The downfall of special effects.

[Principal_Skin-trade]

I watched close encounters recently after watching Independence day. You know what? The special effects in close encounters are not only a hell of a lot more impressive, they are a hell of a lot more believable. I mean look at Blade Runner, I don't care for that movie one bit but the special effects are absolutely beautiful. Everything has that vague beautiful hazy kind of effect around the lighting and in doing so has this amazing dream-like quality that really makes it feel like the future. Now, Special effects today? They may be impressive but somehow they still are less impressive than the likes of Close Encounters and Blade runner.

[Junkyard]

Yeah, doing effects has gotten too easy. People lose focus on what looks real, and we're left with CGI cartoons populating 80% of the movies made these days. In the future, CGI is going to be seen in the same way we now see stop motion- good on those rare occasions when the effects people cared.

[GregMcduck]

The stop motion dragon 1981's "Dragonslayer" was more impressive then the CGI dragons in "Reign of Fire" or "Eragon"

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

The stop motion dragon 1981's "Dragonslayer" was more impressive then the CGI dragons in "Reign of Fire" or "Eragon"

And Vermithrax was a computer-controled figure.   They would program her movements a few seconds at a time, shoot and then program her again.

Ironically, there are parts of Godzilla when she's moving through the tunnels that are complete rip offs of the scenes of Vermithrax moving through her cave.   I've watched Dragonslayer soooo many times I noticed it right away.

(god, I'm such a nerd)

[Minnesota]

I'm starting to get the feeling that Principal Skin-Trade doesn't like this movie

[Principal_Skin-trade]

The movie is bad, yes, but I can't say it's the worst movie ever. Battlefield earth is much, MUCH worse. The problem is it's not worse because of the "special effects", they are of the same quality, sad to say.

[bettertomorrowamy]

The special effects aren't the problem with this movie, it's the writing.  Special effects are supposed to enhance the story, not BE the story.

[Minnesota]

For the most part I like summer blockbusters, I guess I disagree with Principal on the quality of effects ...when I go to a sumer blockbuster I leave my suspension of disbelief at the door ... its just another genera (albeit a rather new genera that was arguably started by ID4) ... its not meant to be perfect merely fun

[Principal_Skin-trade]

The special effects aren't the problem with this movie, it's the writing.  Special effects are supposed to enhance the story, not BE the story.

Of course I agree with you. If you read any of my other posts you would know that I hated the writing in the movie too.

[bettertomorrowamy]

The special effects aren't the problem with this movie, it's the writing.  Special effects are supposed to enhance the story, not BE the story.

Of course I agree with you. If you read any of my other posts you would know that I hated the writing in the movie too.

Well I think you should have a thread about the downfall of Sci-Fi movies.  There are so many good stories written that there is no excuse for a movie this bad to be made, and called sci-fi.

[Principal_Skin-trade]

Again, I agree with you.

[Johnny Unusual]

Personally I think the problem with a lot of CGI is that it doesn't look tangible.  With some many of the 80's sci-fi and monster movies I grew up with I felt that I could at least touch or be touched by the creatures, which made them much more interesting to me.

Also the Special Effects in The Thing are still really really cool.

[Just Some Guy]

Those of you complaining about the CGI, you are aware that almost all of the effects in Independence Day were models, right?  The film was might right on the cusp of the CGI revolution and while there is obviously CGI in it (the force fields, most obviously) the ships and exploding buildins are models.

[Hebs]

What do you guys think of "The Host" in terms of CGI?

I really thought the movie would've improved the less you see the monster.  There's not enough mystery about it, and the climactic moments seem underplayed when you can see everything.  Maybe I'm not looking at it right, I don't know.

[Principal_Skin-trade]

The only reason I complain about modern special effects is that most of them look so sterile, so inorganic. Now some movies have used them to really great effect(Pardon the pun), but most of the time they're just made to show a spaceship flying through outer space and little else. Sure, it's cool but it's got no heart. Now the Millenium Falcon... that was a ship that had personality and heart, it was practically a character.