Superhero movies have come a long way over the years. Technological advancements and improvements in computer-generated imagery have allowed movies to bring superheroes to the big screen like never before. However, CGI technology had to come a long way in that time.
The evolution of CGI technology, and the advancing skill of the artists behind the animation, can be seen especially clearly in superhero movies. There have been a number of comic book adaptations that highlight the improvement over the years. Films with bad CGI make modern effects shine even brighter.
10 Daredevil And Elektra Both Suffered From Weak CGI That Looked More Like A Video Game
2003’s Daredevil brought the Man without Fear to the big screen alongside the assassin Elektra. Elektra later starred in her own 2005 spin-off. Both films suffered from the CGI of the time in different ways, and the poor CGI detracted from the viewing experience.
Daredevil featured a few sketchy CGI fight scenes as well as an odd focus on a computer-generated rat on New York’s streets. Elektra featured a few villains from The Hand with abilities like Tattoo, whose CGI tattoos never quite felt like they came to life.
9 Green Lantern Featured A Fully CG Costume That Disappointed Quite A Few Fans
One of the oddest choices made in 2011’s Green Lantern was to use an entirely computer-generated costume. Although, it does make sense with all of the alien members of the Green Lantern Corps that were already fully rendered alongside Ryan Reynolds’ Hal Jordan.
Unfortunately, the costume looked like a bizarre artificial skin. It featured an oddly cut mask that ultimately distracted from the big moments in Green Lantern. The full CGI design of the villainous Parallax was given a redesign that failed the avatar of fear’s big-screen debut.
8 Reed Richards’ Stretching Ability Was The Worst CG Power In The Fantastic Four Franchise
There were two different attempts at adapting Marvel‘s Fantastic Four. Both movies struggled with using CGI to bring Reed Richards‘ stretching ability to live-action. While the rest of the Fantastic Four and their abilities all hold up well, Mister Fantastic’s elongated arms are anything but fantastic.
2015’s Fant4stic tried to use a bulkier costume to help mask the unnatural look of Reed’s elasticity. 2005’s Fantastic Four made it impossible to ignore some of the shockingly bad CGI that only seemed to get worse for 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer.
7 Catwoman Featured CG Climbing Scenes And Artificial Cats That Made A Bad Movie Worse
The 2004 reimagining of DC‘s Catwoman was one of the worst superhero movies ever made for a number of reasons. The CGI scenes were one such reason. Not only were computer-generated cats used, but a CGI double for Catwoman appeared as she jumped and crawled her way around the city.
Catwoman also featured a number of poorly-done green screen backdrops. These backdrops made Catwoman look like a series of connected music videos. These scenes, at least, served to temporarily distract fans from the other disappointing aspects of Catwoman.
6 Henry Cavill’s Contractually Obligated-Mustache Had To Be Digitally Removed From Justice League
There were quite a few disappointing examples of bad use of CGI in 2017’s theatrical cut of Justice League. These included the less than intimidating design for the villainous general Steppenwolf, as well as his disappointing army of Parademons.
What really upset fans was the use of CGI to remove Henry Cavill’s mustache during reshoots while he was also filming Mission Impossible: Fallout. Each scene featuring Superman‘s digitally removed mustache is cringe-worthy and sometimes hard to ignore. 2021’s release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League removed these scenes and improved Steppenwolf’s design.
5 Hulk’s CGI Looks Even Worse When Compared To The MCU Versions Of The Avenger
Ang Lee directed 2003’s Hulk adaptation, which attempted to blend mediums. With a new take on a comic book movie, Hulk won over some fans when it was first released. However, there were some complaints about the CGI used – for the transformed version of the Hulk, and the battle with the final villain, a version of his father that was merged with the Absorbing Man.
The special effects in Hulk don’t hold up when compared to the more advanced CGI versions of the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is especially true when looking at some of the other poor examples in Hulk, like the Hulk Dogs and their ensuing battle with the Green Goliath.
4 Suicide Squad Suffered From An Overuse Of Bland CGI With Forgettable Villain Designs
The DCEU focused on the dark side in 2016’s Suicide Squad. Suicide Squad brought a team of incarcerated supervillains together on a top-secret government squad to deal with the metahumans after the loss of Superman in Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice.
The threat came from within Task Force X. The ancient witch, Enchantress, escaped to free her brother Incubus, who was a fully animated character when not possessing a body. They took over Midway City and filled it with faceless corrupted soldiers and civilians. They all shared the same CGI design which failed to leave much impact.
3 The CG Claw Effects In X-Men Origins: Wolverine Paled In Comparison To Other Movies
2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine explored the beginnings of the popular X-Men member. Wolverine focused on the experiment that coated his bones and claws with the nearly-indestructible metal adamantium. Unfortunately, the effects didn’t stack up to Wolverine’s other appearances in the long-running X-Men franchise.
His freshly-coated claws appeared to float above his hands and didn’t match the look of the adamantium that was previously seen on the big screen. This gave fans yet another reason to be upset with the disappointing entry in Wolverine’s cinematic franchise.
2 Blade II’s CG Battle Scenes Came Before The Technology Could Really Nail The Movement
Guillermo del Toro put his own spin on Marvel’s vampire hunter with 2002’s Blade II. Blade II introduced the ancient ruling family of vampires who used well-trained vampire ninjas with high-tech infiltration gear.
When they first encountered Blade, they engaged in an epic fight scene with quick martial arts and a sunlight-infused battlefield. Unfortunately, this was restricted by the CG scenes which didn’t do the choreographed fights justice.
1 Spawn Featured Some Of The Worst Examples Of CGI In The History Of Superhero Movies
1997’s Spawn adapted the popular Image Comics‘ character from Todd McFarlane. Spawn is about a murdered marine, who makes a deal with the devil to return as one of the Devil’s dark soldiers, and embarks in the ultimate war against heaven.
Spawn placed a focus on the special effects of his hellish costume that didn’t match the capabilities of the technology at the time. While the practical costume effects were sometimes impressive, Spawn‘s CG cape and hellish enemies failed to impress fans in theaters.
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