Top 20 Worst Blue/Green Screen Effects in Movies Ever

“King Kong” (2005)
Don’t get us wrong; this is still an awesome scene. As the crew runs for their life to evade the herd of incoming brontosauruses and venatosauruses, viewers are on the edge. At any moment, a crew member could be gone in an instant, yet they evade every close call. Well, not everyone. Unfortunately, there are certain moments throughout the scene when the use of green screen is obvious, which in turn takes away some of the realism of the chase. Nonetheless, we can’t help but laugh at Jack Black’s facial expression as he’s running for his life while holding a tripod.

“Jupiter Ascending” (2015)
Despite this movie having a pretty bad rep, we cannot deny that its visuals are astounding. However, while certain aspects of the film including its over reliance on CGI and green screen were noted among critics, there’s one scene in particular that draws our attention. During the final scene when Jupiter and Caine are on a rooftop, Caine gets up to show off his wings. While this surely served to reveal the character in all his grandeur, it’s instead somewhat awkward, as it’s evident that actor Channing Tatum is being superimposed. Well, at least his character gets the girl in the end.

“Justice League” (2017)
While watching a Zack Snyder DC film, you’d be hard pressed to find many scenes that contain any sort of emotional depth. However, upon coming across one, it’s pretty hard to take it seriously. Case in point, the scene in “Justice League” when Lois And Superman are reunited, which takes place on a cornfield. Although the tension between both characters is evident, viewers can’t help but feel distracted by what is clearly….not a real cornfield. The sky, the obvious outline of actors Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, and even the field itself just show how constructed the scene truly looks.

“Gods of Egypt” (2016)
Although we can probably make an entire video about why this movie was an absolute disaster, we’re going to focus on the topic at hand. While journeying across Egypt, both Horus and Bek are greeted by some ginormous snakes. As the scene cuts to their reaction, it is painfully evident that what’s behind them is obviously not real. As if the terrible green screen during the chase wasn’t enough, having the larger-than-regular-folks-because-he’s-a-god Horus picking up Bek while running makes the whole gaffe even more comical.

"The Last Airbender" (2010)
As a master of the four elements, the young Aang sets out to defeat the evil Fire Nation and bring peace to the world. So when he's facing an armada of Fire Nation ships, he calls on a massive wave to push them back. Though the wave that Aang releases looks quite majestic, the soldiers on the boat have delayed reactions to the oncoming water. The worst perpetrator however is a man who attempts to touche the wave, despite there being a large distance between them in the shot. The unclear spacing hurts this scene, and given how many misfires "The Last Airbender" suffers from already, this was a shameful way to close it all out.

"Speed Racer" (2008)
Speed Racer, along with his family and friends, find themselves taking on a group of thugs head on. But the accelerated pace of the brawl highlights the composited backgrounds, resulting in the camera movements transforming the mountains into poorly layered photographs. The lack of natural focus and interaction between the actors and their environment only worsens the already lackluster immersion of the effects. While "Speed Racer" is a fairly comedic film up to this scene, the fight's zany choreography transforms the picture from a fun homage to a painful watch.

"Gone in 60 Seconds" (2000)
When ex-con Memphis’ stolen shelby hits a gridlocked bridge, he drives right off a truck to escape the police. Despite all the film’s believable and mostly real shots, the CGI car used in the airborne scenes never seems to quite nail it in terms of realism. The Shelby's feather-light tap on an ambulance and Nicolas Cage's strange close-ups expose the film's bizarre use of effects. Though the visual choices were allegedly a safety measure, the Shelby's poor look completely deflates all or any intensity within the scene. Besides, "Gone in 60 Seconds" deserved better considering its other great action scenes.

"Escape from L.A." (1996)
When tsunami-size waves start hitting L.A., anti-hero Snake Plissken learns to surf fast. But it's hard to believe he's in any actual danger since the water inorganically splashes the surfers and the cliffs nearby. The lighting rarely matches the subsequent shots either, resulting in the waves having stock-footage quality. Some convincing practical close-up shots also serve to undermine the wackiness of the wide angles. Add in Snake's apparent lack of concern for his balance, and the tsunami seems more of a laughable addition to the film than an epic set-piece.

"Green Lantern" (2011)
While some action shots look tight or at least appropriately over-the-top for a superhero flick, the mix of digital suits and cosmic landscapes in "Green Lantern" results in an overall clumsy look. As Hal learns to use his powers, it often appears as though Ryan Reynolds' head is cut into the scene. But the worst moment of all comes when Jordan fights Parallax. During the battle, the real life setting highlights the imperfections of the film’s screen effects. Along with Hal's suit constantly changing its level of hue whenever he’s talking to other characters, "Green Lantern" is definitely one of the hero's blackest nights.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (2009)
In this scene from the Marvel solo prequel, we find Wolverine at odds with goons in a helicopter, though he's practically invincible against all of their firepower. When the helicopter fires missiles at him, Hugh Jackman doesn’t even seem to be within radius of the ensuing explosion thanks to the movie's weird green-screening. Much of this helicopter fight becomes comedic since the vehicles and actors all appear pasted into the scene. Even Wolverine's fight with Deadpool later on in the film doesn't even seem to use a set at all. With so many lackluster special effects in "Wolverine," it makes it all the more sad to see this hero treated so carelessly.

"Alien 3" (1992)
Trapped on a prison planet with another Xenamorph, Ellen Ripley works with fellow prisoners in an effort to capture it. When the creature does appear however, the audience is treated to some embarrassing shots of it in action. Though the monster looks accurate to the original, it is so terribly edited into the scene that you can see green composition tints on it. The Xenomorph also looks particularly bad when it’s running as well due to how its CGI reacts to the jail's concrete. In an arguably terrifying chase, these angle shots of the alien kill any tension that was built leading up to that point. It's also hard to reconcile this kind of sloppy work with all the great Xenomorph costumes in earlier films and "Alien 3" itself.

