When unreal isn't real enough

Written by Kelsey Brookes Friday, 12 June 2009 08:05

Mark Pickavance over at Den of Geek has a great editorial on why the ultra-realistic visual effects of today leave him cold.

Although I'll leave Mark to cover the main ground, I must say I definitely agree for the most part that there is a disconnect between our perception of risk and our ability to suspend disbelief to effectively relate to the drama.

I generally put this down to crappy filmmaking rather than the rise of CG, however. I simply believe that for the most part blockbuster films, typically the most egregious users of CG, fail to deliver plots and characters we can relate to.

!!SPOILER AHEAD - TERMINATOR SALVATION!!

There's a scene in Terminator Salvation that absolutely gives me goosebumps, despite the film being (in my opinion) an exceptionally craptastic outing. That scene is solely due to great CG: the moment when the T-800, with a full Arnie face-replacement, storms out of cold storage and clocks Connor with a door. Seeing the original 80's Arnold Schwarzenegger, bad hair and all, brought up all the goodwill the original film generated and infused it with needlepoint accuracy into this latest outing, if only for a second.

See, we cared about Sarah Connor and about Kyle Reese. We even cared about the Terminator.

Today's films just don't make us care that much.

This is one of the reasons why TV has become such a passion of mine. It's a medium that allows for character arcs and plot development. Great shows, like Deadwood, The Sopranos and Rome all make us want to know more about who these people are and how they're going to rescue themselves from the fate they truly have made for themselves.

Blockbuster films usually don't bother, simply shortchanging the story for expensive visual effects.

I know what I prefer to spend my money on.