25 Shocking CGI Movie Moments That Left You Speechless
The best and the worst of the CGI world.
The technological advances in the world have inevitably increased the importance of CGI in film. Some movies have lived by it, some have died by it, some have utilised it in even the most unnecessary spaces, while others have only used it sparingly.
Not only has CGI become so relevant in the movie industry, it has also become something of a topic of controversy. The standard has seemingly slipped across the board in recent years, with time constraints and working conditions cited as potential factors. It feels as though where it is used will always be one of the most scrutinised parts of any project.
Depending on a number of different aspects of a film, from budget to how exactly it is utilised, the CGI brought to screen can span an incredibly wide spectrum from insanely impressive to almost embarrassing. At both ends of this, there are those moments that have left audiences speechless, whether for good or for bad.
De-aging has gone horribly wrong, animals have looked horrific, and green screens have been appallingly apparent, while at the other end of the scale, motion capture has hit new heights, animals have looked outstanding, and the industry has been genuinely changed forever.
25. The World's First Purely CGI Character - Young Sherlock Holmes
There can be something of a stigma attached to movie characters created purely through CGI in this day and age. It's easy to believe that the likes of Justice League's Steppenwolf could have been far more convincing with an actor in motion capture.
However, what Young Sherlock Holmes achieved in 1985, way before motion capture was ever around, is nothing short of astounding. This was the first cinematic character to be brought to the screen purely through computer imagery, and it is no exaggeration to say that the effects look incredible even to this day.
The character in question was a 2D knight on a stained glass window, who burst forth into the third dimension. The glass shaking before it wasn't the most convincing, but the knight himself was so damn good that nothing else in the scene had too much attention paid to it.
This was 1985, and there was not only a completely computer-generated 2D knight moving through a real-life scene, but the camera even panned around to the back just to fully show off what an achievement this was. You'd be forgiven for thinking this would be crude and poorly developed looking back 40 years later, but it genuinely still looks impressive.