10 CGI Moments In Recent Movies You DEFINITELY Missed

The marketing for Top Gun: Maverick placed an enormous emphasis on how much of its high-wire dogfight action was achieved practically, and though it's absolutely true that the entire main cast were indeed flown into the sky to perform their cockpit sequences, it would be disingenuous to suggest there wasn't a ton of CGI in the movie regardless.

There are obvious VFX embellishments like missiles, bullets, and close calls between aircrafts which would violate FAA violations, not to mention a digital version of Russia's stealthy Su-57, which the production wouldn't have access to for obvious political reasons.

But according to a VFX supervisor who worked on the film, the iconic shot of the Blue Angels flying over Iceman's (Val Kilmer) funeral was also achieved through CGI.

Considering the sneer number of actors involved in the scene and its specific sunset lighting, the logistical headache of coordinating four planes on top of that speaks for itself.

As such, it's tough to blame director Joseph Kosinski for going digital here, especially as so much of the film is a phenomenal achievement in practical filmmaking.