Since the dawn of computer-enhanced graphics in the 1990s, the experience of audiences and Movie lovers has forever changed. Pictures and imagery have taken on a deeper and more realistic quality, so much so that they've become super immersive. Stepping out of the cinema after watching a big-budget blockbuster, a viewer may feel like he's stepped from one world and into another, owing to the visceral experience. And these special effects will only get better.
With the advent of virtual production, augmented and virtual reality, and real-time rendering, effects artists can create more detailed depictions of the world.
However, here's a list of movies that owe much to the brilliance of VFX and have come out the better for it. Meet the movies with the best Visual Effects on record.
1. The Life Of Pi (2012)
The stunning visual work in Ang Lee's Life of Pi took two years' worth of toil, 700 effects shots, and sheer creative brilliance. Many filmmakers had tried in the past to enact the world depicted in writer Yann Martel's bestselling novel of the same name, but none succeeded because the technology didn't exist to tell the story of a boy and his tiger. Lee, in his case, decided to ground the shots, no matter how complex, in reality.
So the vessel had to be set on the ocean, and the Tsinsum – the freighter ship that carried Pi and his parents – recreated. This made all the difference and separated Ang's work from the filmmakers before him.
2. Jurassic Park (1993)
Another film that combined practical effects and computer-generated imaging perfectly was Steven Spielberg's sci-fi horror, Jurassic Park. Speilberg made the film in the infancy of computer effects, which meant he didn't have much CGI technology to work with.
The final movie blended practical effects and CGI, but they mix so well that viewers could hardly tell one from the other. The movie became an instant box office hit. Attention to detail shone through in every scene, making the movie still appeal to fans of today, 30 years later.
3. Ready Player One (2018)
Fast forward several years ahead, and Steven Spielberg's eye for detail and sure hands brought him again to another project no less daunting, set in a virtual world called the Oasis.
Virtual camera and motion capture came together in this film to produce the stunning VFX work. The merger didn't always look fluid in some places, as certain character traits didn't smoothly transfer from one medium to another. But plenty of testing and something called ‘virtual reshooting' allowed for a fine-tuning of the pictures till they complemented each other and something close to reality was achieved.
4 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Since its first release in 1977, viewers have known the Star Wars saga for bold and elaborate visual work. And the 2016 installment doesn't disappoint.
Rogue One achieves something close to photorealism as the movie utilizes nearly 1,700 visual effects shots. Complete and well-rendered digital recreations of actors Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher add to the striking photorealistic effect.
It's almost impossible to believe that Admiral Raddus's ship, as it appears in the movie, is largely created through CGI and almost doesn't exist in reality. Almost every scene has a stunning sense of detail.
5. Pacific Rim (2013)
Gypsy Danger, the 250-foot-tall powerful robot in this film where humans battle monstrous beasts from the sea, became the CGI star of the movie. She took approximately 100 Industrial Light and Magic artists working at their San Francisco, Vancouver, and Singapore facilities to build.
Gypsy Danger required 1,590 visual effects shots layered together. Each part of this beautiful beast took hard work from ILM artists and lots of rendering to achieve. But when she moved through a scene, it became evident that the work paid off.
For many viewers, the effort put into the VFX in Pacific Rim offered enough to endear the movie to their hearts, and some others even argued that it elevated the film from a mere monsters-versus-humans piece to something more majestic. Whatever the case, the towering work that went into this film will continue to hold viewers spellbound and remains proof of the heights VFX can reach.
6. War for The Planet of The Apes (2017)
If 2011's Rise of The Planet of the Apes, the first in the trilogy, seemed like a groundbreaking effort in CGI, and its 2014 sequel Dawn of The Planet of The Apes continued the trend, then War for The Planet of the Apes, the 2017 finale, represented the pinnacle of achievement.
This film, which got an Oscar nomination for its VFX work, had many spectacular moments, including an avalanche and brilliant helicopter battle.
