8 Recent Movies That Grossly Over-Estimated What Their CGI Could Do
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug
The most recent effects showcase, the second Hobbit film presents some state-of-the-art effects, along with questionable realisation. Now I want to make clear right now that Im in no way implicating Smaug in this. Aided by an incredibly detailed character design and wonderful reference in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch, Weta have made a stunning beast that stands as one of the best CGI creatures ever put on screen. Sadly, the dragon is made all the more impressive because hes surrounded by effects of a lower quality. Chief among these is the molten gold statue. Ridiculous in concept, the execution is even worse. Instead of looking free-flowing and gloopy, it just ends up undefined and stilted. The effect is only made worse by its poor interaction with the live action elements. And lets not get started on Thorin riding the boiling hot liquid. Then theres de-aged Legolas, the surroundings of Lake Town, the elven forest; they all look detailed (well, not Legolas), but something about them isnt quite right. There's no point of focus. Look at the above image; it looks very good, but it looks too clean and too perfect to be real. The added strain on Weta, with the project gaining an extra film in post-production, could easily be the source of this; rather get things looking good enough than lose that coveted release spot.
