CGI has pushed the boundaries of filmmaking but some of the worst CGI moments have completely ruined their movies. The 1973 movie Westworld was the first movie to use CGI in a feature film to emulate the point-of-view of an android and, since then, CGI has developed at an astonishing rate. When used to a high standard, CGI can take a movie to a new level and is often the reason some movies are able to be made realistically, such as sci-fi movies. Tron was the first movie to build a world nearly completely out of CGI and now many movies rely on it to do the same, which can be a blessing or a curse.
Movies use CGI in many different ways, sometimes merging it with practical effects, using motion capture, or, as first demonstrated by Avatar, using a Fusion Camera System to create an entire CGI world. CGI can make filmmaking a lot easier as there is less reliance on being in certain locations when a green screen can be used, or it reduces work hours, such as CGI replacing hand-painted animations. However, the reliance on CGI is not always positive and has caused many great movies to be ruined, even from just one moment.
10 The Mummy Returns (2001)
The Mummy Returns is the sequel to The Mummy, Brendan Fraser’s hit movie which grossed over $435 million at the worldwide box office. Dwayne Johnson made his acting debut in as the Scorpion King while he was still at the height of his WWE career. The Scorpion King is infamous as one of the worst CGI moments in movie history and the terrible product takes away from the intensity of Johnson’s scenes. VFX Supervisor John Berton Jr. explained they did not have a reference of Johnson’s face to accurately create the Scorpion King (via YouTube), resulting in a villain which looks like a poorly animated computer game.
9 Die Another Day (2002)
At the end of Pierce Brosnan’s reign as James Bond, he starred in Die Another Day – arguably his weakest Bond movie. Despite this, Brosnan’s final movie as James Bond grossed $431 million at the box office and embraced many classic Bond tropes. Die Another Day managed to make an average movie worse with a CGI scene of Brosnan kite surfing down an artic tidal wave. Director Lee Tamahori has since expressed regret over the use of CGI in that scene, but the complexity of the stunt made it impossible to create the Die Another Day scene any other way (via Yahoo!movies).
8 Hulk (2003)
Way before the MCU was established with Iron Man, Marvel made Hulk, a 2003 movie starring Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly as Bruce Banner and Betty Ross. Hulk achieved a relatively poor $245 million worldwide against a budget of around $130 million. However, one of the most criticized aspects of Hulk was the CGI. Director Ang Lee was tortured by Hulk’s CGI, according to Josh Lucas who played Glen Talbot, and the technology was not there to create Lee’s vision (via Den of Geek). For a movie that relies on a CGI character, the outcome of Hulk badly affected the movie's legacy.
7 The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Matrix Reloaded is the sequel to The Matrix, which was a defining movie in the development of CGI. Keanu Reeves returned as Neo in the extremely successful sequel that grossed $741.8 million worldwide, beating Terminator 2: Judgment Day for the highest-grossing R -rated film of all time, and was the third highest-grossing film of 2003. The Matrix Reloaded’s success is undeniable, but the whole movie is undermined by a terrible CGI scene. The “burly brawl” scene sees Neo fight an army of Agent Smith’s clones which was made by using actors who were edited with CGI. The terrible The Matrix Reloaded takes away from the fight and suddenly turns The Matrix Reloaded into an unrealistic video game of a movie.
6 I Am Legend (2007)
I Am Legend is finally getting a much-anticipated sequel which is no surprise after the success of the Will Smith-led movie. The post-apocalyptic action thriller was in the works for 13 years before finally being released in 2007 and became the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2007. The zombies used, called the Darkseekers, were created entirely with CGI and it undermined the dark and broody atmosphere I Am Legend originally set up. The Darkseekers are first seen when Smith’s Neville is slowly searching in a pitch-black building in a very intense scene. Once the Darkseekers are revealed, all that tension disappears and the creatures' poorly-rendered CGI ruins the movie.
I Am Legend
- Release Date
- December 14, 2007
- Runtime
- 101 minutes
- Director
- Francis Lawrence
Cast
Willow Smith-
Salli Richardson-Whitfield
WHERE TO WATCH
Loosely based on Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, I Am Legend stars Will Smith as Robert Neville, a virologist who believes himself to be the last human on Earth. After a virus turns most of the world's population into vampiric creatures known as Darkseekers, Neville finds himself immune. Believing himself to be the last man of Earth, Neville stalks through the ruins of New York, hoping to create an antidote that will save humanity.
5 X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine was the fourth movie that Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine appeared in, yet it was the first time his claws were created with CGI. Before X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wolverine’s claws had been made from practical effects but they were deemed too heavy to film with. It is extremely obvious Wolverine’s claws are made with CGI, to the point where they look animated, and it was not helped by a scene where Jackman had to clash his claws together. The effect, with the added spark, ruined the previously realistic character.
4 Tron: Legacy (2010)
Tron was another movie that was a defining moment in CGI history, but its sequel did not live up to that. Tron: Legacy once again used CGI to build a digital world and this time made it look much slicker and more realistic. The style of the movie paired with Daft Punk’s musical score has been widely commended and Tron: Legacy succeeded at the box office. However, Jeff Bridges reprised his role as Kevin Flynn a.k.a. Clu and the CGI used to de-age him ruined the movie. The effect made Bridges look more like a character from a computer game and it took away from the excitement of Bridges return to the franchise.
3 Green Lantern (2011)
Superhero movies are often dependent on CGI but when it goes wrong it detracts from the entire movie. Green Lantern flopped for multiple reasons but the CGI was a huge part of that. Ryan Renold’s Green Lantern suit was made entirely of CGI and, despite a $200 million budget, it is classed as one of the worst CGI moments in movie history. Not using a costume for Green Lanterns suit made it look very animated and not in keeping with a serious movie. Green Lantern was supposed to launch the DC universe but its poor performance and shocking CGI meant it has been largely ignored as part of the DC world.
2 Justice League (2017)
DC has launched a wide universe since the failings of Green Lantern, but CGI mistakes came back to haunt them in the 2017 Justice League. Snyder’s departure from Justice League meant reshoots had to be made last-minute but Henry Cavill was filming for Mission: Impossible – Fallout and had a mustache. To fix this, Justice League used CGI to edit out Cavill’s mustache but it was done to a very poor level. Cavill’s smudged face became a mockery for Justice League until the messy CGI was fixed by Snyder’s cut of Justice League.
2017's Justice League brings together iconic DC heroes under the direction of Zack Snyder. In the aftermath of Superman's sacrifice, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince recruit metahumans Barry Allen, Arthur Curry, and Victor Stone to combat the dire threat posed by Steppenwolf and his Parademons.
1 Death on the Nile (2022)
Death on the Nile brought another Agatha Christie novel to the screen as well as a large ensemble cast. The rise of CGI has meant movies are less inclined to shoot on location to reduce costs and Death on the Nile was part of this trend. Death on the Nile uses beautiful scenes of the Egyptian landscape but this was done with B-roll; shots with the actors and the scenery were done with a green screen. The most blatents example is when Emma Mackey’s character steps onto the boat and the majority of the shot is a very obvious green screen. The CGI massively detracts from the importance of the landscape and Death on the Nile as a whole.
Source: Youtube, Yahoo!movies, Den of Geek
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