The actors' stellar performances, led by Andy Serkis, who played Caesar, the protagonist, helped elevate the movie, and the transmission of this acting from man to ape, became truly a joy to behold.
7. The Matrix (1999)
There exist many iconic scenes and moments in the Matrix trilogy, and actor Keanu Reeves has gone on to create plenty more in his John Wick franchise, but few compare to the coolness of the bullet-time scene in the first Matrix.
The moment Neo bends backward in slow-motion as a slew of bullets passes above will remain etched into the memory of the Matrix faithful. Though this scene now appears retro in light of major VFX advances and slow-motion technology, it remains a testament to the groundbreaking and unprecedented CGI employed in the movie that scenes like this still hold a place in the hearts of audiences.
8. Interstellar (2014)
One of the strengths of this movie was its grounding in reality. No matter how far it strayed in its traversing of the stars and elegant display of a black hole, no matter the scale of the idea, it stayed tethered to the facts of science.
The movie director, Christopher Nolan, known for his “tactile sense of reality,” made it seem like viewers could touch the spacecraft and employed puppets controlled by an actor on set.
In one of the movie's most mesmerizing scenes, the event horizon of a supermassive black hole comes into view, the accretion disc glowing. To depict this accurately, Nolan had to work with theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, who doubled as an executive producer of the film. But by depicting the event horizon of the black hole, Nolan could create the image of a black hole without breaking scientific laws.
9. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
An Academy and BAFTA award-winning movie, this visual fest lived up to expectations and matched the love and popularity of the first installment in the series, Ridley Scott's 1982 cyberpunk drama, Blade Runner.
This sequel became one of the few that could go toe to toe with a well-received first movie. It did this due to visual similarities with the original movie. The world of Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049 appeared more grim. Though the original movie remained well respected, Villeneuve didn't want to make the same movie.
10. Titanic (1997)
James Cameron went underwater to film the real Titanic in its grave, diving so many times to explore the ship that he joked that he “had spent longer hours on the ship than the captain himself.”
The combination of cutting-edge CGI technology and practical effects makes this movie stand out from others who have tried to tell the story of the Titanic's tragic fate. And to this day, the movie remains a memorable one.
11. Avengers: Infinity War (2019)
This Marvel movie spanned galaxies, planets, spaceships, and fictitious countries inhabited by aliens and monsters. The amazing artists at Industrial Lights and Magic, DNEG, Framestore, and many other studios created beautiful pictures in this movie, enough to land an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.
The movie employed over 2,700 VFX shots to render both superpowers and stunts. The amazing work of motion capture and CGI shines the most in Thanos' depiction. His body movement and gestures, combined with the great acting of Josh Brolin, create a villainous character that viewers have loved to hate.
12. Alita: Battle Angel (2019)
Based on the Japanese Manga series by Yukito Kishiro, the story follows Alita (Rosa Salazar), a bionic young woman who wakes up with no recollections of her past. She later discovers she has incredible fighting abilities and goes off on a journey of self-discovery.
This futuristic world mixes live-action with CGI characters, creating an avenue for actors to connect. When actress Salazar interacts with another character holding an apple, she bites into the fruit. The nuances of her expressions come on full display. This demonstrates the massive amount of work that went into the VFX of the movie.
13. The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The second installment in director Peter Jackson's trilogy remains just as good (if not better) than the first. Of course, the first film, Fellowship of the Ring, won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects with its breathtaking visuals, so the sequel had its work cut out to live up to the legacy. But Peter Jackson, creator of WETA, stayed unflinching in the face of the daunting task, going above and beyond to create something epic and truly remarkable.
The introduction of Gollum (a completely digital character) in the movie, combined with Andy Serkis' masterful acting, gave the second film an edge. Effects artists tied the actor's into Gollum's, giving him a lifelike appearance that will wow viewers today.
14. Aliens (1986)
The practical effects, use of costumes, and awesome cinematography come together to make this film stunning. Aliens has a lot of terrifying moments and body slashing that can make a viewer's heart palpitate, but the rendering of the Xenomorphs (the villainous alien race) gives this movie its shine.
