Is Poorly Done CGI Making Movies Worse?

Going to the movies has always been a way to escape. In the wise words of Nicole Kidman, we come to the movies to laugh, to cry – to care.

The soulless drag of everyday monotony is put on the backburner in the wondrous world of theater. The movies are sacred to many, uniting all age groups through the allure of cinema.

Recently, it seems like movies have been getting worse. 

Promising plots are exhausted into CGI-addled lumps of overproduced, craftless cinema sludge. The incorporation of dubious CGI into every aspect of a good film can distract attention from the meat of the story and appeal less to viewers.

CGI, in small and careful amounts, can make a movie turn from sub-par to superb. However, when used extensively, CGI can take the viewer — or even the actors — out of the experience and can come across as overly artificial. Recent films like “Madame Web,” “Morbius” and “Snow White” have all relied heavily on post-production computer effects and suffered in the box office. 

When each new movie is attempting to outdo the last in terms of CGI and special effects, what once was exciting fades into the backdrop of computer generation in film. 

The best movies of the 21st Century so far are done with sparing, meticulous CGI placement. For instance, Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” and “Oppenheimer” were huge box office hits. Nolan only used CGI if necessary, even going as far to replicate real math and astrophysics to model black holes or atomic bombs. 

In the 2021 “Dune,” Denis Villeneuve created to-scale models of ornithopters — dragonfly-esque helicopters used to fly on Arrakis — and recreated or filmed at locations across the globe to steer away from CGI replications and greenscreen sets. The finished product made the film’s special effects seamless, allowing the viewer to engage in the movie, instead of feeling like a spectator in a computer-based world.

In the long run, films that don’t utilize VFX do better in the box office and out. “Lord of the Rings,” “Mad Max” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” all utilize practical effects, and have been named in The New York Times 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century. Though they have 75 years to refine this list, the over-produced nature of recent films make them weak contenders in comparison to previous years.

Outside of the production process, ticket prices have skyrocketed, topping $20 per-ticket in some parts of the country, according to Cinemark. With the proliferation of streaming platforms, would-be-cinema-goers choose to stay at home rather than waste money on a potentially disappointing film.

In Chicago, to get tickets for “The Conjuring: Last Rights” it would cost anywhere from $15 to $17 per-person. Ten years ago, tickets for 2013’s “The Conjuring” would have cost around $8.

The recent spike in ticket prices nationwide could make viewers have higher expectations for films in theaters. Though it can be argued that movie tickets are a luxury good, and no one has an inherent right to go to the theater, spending more money does put more pressure on the audience to enjoy the experience. 

By effect, more pressure is put on the movie to be a hit among consumers so it can rationalize the price. When the movie falls short of the crowd’s expectations, they’re more likely to leave negative reviews, turning future audiences away from the film.

Furthermore, as streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime become more popular, demand and budget increase for TV shows, moving the attention of production studios that specialize in both movies and TV to short-form television in favor of prestige television. 

As attention shifts from movies to TV shows, it seems like fewer directors are willing to take risks to create longer, convoluted or theaters-only films. Instead, trying to play the hits by replicating what has garnered previous success with viewers has become less successful, allowing attention to drift to more indie and arthouse films from companies like A24 and Searchlight Pictures.

Rejecting complexity and new ideas in favor of viewer satisfaction has no longevity. Audiences quickly become bored with tired concepts and executions. Recently, to recreate the success of earlier movies or to fulfill outlandish plot points, action directors have leaned heavily into generative AI and VFX. 

Directors like Robert Eggers and Luca Guadagnino have been constant in their pursuit of quality film, creating masterpieces like “Nosferatu” and “Challengers” that have had immeasurable success in the box office.

Movies today lack authenticity, delivery and quality. The overuse of CGI and easy access to short-form media like prestige television draw attention away from today’s films, making viewers less likely to enjoy what they’re watching. It seems like the cinema and films as a whole are becoming less popular, and harming audience perception of what really constitutes a good movie.

It does seem like movies today are devolving in terms of quality and popularity, causing them to fade into the background of film. Movies today have potential for growth in terms of detail, production, and viewership. This doesn’t mean that the future of movies is bleak, just that it has room for improvement.