Top 10 Worst Superhero Movie CGI Effects Ever

“Avengers: Infinity War” (2018)

For the most part, “Avengers: Infinity War” looks spectacular. And it better, considering the $400 million budget! But there’s one glaring visual flaw, and that’s Mark Ruffalo’s head inside the Hulkbuster. Every single shot of Bruce’s head inside the Hulkbuster looks horrible, and it has a certain “floaty” quality to it that is never made convincing. It almost looks like Ruffalo’s head is photoshopped onto the Hulkbuster itself, and the results are both jarringly bad and borderline laughable. It stands out in a movie filled with otherwise great CGI, and is a blemish on an otherwise excellent movie.

“Fantastic Four” (2005)

Mid-2000s Marvel was certainly not the Marvel we know and love today. Case in point - the horrible 2005 adaptation of “Fantastic Four”. Produced by Marvel Enterprises (as it was then known), “Fantastic Four” starred Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic. The founding member of the Fantastic Four, Mr. Fantastic has the bizarre ability to stretch his body and elongate his limbs. It looks a little goofy on the page, and it looks even goofier in live action. The CGI of Gruffud’s elongated limbs is consistently terrible, looking like something out of a cheap television show rather than a $100 million blockbuster. “Fantastic Four” isn’t a good movie, and this abhorrent CGI certainly doesn’t help.

“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (2014)

This is often considered the weakest “Spider-Man” movie, and that’s saying something considering the legacy of “Spider-Man 3”! A part of its negative reputation stems from the bland and visually embarrassing villains Electro and Rhino. Both villains are plagued with poor CGI work, with Rhino in particular suffering from Bruce Banner’s Floating Head syndrome. Much like Bruce Banner, it consistently looks like Rhino’s head is floating in his mech suit, and it completely eliminates the sense of danger and menace that a good superhero antagonist should always embody. Paul Giamatti is a great actor, but he was utterly wasted as Rhino.

“Hellboy” (2019)

It’s pretty bad when the “Hellboy” from 2004 often looks better than the “Hellboy” from 2019. Hellboy fights three giants at the beginning of the film, and while this should have made for an epic sequence, the poor CGI ruins any semblance of excitement. The mixing of practical effects and CGI was not a good decision, as the CGI is quite poor and incredibly easy to pinpoint amidst the “real” footage. Perhaps the worst offender is Hellboy’s stone fist. In one particular instance, Hellboy is knocked to the ground and his stone fist is clearly visible on his right hand. After he dodges a giant’s blade, the stone fist is suddenly on his left hand. It’s stuff like that that makes “Hellboy” seem unfinished.

“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” (2003)

Talk about wasted potential: we love the concept of classic literary characters fighting evil in Victorian Europe. However, this 2003 movie adaptation completely bungled it, and is even responsible for bringing about the end of Sean Connery’s film career. The climax of the film sees Mr. Hyde and Captain Nemo fighting some type of mutant Hyde… and mutant Hyde looks absolutely abysmal. We can’t fault the work too much, as the quality of early 2000s CGI is usually spotty even on the best of days. But this looks particularly horrid, and pretty much ruins what could have been a really exciting sequence.

“Blade: Trinity” (2004)

The third entry in the “Blade” series was widely maligned, and while we’re not blaming the CGI eyes in particular, they’re indicative of a bigger problem. In the movie’s final scene, Blade is lying on a slab and about to be cut open ,when he suddenly opens his eyes and attacks. If the sequence looks a little “off”, it’s because the eyes have actually been computer generated onto Wesley Snipes’s face. The story goes that Snipes and director David S. Goyer did not get along, and while filming this climactic sequence, Snipes refused to open his eyes - seemingly just to spite and frustrate Goyer. Goyer essentially said “Fine, whatever” and decided to go with CG-eyes instead.

“Catwoman” (2004)

Not-so-hot take: “Catwoman” isn’t just one of the worst superhero films ever made, it’s one of the worst films ever made, period. The infamous basketball scene has been well and truly covered, and many consider it the poorest scene in the whole movie. But may we also suggest all the leaping around, including the robbery scene? This sequence features some truly horrendous CGI, with Catwoman’s wall-jumping looking like something out of a PS2 game. This movie reportedly had a budget of $100 million, and it’s scenes like this that make us wonder where the money went.

“Green Lantern” (2011)

Ryan Reynolds has enjoyed one of the biggest career revivals in movie history. It was looking quite dour for a minute there, and that minute encompassed the execrable “Green Lantern”. For some bizarre reason, the team behind “Green Lantern” decided to ditch the traditional costume in favor of a CGI suit. And despite hiring Academy Award-winning costume designer Ngila Dickson, the results were truly deplorable. The CGI suit makes Hal look otherworldly. Not in a good way, but a “he looks like a video game character” kind of way. They couldn’t even bother making a good green eye mask, and the CGI clashes horribly with Reynolds’s very real face..

“Justice League” (2017)

Rather than being the DCEU’s magnum opus, “Justice League” was mostly a calamity that became more famous for its poor CGI than anything else. Despite a $300 million price tag, “Justice League” often looks quite poor, with Steppenwolf being a particularly egregious example. But it’s Superman’s lip that always incites mockery. As most people know by now, Henry Cavill was sporting a mustache for “Mission: Impossible - Fallout” and couldn’t shave it for the “Justice League” reshoots. So Paramount executives decided to digitally erase it in post. It was the worst decision they could have possibly made, and the results look like a goofy Snapchat filter.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)

Even the most diehard superhero fans admit that “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” leaves a lot to be desired . . . particularly the visual effects. Wolverine’s computer-generated adamantium claws earned widespread derision from fans and critics alike. Most people consider the bathroom scene to be particularly awful, as the CGI on display is like something we would have seen back in 1992. It doesn’t blend with Hugh Jackman’s fists at all, and the texturing is so bland and simple that it looks crudely photoshopped. It’s one of the most infamous scenes in superhero movie history. And for good reason.