5 Films Whose Special Effect Still Hold Up Today (And 5 That Haven’t Aged Well)

Special effects in film can truly be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they can add grandiosity and visual flair to a movie, coloring in details with imaginative imagery, action, and majestic settings.

On the other hand, filmmakers who lean heavily in this direction also risk tethering a visual style to an era that’s sure to evolve and improve. This can ironically make a movie that was once cutting edge appear “old hat.” It’s for this reason that some films that date back decades can hold up today compared to some CG-heavy efforts of the modern era.

A film that injects too many modern gimmicks or emphasizes overly-sleek CG may actually look more dated than one that uses animatronics, stop motion, or merely injects special effects in a more subdued manner.

With this list, we’ll take a look at 5 films whose special effects hold up today for these reasons, and 5 that just haven’t aged well.

10 Hasn’t Aged Well: The Scorpion King (2002)

While visual effects had become fairly sophisticated by the early 2000s, they still weren’t widely used, leading to some, shall we say, “misuses” of the practice. The Scorpion King makes for a good example of this, with its prominent CG that so clearly clashes with the live-action elements. Crude 3D visuals and the lack of cohesion with the set lighting make the effects stand out to an almost absurd degree.

Apparently, this Mummy prequel managed to transport the visuals back in time as well.

9 Still Holds Up: The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)

Peter Jackson’s more recent Hobbit films have received their share of criticism for the synthetic quality of the CG bombast. Yet, 2001’s The Fellowship of the Ring ironically has the benefit of coming from an era where special effects had yet to be fully realized. Thanks to these relative limitations, the film uses this visual flair only subtly, which, unlike The Hobbit, is more equally balanced with live-action elements.

When these effects are used, they typically contain gritty realism and chiseled detail that mesh well with real props, makeup, and set design. You’ve got creatures like the Nazgûl and Orcs that look visually convincing because of this fusion of styles.

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8 Hasn’t Aged Well: Die Another Day (2002)

Being a franchise that dates back to the early 60s, it makes sense that early iterations of James Bond perhaps look a bit crude and simple to the modern eye. But ironically, it’s one of the more modern, flashy renditions of Bond that manages to show its age in many respects.

While we’re treated to some over-the-top action and visual spectacle, many of the effects feel synthetic. You’ve got the (mostly) cloaked BMW that resembles video game graphics, and some rather blatant greenscreen backgrounds – notably when Bond is surfing across an icy sea.

The campy levels are off the charts here, and the special effects don’t help in this regard.

7 Still Holds Up: Alien (1979)

There are few directors who have mastered the art of impressionable visuals and detailed CG quite like Ridley Scott. While his more modern films have continued to dazzle, it’s actually one of his earliest works that’s been able to withstand the test of time.

Indeed, many point to 1979’s Alien has grotesquely realistic visuals as the main reason for its otherworldly status. Coupled with a palpable sense of atmosphere, this sci-fi classic still leaves an impression on many with some lifelike animatronics. The iconic “chestburster” scene is still burned into the retinas and minds of viewers decades later.

6 Hasn’t Aged Well: Tron (1982)

Steven Lisberger and Disney’s Tron may hold a charming nostalgic quality and retro flair, but from a technical level, it’s aged about as well as the typewriter.

Its adherence to computer-generated graphics may have been a visual marvel in ’82, but the staunch focus on these computer graphics has inevitably turned Tron into a dated relic of the past. The improvements in CG quickly left this sci-fi adventure in the dust, as they accelerated not long after its release.

Still, the movie has managed to gain a cult following, and it’s not surprising why. It’s become something of an amusing capsule in film history, much like Pong or Pac-Man has for video games.

5 Still Holds Up: Jason And The Argonauts (1963)

While modern filmmakers seek to entrance audiences with slick CG and grandiosity, artist Ray Harryhausen and director Don Chaffey provide a bold reminder that sometimes, less is more. This is the case with this fantasy film, which, despite dating back to ’63, showcases impressive visuals. Like the use of animatronics, stop-motion has largely become a lost art, and one that’s surprisingly effective in creating detailed, organic visuals.

This is demonstrated in the form of Jason and the Argonauts skeletal warriors, who convey a realistic look and animation that’s almost unsettling. You know you’ve got a timeless example of visual effects when your work’s demonstrated in filmmaking and animation classes today.

4 Hasn’t Aged Well: Star Wars: Episode 1 – The Phantom Menace (1999)

George Lucas and Lucasfilm have long been on the cutting edge of CG. After all, Lucas helped pioneer some of the earliest examples of computer-generated works, with his establishment of Pixar and his contribution to classics like Jurassic Park. But while his Star Wars prequels were made to be visual spectacles, they ironically haven’t aged as well as the original trilogy.

The first 3 episodes of Star Wars – particularly The Phantom Menace – are rife with scenes that, to a great many, resemble late-’90s video game cutscenes rather than live-action films. The overly-slick texture and vibrant nature to the visuals give a synthetic look that tends to feel hollow. This is in contrast to the worn, chiseled detail of early Star Wars models and animatronics.

3 Still Holds Up: Jurassic Park (1990)

Like the LOTR trilogy, Spielberg managed to capture lightning in a bottle by balancing subtle – yet detailed – CGI with live-action and animatronic bits. Being a film centered around massive reptiles who have long-since gone extinct, convincing visual effects were crucial. Jurassic Park delivers here, despite its origins dating to the Jurassic era of the early ’90s.

This was thanks to rapidly improving technology, realistic animatronics, in addition to a commitment by the animation team to thoroughly study the movement of reptiles.

2 Hasn’t Aged Well: The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Though the concepts behind Stephen King’s sci-fi horror are colorful and imaginative, the ’92 film rendition didn’t quite live up to these expectations for most viewers. About the scariest trait of The Lawnmower Man is its massively aged early-3D visuals.

Our protagonist’s strange trip into a computer simulation resembles some bizarre college experiment or off-kilter indie game. Much like Tron, these atmospheric effects may have looked groundbreaking for decades-old standards, but today stand out as crude and dated.

1 Still Holds Up: Star Wars (1977)

The original Star Wars still shines as a visual marvel and an example of how to convey elements that aren’t of our galaxy. Even with some added digital effects that occasionally clash with the organic nature of the film, Star Wars is visually rich and detailed, benefiting from some talented model builders, animators, and cinematographers.

Ironically, it was partly its limitations that allowed this ’77 classic to be as authentically lavish as it was, thanks to the inventive visual effects of Industrial Light & Magic. From the elaborate Star Destroyers to the thrilling Death Star battle, this film draws in its viewers with realistic, atmospheric visuals.

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