Why Movies Were Just Better In The 1990s

Visual effects throughout the 1990s were at a really unique point in film history. As the '80s and all the decades before had relied solely on practical effects, the '90s was the first decade to have access to and utilise CGI. But because the technology was still very much in its infancy, it was used very sparingly and combined with the practical effects of the previous decades.

This meant that many films of the era have an absolutely stunning look to them, as you can instantly tell that most of what you are seeing on screen is real with computer effects used to enhance the mostly real-world sets. Brilliant examples of this are classics such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was mostly done practically and utilised computer-generated effects to enhance and augment the superpowers of Robert Patrick's performance as the T-1000.

Another piece which greatly combined the use of traditional effects techniques and the new CGI was Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Now whilst some scenes do look incredibly dated all these years later, some of the shots are absolutely stunning, including the scenes featuring Darth Maul, along with many of the effects shots aboard spacecraft.