The 2000s saw filmmakers massively expand on what a sci-fi movie could be, as it was no longer just an action vehicle for Arnold Schwarzenegger, but could now be romantic dramas and superhero movies.

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With all these new factors at hand at the turn of the century, there were also significant strides in CGI, with practical effects becoming a distant image in the rear view mirror. And more often than ever, movies were fooling audiences by cleverly hiding the use of CGI in places where it wasn't even apparent it was being used.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

jim carrey kate winslet eternal sunshine of the spotless mind michel gondry

Surreal worlds collided when celebrated writer Charlie Kaufman and acclaimed French director Michel Gondry teamed up to bring audiences a mind-bending Jim Carey movie, and it resulted in the very best Charlie Kaufman movie to date. Being one who is obsessed with practical effects, Gondry used CGI sparingly and as little as he could possibly get away with.

The commentary on the DVD reaveals that when Carey is sitting on a sofa bed on the street and it flips open by itself, there was no CGI regarding the couch. Instead, CG was used to scrub out the crew member behind the sofa who kicked it open.

Children Of Men

Children of Men baby

With Children of Men being one of the 2000s masterpieces you’ve probably never seen, its CGI effects weren’t part of the appeal, but that’s because nobody noticed the effects one iota and that includes and extremely realistic baby that Clive Owen delivers. According to Entertainment Weekly, the baby that the actor holds is an animatronic doll, but CGI was used to give it facial features and more movement which resulted in the baby looking mind-blowingly real.

Spider-Man 2

Doc Ock and his fusion power device in Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 2 has become a classic superhero movie and it’s partly thanks to Alfred Molina’s take on the villain, Doctor Octopus, which is one of the reasons why it’s still considered by some to be the definitive Spidey movie. The film is full of huge set pieces and explosions that are clearly CGI, but at the end of the movie, when Doc Oc’s mangled body is under all of the wreckage, the shot is entirely CG, including an astonishingly realistic rendering of Molina’s face.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Prairie Dog in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Though it is considered one of the worst films made by a great director, Steven Spielberg arguably did his best when it came to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, despite story writer George Lucas' decision to turn the movie in to an alien sci-fi fest.

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When two cars are racing at the beginning of a movie, one of the vehicles drives over a gopher hole. Afterwards, a gopher pops out of the hole, and though it wasn’t remotely necessary, the gopher was completely CGI according to a behind-the-scenes featurette on the DVD.

Signs

Wearing tinfoil hats in Signs

Signs became the first M. Night Shyamalan movie to fully embrace CGI, as the notorious filmmaker had avoided it at all costs for The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. As all of the aliens seen in the movie are CGI, save for a couple of animatronic hands, and one of the hardest shots to pull off was when an alien was carrying Morgan.

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Though many people believed it was a person in a costume, a making-of special about the movie revealed that Rory Culkin, the actor who played Morgan, was suspended using wires, and then the shot of the alien was digitally rendered around the shot of Morgan.

Iron Man

Iron-Man-2008 Cropped

A lot of time and effort is spent by costume designers trying to create the perfect suit for superheroes that will appease fans, but due to the high concept of some of the suits, it just isn’t possible using only practical materials. People will argue forever about what is Tony Stark’s best look, but the original is arguably the best, which is made out of rubber, metal, and even a touch of CGI, though it is very well hidden— unlike all the subsequent Iron Man suits that were 100% CGI and, for the most part, very much look like it.

Jurassic Park III

jurassic park 3 Ceratosaurus Cropped

With the original Jurassic Park being a landmark in computer generated images, the second instalment, and especially the third, hardly ever get mentioned. But Jurassic Park III made some huge strides in terms of lighting when it comes to CG. Many of the light sources in the movie are completely computer generated, including the lightning and fire reflections on the Spinosaurus’ skin in the final showdown.

Moon

Sam Rockwell standing in a space suit in Moon

Coming in just under the wire at the very end of the decade, Moon has become a cult hit and is one of the best sci-fi movies available on Netflix. One of the reasons the movie has been praised so much is for its use of practical effects, huge sets, and miniature models. However, every time that moon buggy is seen on screen, it is attached to wires that have been edited out.

Serenity

Jayne, Zöe, and Malcolm pointing their guns at something

One of the most impressive things about Serenity, the movie follow up to the TV show Firefly, is that it uses almost no CGI. This wasn’t an artistic choice that director Joss Whedon made, but it was due to the budget constraints the movie had. However, the opening scene is a grand tracking shot that is presumably done in one take, but it contains a CGI wipe using the background image of the wall when two actors walk down a stairwell.

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