How Would You React to the Emergence of Superheroes?

I actually posed this question on Facebook before Batman v Superman was released. It didn’t get as long of a discussion as I’d hoped, but it did get some fascinating comments. I thought I’d bring it here, too, if people are interested in talking about it.

For the record, I saw Batman v Superman again on April 19th. Dad wanted to see it, and I went along with him. I liked it a bit better the second time around. I still have most of my complaints, but in general I’m not as bitter about it as I was after my first viewing, and I did see a few more things I enjoyed, plus the ending hit me a hell of a lot harder the second time around, too.

But that’s not what this is about, really…

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The Debate Over CGI

Before Batman v Superman came out, there was a lot of discussion about the use of effects in certain shots from the TV clips, like when Batman drives the Batmobile into his cave, or when Superman flies over to Lex Luthor… people were talking about how they noticed how bad those shots looked (a few people said that the Arkham games had better Batmobile driving effects than the shot I linked to above), and then moreso after the movie came out, as well. My response would always be to rewatch those TV spots and then keep my mouth shut because I just didn’t see it. They looked fine to me. Then when I saw BvS for the first time on March 24, in real Imax, and I did look for those things, but maybe not hard enough, because, again, I didn’t see it. The CGI, for me, at least, was simply not one of the problems with BvS. (Although, admittedly, that was also my first time seeing a feature film on a screen that big, so that could have been part of it.)

But that sort of clued me in to something about myself… I guess I just don’t notice CGI. I mean, I can see when it’s really bad… like the Rock’s Scorpion King in the second Mummy, or Neo’s fight with the hundreds of Agent Smiths in The Matrix Reloaded. But, for me, the CGI has to be particularly bad to notice it, and that tends to happen in a much smaller amount of movies than the anti-CGI people would have us believe… at least from my perspective. Even in this video, the CGI they point out (with the exception of the aforementioned Scorpion King and Agent Smith battle, both highlighted) is stuff I definitely didn’t notice when I first saw those films (though, admittedly, I would notice it now if I watched those films again).

During my binging, I came across the following video:

After seeing it, I decided I’d like to have this discussion/debate here with y’all. How do you feel about CGI versus practical effects? How often do you notice CGI (definitely more than I do, but still) in movies and TV shows? Do you think mediocre CGI can ruin an otherwise great film? What would you hold up as examples of great CGI? Do you really prefer practical effects, or can those be bad, too?