The great special effects debate!

[The Curmudgeon]

Are effects not very special anymore?

CGI. Those three letters are enough to make some movie puritans eat their Harryhausen posters in rage. It can be argued that these digital effects rob movies of their integrity, that what you're seeing isn't actually "there", or that the craft of truly creating special EFFECTS is gone forever. True artists don't have to toil for hours now on super-realistic models and monsters to suspense the belief of the viewer. Just bung in a few ultra expensive computer images and the job is done. Others would argue that, since movies were first filmed, directors have yearned for the latest camera trickery to help get their story across. So surely CGI is just another stepping stone in the same way that stop motion, blue screen and stunt doubles are?

To me, CGI is a GOOD thing, but only in small doses, and only when entirely necessary. What irks me about CGI is when a movie is bombarded with it for no reason. Take the new Star Wars movies (please etc). Did ALL of the non-human characters have to be CGI? Did we ever watch Jedi and think "Jabba The Hutt? Pff - that is so OBVIOUSLY about six guys under there." Of course we didn't. Yet the human beard took it upon himself to make every monster, alien and flying stereotypical Jew CGI - because he could.

For the likes of, say, War Of The Worlds - yes, CGI was necessary (although not every scene - the aliens themselves didn't have to be CGI, for example), but it seems the likes of models and puppets are seen as old-hat, when in reality they can look a damn site more realistic than their computer generated counterparts (they don't look all shiny and weird, for one, check out American Werewolf In Paris and Alien 3 for proof of that).

I guess it's all down to the skill of the director and the effectiveness of the monster created. Compare the timeless chill Bela Lugosi created with his take on Dracula, free from any CGI, special effects (or even fangs in the original) to the feeble over-egging of Van Helsing's effect-laden Dracula. The latter certainly LOOKS better, but it's Lugosi's people will still be talking about in twenty years time. And what about Godzilla? The ultra-sophisticated 98 US remake Godzilla was intensely unpopular with fans, not least for the crap storyline they brought in. He looked "ugly", not "proud, dignified and handsome" like the original. And how are the real Godzilla movies still being made? Bloke in a monster suit smashing tiny buildings - and we wouldn't have it any other way. Or what about the Daleks? In another light the prospect of squawking killer dustbins could have looked pathetic - yet they became some of the most feared and popular monsters in history.

So what do you all think, then? CGI or not? Would you rather see a return to the monsters created by hand, like the creatures seen in Labyrinth, Clash Of The Titans, Star Wars Episodes IV-VI, Ghostbusters and a million others, or do you prefer the more sophisticated approach seen in Godzilla (98), King Kong, Lord Of The Rings and Narnia?

The choice..... is yours.

[Ben]

I truly haven't made up my mind about overused CGI. They work for some movies, but for others they don't. For example, King Kong needed the special effects (not that it mattered though, the whole film was a mess), but with something like the new Star Wars films, they weren't even necessary half the time.

I guess what it comes down to is that (using The Curmudgeon's term) The Scum want to see insane special effects, and they just don't care about plots, acting, detailed stories, or anything but pointless action.

Isn't there anyone out there besides me that enjoys cult classics, westerns, and carefully thought out films such as (here's a newer example) "Seven?"

[The Curmudgeon]

Not big on westerns, but a definite yaaay (in a manly sort of way, of course) to the other two.

Huge budget car explosion fest action movies don't interest me, nor do CGI-overload movies. Unless there's someone in spandex fighting crime in them, of course.

[InvisibleWolfMan]

I believe the "old school" effects are better. Not only do the movies The Curmudgeon already mentioned have more class and style than say...any of the Star Wars prequels but also there's a labor of love that comes through.

Take the remake of THE FLY for example. With today's technology, the scene where he vomits on the yuppie ex-boyfriend could have looked stylish and cool, but dammit...

That old school look makes my stomach want to empty whatever available contents inside EVERY time!

See, my meds are working now! lol