For the record, what was the other guy-vs-lots-of-guys-in-black-suits scene of 2003?

I'm really enjoying this series of articles. They provide a ton of insight on how these shitty effects came to be. I hope you guys are planning on keeping it going as a regular series. Even if we don't always agree with the opinions, articles like this set CHUD apart from most of the other movie sites on the net.

I'm sorry, but you guys keep blowing it on this feature. Only 1.5 days of really, REALLY bad CGI – the 1997 Jabba and Hugh Jackman's pants at the end of Van Helsing (the rest of the movie's CG was fine). For god's sake, if you were gonna go with "virtual actor" action sequences, you couldn't have at least used Blade II's ridiculous fight in front of the lights? That would've been more defensible. Anyway, funny but true: The Reloaded sequence looks AMAZING in IMAX. It looks incredibly lifelike and stunning – the detail goes down to Keanu's STUBBLE. But the smaller the screen, the less believable it gets. I'm not sure what that says about their render process, but somebody needs to perhaps work with LESS fidelity. Even so, still not that terrible.

Really? The Matrix Reloaded? One of the WORST? I think you just don't like the movie. Why do these lists go from great to "lets pick on stuff people like for the hell of it" so quickly?

This is the first of these that I disagree with you guys on. This doesn't belong in the same galaxy with bad CGI like Van Helsing, The Mummy Returns, Mortal Kombat 2, etc. This was literally stretching the bounds of the medium.

In a faux-meta kind of way, doesn't baddish CGI like that work for the scene? I mean, it's all taking place in one giant computer program, and when things start looking toony, it could be the program having loading/rendering issues.

hmm, another entry that doesn't warrant the slamming. sure the cg is a little dated, but the action more than makes up for it. this scene is hands down better than the CG found in any of the star wars prequels, when are you guys going to talk about them? probably take up the whole list.

This was the point that I checked out of the movie. Actually, it was right when Smith walks into the scene – literally. Really? The super long exposition ends in the "secret" park, the oracle leaves, 3 seconds later Smith walks in like a "bad-ass" with pigeons flying away. I cried "forced" even to my 17 year old mind.

No WAY should this be on the list. There are MUCH worse "days" (re: movies) with MUCH worse CGI in them, and this was pioneering for the time. For the "worst day in CGI history," there really shouldn't be anything redeeming about the movie on the block, but this movie for Day 10 seems more like you hit your deadline and picked something from recent memory instead of any real research…

Is it just me, or has the quality of Renn's writing gone from good to excellent in the past year or so? Whatever you're doing, man, keep it up.

I kind of have to disagree. The Matrix Films to me were less about the special effects than there were about a convincing thought out (maybe not well thought out, that's for another article) story that went into different directions at the drop of the hat, and about engrossing characters that seemed entirely out of place in the whole context of the story but pushed to redeem themselves as the trilogy concluded. I was never taken out of the story by the effects, however rubbery they may appear with a critical eye. What the Brothers Wachowski were doing was astounding in the sense that no one in cinematic history (outside of maybe James Cameon) was creating a new landscape for which the techincal wizards could play. Bullet Time definately pushed the boundaries of what was possible at that point and time, and although it looks pretty archaic by today's standards, what set the Matrix films apart was the synergy of philosophy and technology. And for me, it worked. I forgive Matrix because it was the first film to do all these wild effects, and the characters inhabited a computer world where anything could happen. If it's effects that take the viewer out of the story, I would say that the CGI superman in Superman Returns took me more out of the story than the hurly burly scene, but that's just me.

Ugh; good pick man, good pick.

I'm one of the few people on the Internet who likes (actually, kinda loves) this scene, dodgy CGI Keanu and all. I've never understood the fan hate for this one, and even if the transitions to CG fighters are not so seamless, this really doesn't belong on a "Worst CGI In History" list.

Bring on spawn!!!

Honestly, the instant I saw the selection for today's entry, I thought "half-assing it." To pick on The Matrix Reloaded is so uninspired, unimaginative, and frankly dishonest. For starters, the CGI in Reloaded was the best of its time when you start talking about digital stuntmen. If you were truly looking to present examples of the worst, then movies like Blade II (a film that I enjoy, but legitimately does nothing with CGI that couldn't have been done with editing and REAL stunt performers), Daredevil, and Superman Returns (both were post-Matrix sequels, and looked awful) would certainly stand out more than The Matrix. You just went for the internet's longstanding whipping boy, and that's just cheap.

