Bad CG Monsters Are Killing Otherwise-Good Movies

Computer generated special effects have been a staple in Hollywood blockbusters since the early the 1970s. Films like Westworld and its sequel Futureworld both dabbled in creating images on film that were rendered in a computer, which at the time was revolutionary. While the quality of these works certainly can’t hold a candle the CGI creatures and worlds being projects up on the big screen these days, early adopters set a new standard for how movies would be made for the next forty years, for better or worse.

These days, CGI is used for everything, from creating fantastical worlds to erasing mustaches from handsome faces. There really isn’t much that can’t be done with a powerful enough computer. But just because it can be done, doesn’t mean it should be. In the age of superhero films and high concept action adventure books being turned into blockbusters, audiences are getting the chance to see characters and worlds brought to life in ways they had never imagined. If you had told us fifteen years ago that we’d be seeing Thanos grace the silver screen in all his purple scowling glory one day, we would have scoffed at the idea.

But no character is too complex, too bizarre or too larger-than-life to be rendered into a film anymore. The issue with some of these characters coming to life is when their inclusion becomes a distraction due to lack of detail or lazy animation they can almost derail a film. And fast.

Gods and Monsters

It’s often said that a hero’s story is only as good as its villain. When you consider the iconic antagonists of films like The Dark Knight, Marvel’s The Avengers, and the original Star Wars trilogy (and its canonical sequels), that notion gains a lot of credence. We’d be remiss to note that with these examples, the villains are tangible human beings in costume for most of their screen time. Other films with villains that are mostly (if not all) CGI usually do not have the same lasting effect on their audiences.

One of the prime examples of this is Steppenwolf. There’s no sense of menace from the big bad in Justice League. Sure, lack of story development is partially to blame in this case, but the fact that there was not so much as even an inclining of a human face behind those dead CGI eyes made him arguably the most toothless villain the DCEU has ever had, which is saying quite a bit considering their track record. Now, if Steppenwolf was actually a guy in actual armor who actually fought other actors, would it have made Justice League any better? Seeing as how divisive the film was among fans, it’s hard to say, but if the way Hades was rendered in Wonder Woman is any indication, maybe it would have.

Wonder Woman is often regarded as not only the best offering from the DCEU, but one of the best superhero movies to come out in the last decade. But despite of the well-earned heaps of praise thrown on top of film, the one criticism that many fans keep coming back to is the final fight in the film, which devolves into Diana fighting a giant CGI brute obscured by partial effects. It’s a fight scene that almost takes the audience out of the film in the eleventh hour. Luckily it wasn’t enough to tank the film as a whole. We wish we could say the same thing about Doomsday in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. That turkey was set to roast well before Batman barked “Martha!” at Supes like a rabid Rottweiler chasing after a mailman.

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For all the boasting from the filmmakers behind the most recent theatrical entries into the Star Wars Universe about how they are going back to basics and utilize practical effects, there sure are a lot of weird CGI tentacle monsters. In The Force Awakens we have a brief run-in with Rathnars in a scene that really pumps the brakes on the film and doesn’t do much in the way of story progression. In fact, the digital special effects for the Rathnars are so weak in comparison to he rest of the CGI in the films (the Millenium Flacon escape scene moments earlier is amazing) that it leaves a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth the rest of the film.

Even worse in the poorly-rendered Star Wars tentacle monster department is Bor Gullet in Rogue One, who in introduced in one the most out of place scenes in any Star Wars film. The rotund, creepy slug monster has an introduction that is so reminiscent of a certain fetish subgenre of Hentei that it’s uncomfortable to watch. But this time, even if Bor Gullet was better-looking it probably would not have helped taking the audience out of the film.

Star Wars has always seemed to be fascinated with this strange trope. When the Special Editions of the original trilogy were released in theaters, the Sarlacc pit was “improved” with – you guessed it – CGI tentacles! The franchise doesn’t seem to be letting up on the inclusion of CGI tentacle monsters. In fact it’s debuting the biggest most tentacle-iest monster of them all in the upcoming Solo: A Star Wars Story. And boy it sure does look... meh.

The Right Stuff

When CGI is used properly is when it enhanced what is tangible. Take George Miller’s present day masterpiece Mad Max: Fury Road. This film utilized digital tools for composites, color correction, and detail rendering to enhance what was captured in camera. The production team did such a wonderful job (save for a few tiny instances), it’s hard to tell where the film was tampered with.

But when entire characters are nothing more than tennis balls on sticks behind the scenes, it comes through. Now, it does help to have an actor on set who helps with motion capturing. A perfect example is Sean Gunn standing in for Rocket in the Guardians of the Galaxy films. It truly makes all the difference in the world. With someone behind the character, there is someone for actors to react to during the shoot. They’re able to form a bond, and it shows through in the finished product. It also helps that Rocket looked amazing... and that the tentacle-free Guardian isn’t obscured by grey, swirling particles.