The Rodent's Top 20: CGI In The Movies.

I've been going over all the movies in my collection and have been looking over the internet for movies that I find to be the best of the best when it comes to CGI.
Regardless of how good or bad the movie itself was and basing my Top 20 solely on the technological computer wizardry involved... here it is:


20: Troll Hunter

Ok, overall it's a bad film but the CGI is absolutely top notch when it's actually used. Especially for a movie that was shot on such a low budget too.


19: Cowboys And Aliens

A Marmite film for movie goers but the CGI involved, not just with the aliens, but all of the CGI throughout, is almost faultless.


18: Independence Day

Giving worldwide audiences 'On Screen CGI Destruction' that had never been seen before, and, exhilarating and faultless CGI dogfights too.


17: Terminator Salvation

Not the best of the Terminator Franchise but the CGI Machines seen throughout are undeniably realistic. Then there's that cameo from Arnie too.


16: I, Robot

Highly stylised looking CGI but certainly some of the best rendered in the movie business.


15: Sam Raimi's Spider Man (Original Movie)

Raimi's original outing for Spidey gave audiences a view of the comic book hero that they had only dreamt about.
Then he gave them more when his cameras decided to follow Spidey while swinging through the streets.


14: 2012

Awful, awful movie and the second one of Emmerich's to appear in this list, but the CGI used in 2012 is absolutely breath taking.


13: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

From the aliens, to the space ships to the Clone Soldiers themselves. Lucas' movie may not be the best of the Saga, but is still a gem in the CGI world.


12: The Abyss

Never-before-seen images bring the movie almost into its own genre. Whenever there's CGI on screen, even after over 20 years, it never fails to impress with it's realism and imagination.


11: Evolution

One of Reitman's in this list (), this time round there's the originality of the creatures involved throughout, and the fact that the CGI is incredibly realistic, make this a must see.


10: Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Cameron blew us away with The Abyss but T2 gave audiences a taste of things to come in the future of movies, and broke the mould of CGI forever.


9: Paul

Another Marmite movie, but this is about the CGI.
Paul absolutely blew me away with the sheer realism of the titular character. Simplistic in the look and rendered absolutely flawlessly.


8: The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

It was hard to pick just one out of these three movies, so I had to put all three into 8th place. The CG effects were awesomely awesome in the first film, and actually got better as the movies progressed.


7: Cloverfield

Similar to Troll Hunter in that the CGI is used incredibly sparingly, but when it is, wow!
Stunningly realistic and highly imaginative.


6: Avatar

Yet another James Cameron flick in the list.
This time round no expense has been spared on the highly stylised CGI aliens, CGI forest and the realistic human machines involved too, are top drawer.


5: The Matrix (Original Film)

Forgetting the awful cartoony sequels, the original Matrix gave audiences top notch CGI effects mixed with computerised cameramen.
In the process, the filmmakers also gave us Bullet Time.


4: Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes

More highly stylised CGI, almost to the point of 'cartoonyness' but what makes it stand out is that the filmmakers have made it a style choice. Apes has by far the best CGI when it comes to real life creatures.


3: Pirates Of The Caribbean Original Trilogy



Again, it was tough to choose just one of the movies. The CGI throughout is like with LOTR: It starts out faultless and gets better as the movies progress.
What makes Pirates stand out though, is the traditional and legendary look of the CGI, in regard to the world that the movies are set in.


2: Jurassic Park

The CGI in Jurassic Park didn't just blow away audiences, but it blew away the competition. Over 20 years on and the CGI is still talked about as if it came out last year.
Even today, there are scenes in the movie that still throw me into disbelief.


1: Starship Troopers

A massive surprise for me when I first saw it. I expected the usual standard 'Verhoeven sci-fi', like Total Recall or Robocop.
What I saw though has lived with me for a long, long time.
Starship Troopers' CGI is flawless, faultless and extremely exciting in the action stakes.
It's one of only two movies, Jurassic Park being the other, that fool my eye.



So... what are yours?

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Never thought about a list But the Abyss

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Ok, I just have to debate a couple of these choices.

Independence Day; most of the effects in that films are miniature work. In fact, this is taken from the trivia on IMDB:

Also, go here to read more about it. While there's some digital tweaking here and there, most of the film is practical effects. Even the alien mother ship is a model.

The Matrix; this is another example of digital tweaking vs. actual digital effects. Every fight in the original is real people. That's part of what makes it so great. I know the Matrix itself and the exteriors of the Nebuchadnezzar are CGI, but the combat is all done practically. And, watch the scene in the film where the squiddies are flying around again. They look terribly cartoony.

Other than that, of the films I've seen, that's a decent list. I'd say The Avengers had some top notch CGI, as far as recent releases. I'd have to really think about it to come up with 20 films!

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Cheers matey!

With the Matrix though, I meant more about the computerised work with the cameras and the overall CGI used throughout. I know that the first film was done with real people though, which is why I didn't include the cartoony crap sequels in the same spot like I did with Pirates or LOTR.

With ID4 I meant the same thing. When the CG work is brought into play, it's fantastic. Kind of like Jurassic Park it's mixed with models and stuff, but the combination of both and the CGI being as good as it is, it did give the audience something never seen before.

The original Jurassic Park still has the most realistic CGI I've ever seen in any film. With Avatar, you could kinda tell even though it was difficult at times, but every time I watch Jurassic Park I have to continuously remind myself that all the dinos are NOT real.

Woohoo! At last someone agrees with me.

I've got a few mates who say that JP is pants and they've grown out of it as it doesn't seem real any more.

Seriously beg to differ. Jurassic Park's CGI is still to be beaten in terms of genuine realism.

Starship Troopers and Jurassic Park are on a par really for me when it comes to overall CGI.

The only reason Starship Troopers beats it in my list, is due to the action stakes. Troopers has far more exciting CG Imagery when the action gets going, and it still holds up today without breaking apart.
Jurassic Park would be #1 if Starship Troopers hadn't been made 15 odd years ago.

Well I've never seen Starship Troopers, so I can't really compare the two lol

I was disappointed when I recently rewatched Spiderman 2 only to find the effects look dated.

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You're missing out matey. The acting is touch and go at the start but gets better as the movie goes on but certainly worth a watch.
Verhoeven at his best.


Hence why I only included the first Spider Man, Spidey 2 isn't on the list and the third movie is just awful in every way.

Also I want to say that Starship Troopers is my favorite satire of all time and I doubt anything in popular cinema will ever come close to how obnoxiously meta and self aware it is. It's basically a parody episode of Community but less obvious.

EDIT: And way more expensive.

I was a bit shocked it was number 1 not a big fan of the movie

Spoil sport

Here's a funny article doing something very similar to what you did! And they agree with some of your list!

Didn't realise Raimi was involved in Evolution?

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Woops... Reitman.

That's me not paying attention to what I was doing.

Man you guys are pros.

Between us... we know everything.

"Something something something?

That must be one my brother knows. Or something."

Oh, it was a genuine question as I thought he may have been a producer. Thought I was only person who liked that film though!

Really? I think Evolution is a top movie.

Not as sharp as Ghostbusters but def on the same level and decent action.

Plus Julianne Moore looking awesome too.