You're kidding, right? This is the best you could come up with? I love this scene. The part when he hits him into the window, and the camera doesn't focus on it, but keeps moving with the action is brilliant. There are hundreds of movies that would be so much better to rip apart than this. Can we make a list of the worst staff picks for Chud lists? This would be number one.

good, you finally got to this film. At the midnigt show the audience literally laughed at this scene, more than one "video game?" wise-crack was to be heard.

When is the crashing plane at the end of Air Force One gonna make an appearance?

At first I thought it was a lazy pick (much like 300 or Van Helsing), but then I read this: "It might not be the qualitatively worst CGI in history, but it has to be one of the biggest offenders in terms of misjudging the application." And then I got the point.

Can't agree with this one at all. Dated and badly done are completely different things.

the rendering is bad, but its because it just wasnt possible then. for one it's not really cgi, it's mo cap, not like they animated nothingness, they couldn't do it in real life because those camera moves are impossible. thus mo cap and cgi but technology wasn't there yet.

I've said before and will say again: the watershed moment of the first film (and arguably the trilogy) is the dojo simulation: Reeves says "I know kung fu." – and then proceeds to prove just that. It's undeniably Reeves and Fishburne actually having the physics-defying sparring match, and that makes all the difference. Six months of rehearsal sells the fight, and then some. Out of all three films, the dojo is *the* scene. Everything that is wrong with the Burly Brawl (and the two latter films themselves) is wrong because the Wachowskis failed to understand why the dojo scene worked, and worked brilliantly.

In case anyone hasn't said it yet, may I suggest the rooftop running scene from Spiderman for an entry? He seriously looked like a plastic action figure gallivanting about.

nah; shit could have been way worse. Fail maybe. Disaster definitely not. thanks for giving Speed Racer a shout-out. Love that flick.

MY problem with the scene was that I thought it was too early in the film. That, or they didn't follow it up with bigger fights. I mean, here Neo is fighting not just Agent Smith, THE biggest bad-ass in the Matrix, but 100 Agent Smiths, and sure he takes off eventually, but he held his own for a while. Later, closer to the end of the film, he's seriously fighting a couple of dudes with boards that have nails in them. Where's the threat? How are you supposed to believe that Neo's going to get knocked off by anything less than a hundred guys at once? On a positive note, the flying effects in the Matrix sequels really got me psyched to see what could be done in a new Superman movie…until I actually saw a new Superman movie…

I had suggested this before and I am glad it made the list. Sure, maybe it isn't the "worst" CGI in history but it is in a movie made by people who should know better. I remember seeing a clip of this scene before the movie came out and I swore it was some kind of rough, incomplete footage. And this was on a computer monitor. When I saw the real thing I was surprised at how bad it looked. I loved The Matrix and had a lot vested in the original. The sequels only let me down and proved lightning, CGI or otherwise, doesn't strike twice.

Good call, Renn.

I loved the Matrix films – all three – but the CG in this particular scene is TERRIBLE. Neo looks so completely fake I actually thought the filmmakers did it on purpose to make the scene feel like a comic book. Some of it was completely unnecessary – jeez, do more wire work for Chrissakes. It took me right out of the moive.

Um, I'm pretty sure with all this action, the Matrix itself had to lower its resolution to accommodate it all. I'm sure they talked about this, how the machines were working on getting more servers online to help with the problem. I guess we weren't watching the same movie.

I always hated that scene.. it took me by surprise: was I watching a working print?

Part of the problem with this scene was the hype that preceded it. Before the film came out, I remember Joel Silver talking up the Burly Brawl as the most jaw-droppingly, seamless CGI that anyone had ever seen. It wasn't.

You make some good points, but if it doesn't have the worst CGI in history, then why bother putting it in an article called THE WORST CGI IN HISTORY?? There are many other worse offenders out there that deserve mention.

Come ON you guys, I love THE MATRIX movies but this scene was seriously shitty. Also, CHUD people, don't you dare pick DAGON for one of these articles or I'll burn your website down.

The CG in this scene is worse than Van Helsing because at least Van Helsing was bringing to life fantasy monsters. The Matrix sticks out more because we know that Keanu Reeves has bones, but the movie argues otherwise.

