thecolorsblend2 said:

And I think some of you have some really screwy ideas about CGI. It's a tool to achieve a certain illusion, same as any other from the filmmaking trade. If it's a choice between something looking exactly the way the director wants via CGI or else a hackjob, bastardized shadow of how he originally envisioned, I'll take CGI everytime.

I don't think anyone thinks CGI is bad, but there is a point where it overwhelms the movie. Look at a movie like T2, that is a perfect example where CGI makes the movie better, where the Robert Patrick T-1000 can do all these things on screen that wouldn't be possible in the 70's, especially when he reforms after being shot or something. Jurassic Park is another example where many dinosaurs were CGI'd to really give the movie that epic look that models may have not have achieved, as it would have been too expensive to build that many dinosaurs.

Where CGI goes wrong for me, is when it overwhelms the story & characters, and it becomes a big 'look how cool I can make this movie look' fest. You look at a movie like TPM, you have real locations like Tatooine, then you goto CGI environments like Kamino, Geonosis, Utapau, Mustafar, and just don't hold up as well compared to OT enviroments like Hoth and Endor.

I remember back in 1996, the huge summer movie to see was Independence Day, as the CGI wowed the crowd especially the White House Blowing up. That movie has not held up, essentially because the story & characters took a backseat to the CGI/Action fest that made movie-goers love it 12 summers ago. Now it is called one of those 'guilty pleasure' movies. Now those pre-CGI movies like Jaws, Star Wars, Raiders, and ET hold up much better simply because the characters and story were ALWAYS the #1 reason the movies were great.