The history of cinema is filled to the brim with examples of memorable villains. Indeed, more often than not, the success of a film relies as much (if not more) on the quality of its bad guy as it does on the hero! Thanks to the high bar set by these iconic wrongdoers – including legendary figures like Hannibal Lecter, the Joker, and Darth Vader – filmmakers have to try harder than ever to craft a truly impressive villain.
That might explain the increasing trend towards baddies created entirely through CGI, with directors convinced that we’ve now reached the limits of what can be achieved using flesh-and-blood actors covered in prosthetics. To be fair, when these digital delinquents are done well, the results are truly impressive, delivering the kind of malevolent on-screen threat that could only be imagined previously.
However, when an artificial antagonist falls flat, the impact on a movie can be devastating. We’re not overstating things when we say that several films released in the last few decades have been totally wrecked – or at the very least, severely hampered – by an unconvincing computer-generated monstrosity.
Here are 15 Terrible CGI Villains That Ruined Movies.
General Grievous - Revenge of the Sith
The poster child for CGI overkill, Revenge of the Sith’s General Grievous could only ever have been realized with visual effects technology. After all, this cyborg baddie is comprised of largely non-human droid components, making it next to impossible for an actor to portray him. But that doesn’t mean we’re letting the General off the hook!
See, the issue here isn’t really the decision to resort to CGI to bring Grievous to life. Indeed, the digital effects on display are pretty much faultless, especially by 2005 standards. No, the problem is that Grievous was even included in the movie in the first place.
From his distracting, hacking cough through to his ludicrously over the top physical gimmick – four lightsaber-wielding arms? Seriously? – an enemy this goofy has no place in the Star Wars universe, much less on cinema screens.
Abomination - The Incredible Hulk
Talk about living up to a name: The Incredible Hulk villain Abomination couldn’t be more aptly named. A bland monster-man rendered with CGI that is neither brilliant nor terrible, this pixel-based powerhouse is vastly more intimidating when portrayed by Tim Roth in his regular human form.
Perhaps this is because the threat posed by Roth, as power-crazed commando Emil Blonsky, is – despite his less-than-imposing physique – more inherently believable than the threat his inhuman digital counterpart poses. Or maybe it’s because Abomination’s character design – a grotesque spin on the Hulk himself – invites unintentional comparisons with an off-brand action figure.
Frankly, we think the real reason that Abomination is such an unimposing antagonist is tied to the underlying nature of The Incredible Hulk’s final showdown. Revolving around two entirely CGI characters going toe-to-toe, this climax offers audiences plenty of spectacle, but precious little to connect with on an emotional level.
Steppenwolf - Justice League
While some might argue that the real digital villain in Justice League is the shoddy CGI used to mask Henry Cavill’s moustache, the film’s actual big bad Steppenwolf isn’t much better. There’s just so much wrong with this cosmic warlord, it’s hard to know where to begin, and that’s without even touching upon how paper-thin his motivations and characterization are.
Perhaps the most frustrating part about Steppenwolf isn’t how unconvincing he looks – which is quite possibly the result of rushed effects work related to a rumored last-minute redesign – it’s how easily this could have been avoided.
Other than his inhuman stature, there’s nothing about this guy that couldn’t have been achieved with practical make-up effects, and even this could have been overcome by digitally scaling up a physical performer.
Apocalypse - X-Men: Apocalypse
While prosthetics and CGI-augmentation over totally digital performers is generally preferable, we have to it that sometimes this combo flat-out doesn’t work – as was seen in X-Men: Apocalypse.
Here, eponymous villain Apocalypse should have been brought to the big screen using CGI and motion capture – it’s really the only way you could ever faithfully replicate the ancient mutant’s enormous frame and distinctive aesthetic style. Instead, director Bryan Singer opted to bury Oscar Isaac in sub-par prosthetics and costuming, leaving the talented actor looking disconcertingly like Power Rangers foe Ivan Ooze.
In those scenes where visual effects were used – and where Apocalypse technically becomes a “CGI villain” – the results are equally disappointing. The scene where an enormous Apocalypse tosses Charles Xavier around like a rag-doll is an incredibly goofy-looking excuse for a boss battle.