"The scene actually goes several minutes without even a hint of CGI" – that's not technically true. It just goes for several minutes without any horribly bad CGI. But many of the Smiths feature face replacements, and many more are entirely artificial. Plus there are set extensions here and there.

I agree with lucas, the Air force One plane needs to be on this list. I also think the scene in Blade 1, were Deacon Frost is cut in half and then glued back together, should be on this list.

I agree with #31. If it's not the WORST, don't put it in a WORST's list. While it's definitely not the best CGI in the world, it's not awful by any means. Once again it's kind of a lazy choice. There are still FAR WORSE uses of CGI in film that have yet to hit this list. The Burly Brawl was a pretty fun fight scene, if not entirely realistic in special effects terms. But any bad feelings I have for this scene are undone by the amazing freeway chase and the Super Burly Brawl in Matrix Revolutions.

reloaded is awful because they had set the bar so high the first time out, and they ran smack into it this time out. They basically used what worked well on the first film for BACKGROUNDS and tried to apply it to PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS — and it was a colossal fail. The reason the seamed together stuff worked in the first one was because nobody was looking at the background buildings while Keanu was ducking bullets … but when you use these digital piecetogethers for people, it just ain't gonna cross that uncanny valley or whatever they call it.

I wrote a huge piece for CINEFEX about the first one, and when I first heard about what they were attempting for RELOADED it just sounded impossible, but the talent involved made me suspend judgement. Then I saw clips on TV and figured, 'has to be a temp shot' — but it wasn't.

RELOADED was one of the biggest disappointments I've had in a movie theater, along with the first TREK movie (which I finally am at peace about, something that won't happen ever with RELOADED.)

I'm guessing a lot of the butthurts started responding before actually reading the article. Good going Reading Comprehension Crocodile, off to the island of Misfit Mascots for you! The cornerstone argument of this article is rock solid and you should pay close attention to it. Or else turn in your fucking Geek Cards, coz you ain't Film Geeks, you're Film Fans.

You have to cover that hideous Exorcist sequel. I'm mainly thinking of the scene with the hyenas. Awful awful stuff.

The list is spot-on thus far. Perhaps some of these entries don't warrant absolute 'worst' CGI, but the argument is that the filmmaker's could have done something a lot more constructive or simply 'better' to flesh out their cinematic ideas and that the avenue they chose was the worst. I trust that the next 10 entries will be as funny and entertaining as the past 10.

I remember, after seeing it, arguing with a friend that the effects in the scene weren't -that- bad. Oh well.. I guess it was in hindsight.

I don't know how anyone could this scene is anything but suck. The effects in this scene are not technically the 'worst in history', but they completely take you out of film, which is exact opposite of what special effects are supposed to do. It was bad 2003, bad in 2010, and would have been bad in 1993. For real. Rubbery Keanu, will always look like Rubbery Keanu, and never cool. Poop stinks and this shit sticks out like a sore thumb. And to you ding-dongs saying 'how is this on list?!?, etc…', we're only half way through. Relax. Also, I too love Speed Racer. A film where the 'fake' effects work. Good list entry. I love you all.

I agree wholeheartedly with this one. Are there worse CG sequences out there? Sure. But this one has always stood out in my mind as being one of the worst offenders. If the Wachowskis couldn't create the scene they wanted in a realistic manner, they should have left it out. It looks absurd and always has. That "It doesn't look bad, it's just dated" argument doesn't fly. If they couldn't render the scene in a realistic manner with the FX capabilities that were available to them at that time, then they should've gone in another direction, not turned the sequence into a video game. Those characters looked so cartoonish at times that it looked like they were drawn by hand.

Funnily it was always rubber Keanu that took me out of this scene. However I never thought the Smiths looked too bad in comparison (I never *noticed* them, so they can't be bad!).

I bet this scene would look much worse in HD though!

Gotta go with whoever called out Spider-Man.

That rubbery, feather-light, mofo just reeks 2/3 of the time (in pretty much all three flicks).

#1 – not sure if someone else already answered, but pretty sure the other one is Kill Bill.

