Movie Special Effects
Posted: July 6th, 2020, 3:35 pm
So I've been watching a lot of old "blockbuster" movie series over the last few weeks, and it's become very clear to me that practical effects age MUCH better than computer effects.
Let's take Jaws, Indiana Jones, and the original Jurassic Park movies. They all relied heavily on practical effects, with Jaws having no computer effects at all. Jurassic Park had the most, but their use was very constrained - only a few minutes of the entire film. As a result, these movies have aged beautifully. I don't think all the modern technology in the world could improve them.
Recently however I started watching The Mummy series (1999-2008) which was a different story. I enjoy these movies with their light-hearted sense of adventure, but they rely heavily on computer animation, and it hasn't aged well. The Mummy himself looks extremely fake - almost cartoonish. I wonder if I even noticed that back in 1999 when I saw this at the movies. Maybe I was willing to give it a pass since the effects were fairly cutting-edge at the time.
It gets worse with The Mummy Returns. The mummy looks super fake, as do the zombie monkeys, and most of all the Scorpion King at the end. He's a monster scorpion with the face of the Rock, but it looks like a PS2 cutscene. I'm pretty sure I had the same impression back in the day.
The one sequence in Returns that remains fairly impressive is the foot-soldiers-chasing-the-bus scene. This was one of the few action sequences that employ heavy practical effects. Coincidence? I think not.
By the way, the movie made up for its bad effects with its two leading ladies: Patricia Velásquez and Rachel Weisz. Talk about hot!!
Thoughts?
Let's take Jaws, Indiana Jones, and the original Jurassic Park movies. They all relied heavily on practical effects, with Jaws having no computer effects at all. Jurassic Park had the most, but their use was very constrained - only a few minutes of the entire film. As a result, these movies have aged beautifully. I don't think all the modern technology in the world could improve them.
Recently however I started watching The Mummy series (1999-2008) which was a different story. I enjoy these movies with their light-hearted sense of adventure, but they rely heavily on computer animation, and it hasn't aged well. The Mummy himself looks extremely fake - almost cartoonish. I wonder if I even noticed that back in 1999 when I saw this at the movies. Maybe I was willing to give it a pass since the effects were fairly cutting-edge at the time.
It gets worse with The Mummy Returns. The mummy looks super fake, as do the zombie monkeys, and most of all the Scorpion King at the end. He's a monster scorpion with the face of the Rock, but it looks like a PS2 cutscene. I'm pretty sure I had the same impression back in the day.
The one sequence in Returns that remains fairly impressive is the foot-soldiers-chasing-the-bus scene. This was one of the few action sequences that employ heavy practical effects. Coincidence? I think not.
By the way, the movie made up for its bad effects with its two leading ladies: Patricia Velásquez and Rachel Weisz. Talk about hot!!
Thoughts?