Gore Verbinski says Unreal Engine set back movie CGI

Director Gore Verbinski told Pcgamer that he considers the Unreal Engine "the greatest slip backwards" for movie CGI.

He contrasted that view with earlier effects work, citing examples such as Terminator 2's liquid metal T-1000, Jurassic Park's dinosaurs and Starship Troopers' swarms, which he said still hold up. The piece notes that "nowadays, movie fans seem much less impressed by CGI in films," with a "general distaste for a perceived overuse of CGI" and complaints that recent effects can look less convincing than older work.

Verbinski argued why in practical terms: "I think the simplest answer is you’ve seen the Unreal gaming engine enter the visual effects landscape," he said. "So it used to be a divide, with Unreal Engine being very good at video games, but then people started thinking maybe movies can also use Unreal for finished visual effects. So you have this sort of gaming aesthetic entering the world of cinema." He added that "It works with Marvel movies... I think it doesn’t work from a strictly photo-real standpoint," and warned that "I just don’t think it takes light the same way... That’s how you get this uncanny valley... a lot of in-betweening is done for speed instead of being done by hand."

Key Topics

Tech, Gore Verbinski, Unreal Engine, Visual Effects, Game Engine, Uncanny Valley