There was a revolution in visual F/X from 1990 to 2015 that made delightfully thrilling movie moments possible.
Check out some of the best over the course of 25 years, ahead.
The body-morphing result sparked a generation of liquid-gooey imitators.
Credit: Warner Bros; New Line; Tri-Star
Just look at theTyrannosaurus rex.
Sometimes it’s a model; sometimes it’s CGI.
Those raptors in the kitchen?
Tri-Star
An actor wearing one of Stan Winston Studio’s elaborate costumes.
The end result is just plain terrifying.
It’s a thankless performancehe’s literally not even on screen most of the timebut a visual marvel.
Universal Pictures
Scientist Kip Thorne helped the effects team exploreInterstellar’s cosmic ideas.
Titanic(1997)
Cameron started off as a special effects technician.
For his sinking-ship masterpiece, he used every trick in the book.
Keanu Reeves' Neo in the famous bullet time sequence from ‘The Matrix’.Warner Bros.
The climactic moment whenTitaniccracks in two required a massive tilting set, 100 stuntpeople, and CGI.
It’s still stunningand horrifically resonant.
Their elegant prosthetic designs made them creepy, yet hauntingly beautifuland Jones' performance gave both a soul.
Everett Collection
Twister(1996)
We can all agree that those digital tornadoes look cool.
Heck, the plot ofTwisteris mostly just people admiring those tornadoes.
But can we talk about that flying cow?
Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Starship Troopers(1997)
Legendary monster-meister Phil Tippett created the memorable creatures inReturn of the JediandDragonslayer.
A decade later, he led the studio to create the extraterrestrial Arachnid hordes on Klendathu.
The result: nightmare swarms of sinewy monstrosities, likeSaving Private Ryan’s D-Day sequence for cockroaches.
Rhythm & Hues/20th Century Fox
So the hotel corridor scene inInceptionrequired devilishly complicated sets, rotating the actors on wires, and steel trolleys.
The result is a classic “how’d they do that?”
Might’ve been easier just to go to space.
Paramount Pictures
Captured in bold 3D, Cameron’s Pandora is the epitome of the computer effects era.
Hold tight:At least three moreAvatarsare coming soon.
Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Carolyn Jones, Universal Pictures
Disney
20th Century Fox
New Line Cinema
Everett Collection(
20th Century Fox
Teresa Isasi/Picture House
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Warner Bros.
Columbia Pictures
DreamWorks LLC/Paramount
Stephen Vaughan/Warner Bros.
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