In the words of film critic Roger Ebert, “I don't know how else to describe this: The movie made me feel bad. It filled me with feelings of unease and disquiet and anxiety. I walked outside and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I was drained. I'm not sure “Aliens” is what we mean by entertainment. Yet I have to be accurate about this movie: It is a superb example of filmmaking craft.”
15. Dune (2021)
Denis Villeneuve's Dune is a celebration of VFX and the last word in cinematography. This epic adaptation of Frank Herbert's novels feels like it has done it all.
The desert planet of Arrakis comes to life in this colossal film, drawing viewers into the world of Frank Herbert with frame after frame of picturesque beauty. The film has 1,700 VFX shots, and more than half of it is done by DNEG, a London-based visual effects and animation company led by Namit Malhotra. “Photorealistic” best describes this two-part masterpiece, and viewers can only hope that the second installment, when it is released, is just as visually pleasing.
16. Pirates of The Caribbean: The Curse of The Black Pearl (2003)
The second entry in the franchise, The Curse of the Black Pearl, became a mega box office hit, earning Disney huge profits despite their doubt in the movie and Johnny Depp's portrayal of the Captain Jack Sparrow character.
The film also picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects, thanks again to the stunning artists at Industrial Lights and Magic. Despite being shot on a tight budget, (the reason the cursed skeletons only turned at moonlight rather than all night long) ILM managed to find a way to make it work.
17. Tenet (2020)
Christopher Nolan almost outdid himself in this mind-bending flick. Actions moved forward and backward through time, and the plot tangled into itself, making for a hard-to-follow timeline. But the visuals, nonetheless, remained cutting-edge and super creative. Actors learned their actions forwards and backward, often so the effects team could reverse scenes in postproduction.
While the plot may have seemed too complex to follow, the CG work stayed solid all through.
18. Transformers: Dark of The Moon (2011)
The Transformers franchise is well known for its complex and superb visuals, rendering the aliens and all their moving parts in some of the most photorealistic effects in cinema. Dark of The Moon doesn't disappoint.
Industrial Light and Magic showed off their creative prowess in this movie. The Driller, a complex snake-like creature with over 10,000 parts, proved ambitious even for this company that had worked on scores of blockbuster movies. Creating it required massive computing power, and even with one at the ILM's disposal, it still took over 200,000 hours of rendering time per day. The final cut looked clean on screen, but the massive work behind the scenes was breathtaking.
19. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The movie endures today thanks to spectacular visual effects.
This movie utilized practical effects to near perfection, making it appear that the scenes had CGI enhancement. From rotating rooms to floating pens, director Stanley Kubrick infused enough visual elements into every scene so viewers couldn't help developing a sense of weightlessness while watching the film.
The artistic merit showed the possibility of creating such immersive and detailed scenes without the aid of computer-generated imaging.
20. Avatar (2009)
Avatar pushed the boundaries of possibility in cinematic visual effects. Director James Cameron has an eye for new dimensions to explore, and what other direction to take cinema, and in his 2009 movie, he demonstrated it yet again.
The film blended live-action with digital sequences, creating a realistic picture of human contact with an extraterrestrial race.
At James Cameron conceived of the idea, technology hadn't caught up to the type of movie he wanted to shoot. So he waited for the technology to catch up. He surrendered a lot to the making of this movie: time, effort, and money, and though it took a while for it all to come together, the result remains one of James Cameron's best works of all time.
21. Oppenheimer (2023)
Christopher Nolan's latest offering, Oppenheimer, centers on the events that took place before the infamous detonation of the bombs that took down Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
A lot has been made of Nolan's statement that the movie doesn't use computer-generated images, and people have erroneously taken that to mean there are no visual effects in it. Of course, there are visual effects in the movie, just non-CGI effects. Nolan shot the movie on 65 mm film, using IMAX and high-speed cameras to capture the explosion scenes.