"Torque" (2004)
When Biker Cary Ford is framed for murder, he hops on his motorcycle and goes on the run, leading to a high-octane escapade through the streets. But during the chase, it is fairly obvious that Ford is in front of a screen due to the cartoon-like way he's separated from the cars around him. He moves so fast in several shots that it looks as though pictures of bikes are being inserted into street footage. And because the events which take place in the scene are not in sync with the background, you'll notice how out of place the actors are within seconds. In the nd, this chase scene is clearly sub-par in comparison to the genuinely exciting stunts "Torque" opens with.

"Dragonball Evolution" (2009)
The sinister Piccolo is using his obscene powers to take over the world, so a young boy named Goku sets out to stop him. Though this sounds like a recipe for epic adventure, Goku's elevated training session is goofy at best. From differences in coloration to wonky close-ups, the backgrounds in this otherwise stunt-driven scene draw your eyes even further. And the saddest part is that the backdrops aren't actually important to the shot, which is excusable when Goku jumps over lava later in the movie. Next to many of the film's excitingly choreographed brawls, the high-wire sparring in "Dragonball" is more of a step backwards than an evolution.

“Die Hard 2” (1990)
How could filmmakers possibly up the ante on the high octane action seen in the original “Die Hard”? While they came up with some interesting ideas, things didn’t always end up entirely convincing – especially as the film aged. The worst offender is a scene where John McClane must escape an airplane that’s about to explode via ejector seat. While the sequence is undoubtedly riveting, the effects are not: Willis was shot in front of a bluescreen, where he was attached to a machine that rotated him again and again, with some fancy camera work adding to the effect. Willis grimaces admirably, but the effort to superimpose that image over that of a previously exploded plane let him down.

“Die Another Day” (2002)
Made in an era when filmmakers had begun to increasingly rely on digital effects, this twentieth entry in the James Bond franchise fell victim to the “more is less” rule. The scene in question sees Bond trying to escape a giant wave created by the Icarus satellite by kite-surfing his way around glaciers and more. With Pierce Brosnan was filmed in front of a bluescreen and the computer-generated glaciers and wave added later, the CGI effects took roughly a year to perfect. However, instead of being an exciting action sequence, the tsunami scene lends this otherwise awesome moment a cartoonish feel that defeated the purpose, meaning that this scene had us laughing instead of on the edge of our seats.

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008)
Indiana Jones is a high-profile action franchise known for its stunts, but his first film appearance in 19 years didn’t do the beloved character justice. Steven Spielberg made it clear before production began that this newest entry would use as little CGI as possible. Well, practicality and computer-generated animals seemingly won out over artistic integrity, and lots of CGI and fake-looking greenscreen effects ended up in the final edit. Probably the worst sequence in the film is the climactic chase through the forest, which involves CGI trees and animals, a cheesy high-speed sword fight and greenscreen that looks bafflingly… off. You’d think guys like Spielberg and George Lucas would have this kinda thing down by now.

“Batman & Robin” (1997)
Dubiously set in a Gotham City that was riddled with neon, “Batman & Robin” relied heavily on visual effects, using 450 in total – which was roughly 150 than “Batman Forever.” Director Joel Schumacher reminded his actors before every take that the movie they were making was “a cartoon,” and that set the tone for this motorcycle race and its laughable chroma-key climax, where Dick Grayson saves Barbara Gordon from certain doom high above the city. Though it may not be the most laughable effect of the film, the keyed-in background does not seem in sync with Alicia Silverstone as she hangs perilously from great heights. No wonder this movie killed the Batman franchise…

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” (2004)
A lot of time and effort was spent on perfecting the visual style of this advanced version of 1939, and we applaud the gutsy decision to do something so different. Shot almost entirely on bluescreen soundstages in under a month, “Sky Captain” was an interesting experiment. Unfortunately, in this case, it failed: with very few physical props or sets, the actors were basically the only aspects of the film not created by a computer. That meant approximately 2,000 CGI shots, plus filmmakers ended up having to write code to pull it off. Impressive? Absolutely. But we have to hold the results to the same scrutiny as other films, and it just doesn’t stack up.

“Spy Kids” franchise (2001-11)
Robert Rodriguez is the visionary filmmaker behind films like “Sin City” and “Desperado,” so it’s strange that in between those two imaginatively shot films he began a film franchise that proved to be the opposite. All told, all four “Spy Kids” films had a budget of $154 million, which – in this day and age – is a fraction of some standalone films. But, according to Rodriguez himself, “Creativity, not money, is used to solve problems.” That may’ve made the franchise a cash cow, and the bad effects may even be invisible to their target audience, but as adults we can’t help but look at the greenscreen scenes throughout this series and think that “Spy Kids” is a lowlight in an otherwise impressive career.

“Ultraviolet” (2006)
When Milla Jovovich signed on to star in this film, we can only assume she had no way of knowing how terribly put together the end result would be. Less convincing than an animation your cousin made by messing around on his computer for half an hour, very few of the effects in this relatively low-budget action flick up under scrutiny. While the library fight is certainly painful to watch, it’s the sequence where a motorcycle drives up the side of a building that stands out the most. With the film’s studio, Screen Gems, cutting time and story elements from the film’s plot, “Ultraviolet” had a lot to make up for and serves as a cautionary tale of what not to do.