MovieChat Forums > The Last Starfighter (1984) Discussion > They invented CGI and it was great,

They invented CGI and it was great,

posted 11 years ago by johnjohn7799
7 replies | jump to latest

then they used it to make Jar Jar Binks. What went wrong?

Overexposure. Used to, CGI was this novel approach to special effects that wasn't often used, now it's the god-mode of special effects, literally making anything possible in movies (realistic is another matter). Special effects just aren't as impressive anymore because there's no question of whether they can be pulled off. It's all just a matter of tedious computer modelling and incremental improvements in detail.

[–] Enigmatic-Ocean 11 years ago

Yeah, but modern CGI looks like a cartoon. Seriously, have you seen Van Helsing? It looks worse than this movie (I love this movie to death, but the CGI is dated). I haven't seen much in the way of good CGI since the 90's. In the 90's studios were using CGI and models and the results for the most part were pretty darn good. HOwever, once the millenium hit film studios went to all CGI and the CGI got worse, the films got worse, the whole industry got worse and Sci'fi was damn near ruined by the Star Bores prequels. I really hope that film studios go back to practical effects. Blade Runner is still the most realistic looking Sci-fi movie that I have ever seen.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...

[–] HellboundHero 11 years ago

I'm not debating that. I said CGI makes just about everything possible, but realistic is another matter. Spider-Man can do all the crazy acrobatic feats he pulls off in the comics but he still looks like a video game character.

[–] kramsey20 11 years ago

The Last Starfighter invented CGI?

Right now, Tron is laughing its ass off so hard at that.

[–] johnjohn7799 11 years ago

> The Last Starfighter invented CGI?

Nobody said that. What do you think 'they' mean?

[–] The Shrike 11 years ago

From the trivia section:

"The first movie to do all special effects (except makeup and explosions) on a computer. All shots of spacecraft, space, etc were generated on a Cray X-MP computer."

Parse that however you will, but it was quite an acheivement at the time.

[–] devilmaster 11 years ago

Absolutely nothing, as Jar Jar was created from scratch for one reason and one reason only: to be hated. Don't you believe me? How do you explain, then, that the existence of the empire is entirely his fault?