Best Visual Effects: Ranking Every Oscar Nominee
Written by Andreas Babiolakis
Last year’s winner: 1917.
In a weird way, I’ve considered the Best Cinematography and Visual Effects categories almost sister groups for a number of years now. To me, both enrich what we see on film. The photography alters what is present in a new way, while visual effects fulfil a different kind of illusion: generated images that “exist”. They are “visual” effects, after all. With that in mind, it only makes sense to hop to the Best Visual Effects category next (especially since it’s the last technical award we have to look at). This category is always difficult for me to rank, not because of quality alone, but because of conflicting prerequisites. Some CGI creations look more realistic because of motion blurring and other clever disguises. Some CGI looks better because of the huge amounts of detail, but then they are clearly easy to spot as CGI creations. Being both convincing and detailed is a bit of a challenge, and I’ll be going over some of that below. Here are your nominees.
Biggest Snub: Soul
It might seem silly to try and enforce an animated film here, but it has happened before (Kubo and the Two Strings got nominated for its effects, likely because of the CGI backdrops and inclusions over the stop motion nature of the picture). With Soul — which was on the short list of nominees, mind you — I feel like it would have earned a spot here. Pixar’s most unrealistic elements are their characters, but they are impeccable with everything else, and that’s important in a film like Soul, where the appreciation for one’s world around them is a major factor to the story. Looking around Soul, I can’t help but be swept away by the nature, city scapes, and other goings-on, just because so much of it looks that convincing. Besides, if we were going to have two Disney films here, I’d absolutely swap the film I have in fifth with Soul.
5. Mulan
Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury & Steve Ingram
This nomination puzzles me a little bit. On one hand, some of the CGI is actually quite nice. On the other, there are enough effects that just look… off. Very, very off. As if they were rushed in post. They look even worse up against some of the better effects (or the rather-nice cinematography), so it’s astonishing that these gaffs could even be missed. Even though Mulan’s effects shine at times, there are enough awkward examples that just leave me wondering how this was such a coveted nominee to begin with.
4. The Midnight Sky
Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon & David Watkins
Something like The Midnight Sky feels so paradoxical. On one hand, the CGI here is arguably the best of the entire category in terms of its detail (only to be rivalled by Love and Monsters, as you can see every little tiny speck of what is on the floating space station. On the other hand, it’s almost too detailed, as if the human eye isn’t looking at them, and it usually sticks out (especially when we hop between internal scenes and external ones). When characters are inserted into this CGI landscape, it’s a little more convincing, but it’s almost impossible to ignore what is CGI and what isn’t. As greatly crafted as these effects are, part of this nomination’s value is the illusionary aspect of it, and I was aware of these CGI creations almost the entire time.
3. Love and Monsters
Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt & Brian Cox
Even though Love and Monsters has a similar situation going on (hyper detail, like The Midnight Sky), it has a couple of extra benefits. Firstly, the conception of these creatures is really clever, and the extension of animals that we know in ways we’ve never seen before is a point in its favour. Furthermore, outside of a few moments, these monsters exist relatively convincingly with humans and nature, and even interact realistically in some cases (but not always). The illusion isn’t always working, but the visual effects here are always at least very interesting, and occasionally the intended magic is fulfilled (and, for a split second, these monsters exist).
2. The One and Only Ivan
Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones & Santiago Colomo Martinez
The One and Only Ivan is almost like a reverse Love and Monsters. The details in its animals aren’t emphasized greatly, and you get a more natural look. Even the success rate feels flipped: most of the film feels real, and moments don’t. Ironically enough, Ivan himself — while well made — feels slightly off. Other animals, especially the dogs, are impossibly real feeling (yes, even when they talk). The elephants fall somewhere in the middle (as do some of the other creatures). For the most part, The One and Only Ivan is incredibly well made, and its nomination is well deserved.
1. Tenet
Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley & Scott Fisher
Even though I’ve ranked Tenet first, it’s a bit of a paradox. Christopher Nolan takes pride in his use of practical effects, so Tenet doesn’t boast as many effects as the other films here. However, when implemented, it’s so difficult to tell what’s practical and what’s generated. That, to me, is an incredible achievement. The CGI of Tenet matches the actual on-set magic, to the point of being borderline indistinguishable from each other. The actual action made from CGI is also jaw dropping: from massive explosions, to the finer details to sell the idea of time flowing backwards (some was done practically, by shooting and then editing in reverse, but the CGI is the final cherry on top).
Who I want to win: None of these awards have any bearing on the Best Picture race, so these all exist in their own little ways (only Mulan and Tenet have other nominations, but not many). In a way, I’m fine with any winning, just because they made it here, like their own little category of the underdogs. On a more serious note, I’m going Tenet.
Who I think will win: Only two films have the luxury of having the awareness of the Academy on a higher level, due to multiple nominations: Mulan and Tenet. I can’t see Mulan pulling ahead (even with Disney’s power), and Tenet might not win anywhere else, so there’s a chance Tenet will win here (and a great one, at that). I’d argue that The One and Only Ivan or The Midnight Sky could be random dark horses, but Tenet has this one, as far as I’m concerned.
Tune in tomorrow for our next Academy Award category! We’re reviewing every single nominee.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.