The Lizard - The Amazing Spider-Man
Yet another comic book villain that could only ever have been created purely via digital effects techniques, the Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man nonetheless fails to impress. A lot of this has nothing to do with the actual CGI itself, which is well animated and nicely textured. No, the blame here lies with the character design – radically altered from its comic book source material to the point the Lizard looks like the poor man’s version of Batman baddie Killer Croc.
ittedly, it’s easy to see how this happened. The filmmakers needed the Lizard to be able to talk – otherwise, why hire an actor of Rhys Ifans’ caliber for the part?
G oing with a comics-accurate reptilian snout was never really an option since lip-syncing was needed. But the final facial design they settled on is so bizarre – even by the standards of lizard-person – that they should have explored more options.
Azog The Defiler - The Hobbit
Back when Peter Jackson helmed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, he was praised for balancing practical and digital effects work. This included the film’s legions of orc warriors, who were – epic wideshots aside – designed via prosthetics (incorporating the occasional subtle CGI tweak, where necessary).
Fast forward to The Hobbit trilogy, and this restraint fell by the wayside, with much of Middle-earth now manufactured inside computers – even Orc commander Azog! It’s not that the CGI used for this albino antagonist is terrible, it’s just that it never quite convinces, and just seems a bit pointless.
After all, there’s nothing about this guy that makes him impossible to create with make-up, as the previous trilogy already proved. Indeed, this was the original plan, however Jackson decided to totally overhaul Azog’s design during production, leaving Weta Digital no choice (and very little time) to replace him with a digital alternative. This Orc lacks the texture and grit of the Lord of the Rings beasties and it really shows.
Ultron - Avengers: Age of Ultron
Given the combined creative chops of those behind Ultron in Avengers: Age of Ultron, it’s gobsmacking just how forgettable this robotic big bad ends up being. Sure, the digital effects involved are seldom less than top notch – what would you expect with so many of the industry’s finest effects houses on call? And yes, James Spader’s vocals are a perfect fit for the sophisticated yet sinister murder-bot.
So where does it all fall down? Mostly, it’s how writer-director Joss Whedon has scripted the part, with Ultron ultimately just a little too glib to be taken seriously as the genuine menace he’s intended to be. Then there’s the villain’s redesigned face, which allows for a wider degree of emotion than his comic book counterpart, but which sacrifices much of fearsome aura as a trade-off.
Incubus - Suicide Squad
Generally regarded as one of the weaker entries in Warner Bros.' DCEU, villain team-up romp Suicide Squad features several questionably crafted bad guys and gals – but none really hold a candle to the CGI debacle that is Incubus.
A hastily-rendered bit of digital effects business, this guy comes across as reminiscent of a kind of luminous, mechanized bumblebee, which should provide an indication of just how intimidating he seems.
The real crime here – and one far greater than anything committed by any member of the Squad – is just how poorly developed Incubus is as a character. Seriously: he’s so thinly-drawn, he makes someone like Steppenwolf look positively layered by comparison. This all adds up to an utterly disposable villain, easily forgotten by audiences. Seriously, did you even there was another villain besides Enchantress?
Grand Moff Tarkin - Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Peter Cushing, the gifted character actor who portrayed Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, died in 1994. Rather than recast the role in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, director Gareth Edwards turned to digital effects wizardry – some would say “black magic” – to resurrect the late thespian for an extended cameo appearance.
The CGI on display here is at times genuinely breathtaking, which only serves to make the occasional “iffy” moments – think weird mouth movements and other facial ticks – all the more jarring.
Given Edwards was so eager not to hire a new actor to play the role, it seems like he should have streamlined the amount of screentime that Tarkin featured in. This would have allowed his visual effects artists to focus on perfecting only a relatively brief number of shots, enabling them to iron out any "uncanny valley" kinks in the process.
The Hemocytes - I Am Legend
In fairness to I Am Legend director Francis Lawrence, he and his crew did initially attempt to bring the movie’s vampiric, infected human baddies to life through non-CGI means. Unfortunately, the practical make-up effects developed to realize these beasties – known as “hemocytes” in the script – were deemed not up to snuff, and Lawrence was forced to go down the visual effects route instead.
Alas, even more unfortunately, the entirely digital hemocytes didn’t turn out all that well, either. Despite receiving a beefed-up budget and extended post-production time, the filmmakers failed to conjure a mutant menace that was even vaguely believable, let alone terrifying.
Indeed, these rubber-faced, gape-mouthed pseudo-vampires were more likely to elicit groans – or even giggles – from audiences, rather than gasps of horror.