Just rewatched the scene…. it's not great but not that bad either. More dated than terrible, as someone else already said. The real problem with all 3 Matrix films are the terrible scripts (yes, even the first one…)

God save us from opinionated nerds with a comment function.

initially this scene was awesome.. but after a couple viewings it gets kind of laughable. The 'lost in space' movie had some of the worst good ol' 90's CGI ever.. and spawn.. only half way through the list though.

Yeah, I disagree once more with this one. Sure the cgi is ropey at times but it never ventures into Van Helsing territory. The cgi never once brought out of The Burly Brawl on first viewing.

This scene is when the movie did a triple somersault over the shark. I agree with its place on this list.

Never even heard anyone mention this scene being bad until now. All of a sudden everyone is like "yeah, this sucks!". Bullshit. I would say almost every movie that has CGI could be labeled as sucking at some point. No movie has perfected it, though Avatar came pretty damn close. Honestly, this was a dumb choice. This is a great scene, and remarkably well done. If you are going to pick the worst CGI from these movies how about the sentinels. That is some low-quality CGI work and hard to look at.

While I agree it's nowhere as bad as Van Helsing, people have to admit that at the time we were expecting really awesome effects and everything. Reloaded was HYPED to rediculous levels. Just absurd hype was placed on the Burly Brawl and how it pushed CG so far. Then you see it…and it's so obviously fake it's pathetic. Worst CGI in history? No. Most disappointing CGI? Certainly.

When you use hyperbole, it can rise up to bite you in the ass. Worst means worst and, while saggy and unrealistic, (what is that fictional cloth his coat is made of?) the word "worst" doesn't apply to this scene. For those doing flips and spins to apply it, your wasting your time, as it says " The twenty worst instances of CGI in movie history." at the top of each article. Pretty unequivocal. There are plenty of examples of worse cgi than this. Maybe you could rename the series, "20 Most Jarring CGI Scenes that Take You Out of the Movie."

This doesn't even come close to being the worst CGI in movie history…where's the exorcist prequel, now that had bad CGI LOL

Waaaahhhh…. they picked on the Matrix! This movie does belong on the list, though lower than most of the other CGI offenders mentioned (and to be mentioned in the future). Truthfully, the "Burly Brawl" scene went on a bit too long in the film, and the CGI is very distracting; it easily stands out from the rest of the live-action stuff. To me, this film was one of the first to truly show off what CGI could do, but also was one of the first to use it as a crutch, replacing a good, followable story with tons of cool, but ultimately cartoonish action setpieces. If the CGI in a film distracts a viewer from the rest of the movie because it isn't realistic enough, then I think its perfect fodder for this list.

Cool read……..but this entry doesn't really fit your premise.

This is one of the TWENTY WORST instances of CGI? Really….really? Christ in a handbasket turn the hyperbole knob down. This is a finite list, lets not waste it on "this annoyed me" choices. And another thing: the fight lasted as long as it needed to. People who complain about the fights length aren't thinking in the characters shoes. At the point of the movie the fight occured, Neo was "the man". Agents ran from him. Think about the ego Neo must have had. He needed to be humbled, and it took the overwhelming odds of ever increasing agent smiths to finally do that. Sometimes dodgy CGI? Yes. Great scene? Yes. One of the worst instnaces of CGI? Hell no.

Renn,

Great article! I concur completely. I too 'was' totally invested in The Matrix. Then the sequels arrived…uhh. Rob

Its entertainment you know. It doesn't owe you anything. People are dying out there and you nerds blather on from your seats thinking you contribute somehow. Ever worked with a 3D program? Managed a project? Created an original idea? If so prove it. If not, keep arm-chair directing and see if it makes any difference.

Why do so many people that read this site complain about the content instead of just not reading it. I've read in more than one comment about how someone was displeased with more than a few features on this site. Stop reading and start your own stupid list instead of spending most of your day bitching.

I think this and other entries (like Peter Jackson's King Kong) illustrate the true intent of this series: to get people talking. If every entry featured truly awful CGI, then there wouldn't be much to disagree about… There is, after all, plenty of terrible CGI on display any given weekend on SyFy. This is just an attempt to fill up a schedule with high-profile movies that lots of people feel strongly about. Mission Accomplished.

Number 1 the matrix movies are a waste of celluloid. Number 2 Keanu CANNOT act. Number 3 I did not get the feeling the writer hated the film as some of you have said in your post. Lastly the other film referred to in the "hero against a retarded number of dudes in black suits" was Kill Bill.