s presence were already enough to get us into the theater. Only seeing glimpses of the mutants in the trailer helped build suspense. Then again, there might be another reason that the ads didn’t show much of the infected dogs and Darkseekers: they look like PlayStation 2 characters when we had already moved on to PlayStation 3. Initially, director Francis Lawrence wanted to take a practical approach, even shooting footage of the performers in makeup. Unable to get the look right, they opted to use CGI late in the game. CGI could’ve worked here, but there clearly wasn’t enough time left in the production schedule to nail it.

Tobey Maguire made us believe he was Spider-Man and Willem Dafoe became the Green Goblin. It’s a good thing the casting for the first “Spider-Man” movie was so spot-on because the effects weren’t quite on the same level. Don’t get us wrong. Many moments still make us feel like we’re watching a comic book brought to life. Yet, even in 2002, a handful of key scenes looked a little half-baked. The two most egregious examples are when Peter Parker tests his newfound abilities, leaping from building to building, and when our hero first faces off against the gliding goblin. As awkwardly as some shots aged, the filmmakers perfected their craft by “Spider-Man 2,” which won an Oscar for its effects.

“Air Force One” lives up to its awesome premise of “Die Hard on a Plane,” despite showing some cracks in the third act. Up until this point, most of the action has been contained to close quarters, creating claustrophobia as tensions rise. Once the characters are seen hanging out of planes, it becomes more obvious that they aren’t really thousands of feet off the ground. While we give the movie credit for using multiple model planes, they went all-in on CG for the climatic crash. Not exactly the money shot the filmmakers were hoping for. As VFX supervisor Richard Edlund[a] described it, “We couldn’t get it more than maybe 80% of where we wanted to get it, and we just ran out of time.”

In an epic spanning decades, Martin Scorsese turned to de-aging technology. Throughout “The Irishman,” we see Al Pacino’s character from age 44 to 62 and Joe Pesci’s character from 50 to 83. Star Robert De Niro goes through the most phases, having to play a 24-year-old at one point. Even at this technology’s most effective, this so-called “kid” looks like a middle-aged man. A late middle-aged man. It doesn’t help when you compare the de-aged De Niro to his actual younger self in movies like “Taxi Driver.” As phenomenal as the performances are, the digital face-lifts make us wish they just cast younger actors for these scenes. Or maybe they should’ve hired the people behind those deepfakes, which were surprisingly more convincing.

Watching the first “Harry Potter” movie, it truly felt as if we had been transported to Hogwarts. The sets, costumes, and casting were just as we envisioned when reading the books. We’d be lying if we said that some of the digital effects didn’t suck out the magic, however. The Quidditch sequences would get more convincing as the franchise went on, but this first attempt struggled to fly beyond the green screen. The digital characters like Firenze[c] the centaur and especially that mountain troll look more like animation tests by today’s standards. Then there’s Voldemort emerging from the back of Quirrell’s head. This might’ve scared us as kids, but now, we find ourselves snickering at the CGI and asking why Voldemort has a nose.

To give credit where credit’s due, the CGI in “Black Panther” can look impressive whenever used to showcase the vastness of Wakanda. However, the film begins to lose us whenever it replaces living, breathing characters with digital stand-ins. We get why they didn’t employ real rhinos for the climactic battle, but it’s only slightly less cartoony than Paul Giamatti[d] doing a bad Russian accent. We could forgive that if it weren’t for the final fight between ​​Black Panther and Killmonger, turning what should be an emotionally charged showdown into something out of “The Lawnmower Man.” It’s telling that a film this beloved was able to attain a Best Picture Oscar nomination, although Best Visual Effects is one category it couldn’t break into.

The DCEU finally produced a winner with “Wonder Woman.” Featuring an inspirational story, a touching romance, and rousing action, the film was super in virtually every department except one. For most of its run time, the effects in “Wonder Woman” are solid enough. They don’t always look realistic, but it’s not a huge distraction… until the third act. Once Ares reveals his true self, it no longer feels like we’re fighting alongside Diana[e] during World War I. It feels like we’re watching actors make funny poses in front of a green screen. Speaking of silly, Ares’ armor could’ve used a redesign. While we can’t say it destroys the entire experience, it’s a shame that the most important set piece is the most visually underwhelming.

The “Star Wars” trilogy might be the most significant landmark in special effects history. When George Lucas gave the trilogy a digital makeover two decades later, it seemed like the next step in evolution. In the long run, though, the “Special Editions” would be a step backward. While some refinements were better received than others, most would agree that the CGI changes were the worst. “A New Hope” suffered the most with pointless CGI shenanigans at Mos Eisley[f] and a digital Jabba the Hutt who looks better suited for the “Clone Wars” animated series. The additions to Cloud City in “Empire” admittedly look alright, but that musical sequence in “Return of the Jedi” is why we still have the original VHS tapes and 2006 DVDs.


Which good movie do you think lost the most points for bad CGI? Let us know in the comments.

[b]IRISH-min https://youtu.be/P3awjDwwxdc?si=xCaE_FOqnC1fn3gW&t=118
Martin score-SEH-see - not score-SAY-zee https://youtu.be/YXIxJQaPa_k?t=38
[c]fur-RENS https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/cb97828e-6003-45ed-a565-6a9d2a3b7610
KWUR-ull https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/f18c4162-7001-45c4-a2c6-11ad15fb3760
[d]jee-uh-MOTTY https://youtu.be/y8veXeZxzOE
[e]dye-anna https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/10c1d57f-97a2-4f53-bd74-87351edcbf7f
AIR-eeze https://youtu.be/Y7XrrZlRciM?si=UVrArU9DiBiRdgS4&t=66
[f]moce EYES-lee ("mos" rhymes with "dose")
https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/13a9ff33-f80a-4047-bb9c-fda99ea48440
JAW-buh the hut https://www.yarn.co/yarn-clip/606b4178-28ab-44a6-a75f-fb4c5590e814