I recently had a chance to watch a few movies from the mid to late 1970's which were made before computers could ever have an impact on the industry, and the effects hold up today. The ships in Close Encounters of the Third Kind still look damn good, the shark from Jaws for the most part works, and we all know that for the most part, all the effects in Alien work.
Contrast that with the computer generated effects that are now dominating the industry, and these latter day efforts just come off as wanting. I mean, I want to believe in what the movie maker is showing me, but my brain knows that they are computer generated illusions, so no matter how realistic the effect is, it is like my mind can't fully suspend disbelief in those situations. And I think this fact was brought home to me after I watched Casino Royale with its excellent action sequences, which felt so real and immediate... and after watching the special features on the DVD, I discovered that for the most part, those amazing sequences were well-choreographed stunt sequences with little to no CGI in them. They felt thrilling because there was really some sense of danger involved, and if the spectacle you are watching doesn't feel that way, then where is the excitement.
And I think many of you reading this will agree that while the first generation of quality CGI effects wowed you when you saw them, seeing them now, they don't seem so impressive and the little flaws have become much more apparent. There are notable exceptions of course... for instance, I think the T-1000 from Terminator 2 holds up remarkably well, and it was an excellent use of the technology, probably because I can't really see how that effect would have been accomplished otherwise. But it seems like film makers are using computer effects as a crutch, when they should in some cases be the icing on a mechanical effects shot rather than the entire basis for an effect.
Now, don't get me wrong... I've seen a lot of bad practical effects in my day... bad miniatures, bad animatronics and bad stunts which have somewhat taken me out of a particular scene or even a movie (King Kong from 1976 stands out) but to me, even when they aren't working 100 percent, I'd take a practical effect any day of the week over most of the work being done by computers for the simple fact that even when it is a puppet or miniature, it is a real object, so it actually has some weight and tangibility. And I don't care what other people say... to me, Yoda and ET work far better as puppets than they do as purely digital entities.
Will there be a day when CG creations will be able to completely usurp the duties of the traditional and time-honored aspects of practical effects? Perhaps... but I don't think that day will be anytime soon. And for that, I am grateful.
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