By Ben Miller
The 10 finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar were announced last week. Though once reserved for films that pushed the boundaries of what films could visualize, the Oscars have since gravitated towards spectacle and bombast. Of the 10 films, none came from an independent studio or had a budget less than $100 million. That isn't to say their effects should be discounted, but don't expect to see something like Ex Machina or shortlisted documentary Welcome to Chechnya from last year. This category is usually reserved for outright spectacle, and these shortlisted films reflect that.
Let's focus on one specific setpiece per film that highlights the visual effects artists...
Black Widow
The Red Room in freefall
While Natasha Romanoff's solo adventure came a few years too late, the climax of the film features the usual Marvel outlandishness at it's most captivating. Having destroyed the mid-air-suspended Black Widow headquarters, Natasha (Scarlett Johannson) leaps out of the window and fights further enemies on the way down, dodging debris along the way.
Yes, it is patently ridiculous, but it's also pure spectacle. Marvel films already don't follow the rules of reality, so why should a gigantic free-falling gun fight be any different?
Dune
Sandworms attack the harvester
Dune's world is so futuristic that visual effects are essential for the world to be conveyed successfully. The visual effects are more of a compliment to the world. As Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and the other members of House Atriedes come to the rescue of a stalled spice harvester, an incoming sandworm threatens the people and the equipment.
More than anything, this scene conveys the true scope and size of the sandworms and the destruction they can wreak. Instead of sandworms being something that is talked about, it is something personified.
Eternals
Eternals fight the deviants
Chloe Zhao's Eternals might have received a critical lambasting, but that didn't mean some dynamite action sequences were left out. Early in the film, the team of Eternals fight off the deviants to protect the people of Earth.
Though it is standard "punch and lasers" fighting, the deviants are spectacularly rendered by the Marvel visual effects teams. Each Eternal's powers are equally impressive, especially the clean super-speed of Makkari (Lauren Ridloff).
Free Guy
Guy vs. Super Guy
Free Guy is itself an excuse to have elaborate effects on screen, since the setting is in a video game world. Ryan Reynold's titular Guy does all sorts of crazy things throughout the film, but the climactic fight against a suped-up version of himself (also Reynolds) gives the effects a chance to shine in a quieter way.
While the majority of the film is bright and bombastic, this fight is more low-key, with smaller enhancements like a Hulk fist or Captain America's shield. Plus, the dual Reynolds are seamless.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Chasing Muncher
These soft reboots or loose sequels always have the "learning how to do the thing" sequence, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife utilizes its most famous apparition to do it. After discovering Muncher, he is released on the streets, but chased after and caught by the group of kids giving chase in the famous Ecto-1.
Some of the best visual effects are used to assist a scene, not dominate it. In the case of this chase scene, most everytthing is practical, with the exception of the ghost and proton streams. All the violence and damage done by the chase is done with practical effects. If the rest of the film would have taken this approach, it would have benefited greatly.
Godzilla vs. Kong
Battleship Fight
If you are going call your movie Godzilla vs. Kong, you better have the opening bout be memorable. While transporting King Kong across the ocean, Godzilla is alerted to his presence and attacks. They exchange punches on top of an aircraft carrier as they cause havoc in the ocean around them.
I'm not sure of a more memorable visual than Kong punching Godzilla on top of a ship, but it all looks as preposterous as it is supposed to. With all the technology of the world around them, there is something blissfully wonderful about two animals attacking each other with nothing but their bodies.
The Matrix Resurrections
Chase on the streets
Choosing one visual effect element from The Matrix Resurrections seems preposterous, but I want to focus on a chase scene late in the film. Neo (Keanu Reeves) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) flee a group of minions, but are herded into a "kill zone." A group of helicopters fire missles, but Trinity's driving and Neo's deflections allow them to escape.
It's all very confusing, but it doesn't mean it doesn't look cool. Cars exploding, deflected projectiles, smashed cars...it all looks real, despite the messiness of the narrative.
No Time to Die
Climbing the stairs
Sometimes, the best visual effects are ones that aren't even noticed. In an attempt to destory a potentially world-ending facility, James Bond (Daniel Craig) must fight his way up a staircase to open up blast doors on the reactor. He runs into some interference.
Just as he did with True Detective, director Cary Joji Fukanaga centered an action setpiece around a continuous take. At least, in this case, some digital help was needed. The result is a propulsive piece of fight choreography enhanced. This is what visual effects should achieve.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The Great Protector joins the fight
The titular ten rings don't get a true showcase until the final battle when Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is forced into battle to protect his mother's village from the threat of the mythical Dweller-in-Darkness. Joining Shang-Chi in the fight is the long-dormant Great Protector, a giant flying dragon/snake.
When it comes to climactic monster effects, you better make it big. When the Great Protector joins in the fight, not only do you get all the flying dragon you would expect, you get the full affect of how powerful the ten rings can be. Yes, it's more punching and lasers, but it's Big and Bold punching and lasers.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Mirror dimension fight
Doctor Strange is one of the more underrated films in the Marvel Universe, so it's no surprise they stole that film's greatest sequence for the third Spider-Man film. Faced with a conflicting ideology on how to handle things, Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) battle across the mirror dimension in New York over a spell box.
Buidlings folding in on themselves and trains flying through the air is cool enough, but the mirror dimension puts everything in an even better place. With no actual threat the to the people on the ground, the audience is much more comfortable when things get wacky.
Who will end up being nominated? Check out Nathaniel's predictions here. He did very well on his shortlist predictions, going 9/10 and missing only Black Widow.