The Worst Totally CGI Movies Ever: A Dive into Hollywood’s Digital Disasters

In the era of digital dominance, CGI enhances the visual effects in countless films. However, some movies have pushed the technology to its very limits, leading to some truly bizarre and unrealistic visual experiences. In this article, we explore some of the most notoriously bad CGI movies, focusing on Green Lantern and The Mummy Returns.

Green Lantern: A Critic’s View of Overreaching CGI

Given its reliance on CGI, Green Lantern presents an interesting case study for the limitations and pitfalls of this technology. The character himself, played by Ryan Reynolds, wears a suit that is entirely CGI-generated. The most glaring issue in his suit is the color green, which proved incredibly difficult to render properly due to its vivid nature. This unnatural green often highlights Reynolds' skin in a way that looks almost as if he has been spray-painted with something strange and goopy.

Furthermore, the design challenges didn't stop with the color green—it also meant animating Reynolds' eyes, which were covered by a mask in the suit. This additional layer of CGI work took the character away from a more traditional actor portrayal and instead turned him into a video game character, complete with ridge-like eyebrows and an overly detailed eye animation.

Adding insult to injury, Reynolds' character featured body proportions that were altogether cartoonish, with a disproportionate tiny waist, skinny arms, and strong shoulders, giving him an almost uncanny superhuman look. Additionally, many secondary characters, like the villain Parallax, were entirely CGI, further exacerbating the unrealistic look of the film.

The Mummy Returns: A Swarm of CGI Glitches

No review of bad CGI movies would be complete without mentioning The Mummy Returns. Released in 2001, this film remains notorious for its terrible CGI that has stood the test of time. The most significant issue in this movie lies with the Scorpion King, played by Dwayne Johnson. Johnson's involvement ended up stalled by his simultaneous role as a professional wrestler, leaving animators to piece together his absence for the final scenes.

The Scorpion King is a character that is half man and half scorpion with horrific scarring and claw-like hands. Despite the potentially compelling concept, the animators struggled to render the character convincingly, and the result is a monster that resembles a dungeon boss from a classic Dark Souls game. The lighting in the scenes with the Scorpion King is particularly poor, making it seem as if the character is flickering and jerking unnaturally.

The facial rigging for this character is also criticized for being extremely poor, almost as if it were sculpted out of clay rather than a digital character. This poor execution remains a significant drawback of the film, even today.

These movies, while aiming to provide thrilling and engaging viewing experiences, instead serve as cautionary tales of the limits of CGI technology when used unskilfully. While some viewers may find these films entertaining for their unintentional humor, they are a stark reminder of the need for expertise and attention to detail in CGI filmmaking.

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