OVP: Best Visual Effects (2006)
The Nominees Were...
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson & Allen Hall, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Boyd Shermis, Kim Libreri, Chas Jarrett, & John Frazier, Poseidon
Mark Stetson, Neil Corbould, Richard R. Hoover, & Jon Thum, Superman Returns
My Thoughts: We are continuing our look at 2006 today with Visual Effects, the only other three-wide field in the 2006 ceremony. Visual effects obviously had a major place in 2006 (practical effects in movies go back to the early Silent Era), but by the mid-2000's, we were starting to see a move to this category being completely dominated by CGI. Before this, there was almost always at least one film that was dominated by practical effects (in addition to CGI), but really at this point the films with the most CGI were the ones that were dominating this conversation, particularly since there were few enough blockbusters that you could pull this off. This has occasionally ebbed in recent years (1917, for one, required a number or practical effects), but it definitely is the case for this slate of movies.
Technically, of course, there are practical effects on display in Poseidon. Certainly some of the fires toward the end of the film are done through more traditional effects than computer. That being said, Poseidon is the kind of nomination that happens through one specific sequence, in this case the crash. The detailing in this shot is incredible, considering the number of people & objects that are littered throughout, creating a great amount of precision in the CGI. In many ways we see the advancements that weren't around ten years earlier when Titanic came out, and how influential that film was not just as a catchup, but also a starting off point. Of course the movie is terrible, but that's not what this category is about, it's about visual effects, and this is a really extraordinary & mind-blowing sequence, certainly for 2006.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is also building off of past work, particularly Gollum in The Lord of the Rings, to create the signature effect of 2006, Davy Jones. Sequels are oftentimes encumbered when I judge Oscar races by "well, yes it's impressive, but we've been there before," but Pirates is incredible because it truly does do more with its expanded budget & in crafting a character entirely from scratch like Davy Jones. The result is wizardry-the character never appears unreal next to his flesh-and-blood counterparts, and honestly there are movies made today that can't achieve this level of detail-it's simply that good. The movie is littered with other great touches (the barnacled figures all throughout the Flying Dutchman), but it's Jones that sticks out in your memory when you focus on this visual effects bonanza.
Superman Returns is a largely forgotten chapter in the DC filmography. Unlike the latter Man of Steel, it did not span a number of sequels featuring the same actor (this is Brandon Routh's sole big-screen take on Clark Kent). That being said, Superman is a solid effects film. The flying sequences are strong, and it's clear that this is influential in a lot of future movies in the comic book genre. Some of the wires show (particularly the kryptonite feels a bit uninspired & hack-ish), but this is a good effects film too, and one that also looks really solid. This movie got a reputation for being boring & a bit belabored (certainly not the worst chapter in Kevin Spacey's career, but it was during this era that he was playing hammy characters in virtually every movie), but it definitely looks beautiful, and that is driven by the effects team.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Visual Effects Society splits its nominations between effects-driven films (the ones that actually get nominated at the Oscars) and the ones with supporting effects (which only rarely get cited with AMPAS, but are usually a more interesting lineup). However, this year they just did their own thing. Pirates won the visual effects-driven picture, but bested two films that weren't included by Oscar-Charlotte's Web and The Fountain. The other trophy went to Flags of Our Fathers, here over Blood Diamond, Children of Men, and The Da Vinci Code. The BAFTA's went with Pirates as their winner too, here though they included the Oscar-blessed Superman Returns as well as Casino Royale, Pan's Labyrinth, and Children of Men. In terms of the Visual Effects shortlist, Casino Royale, Eragon, Night at the Museum, and X-Men: The Last Stand all made the cut (not, it's worth noting, Children of Men or Pan's Labyrinth, both of whom were favored in other Oscar categories), and while Casino Royale was a critical hit, its complete absence at the Oscars thinks they would have done more CGI, here with Night at the Museum, as their fourth place.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I would've surely included Pan and Children of Men. Pan's is littered with great touches, not just trying to incorporate realistic CGI against extensive makeup work (not easy), but also little fairy tale corners at each end of the world. Children of Men is also subtle work, but that's what should get cited for this category if it's story-adding, and it really is here, giving us realistic worlds and enhancing them with futuristic touches to make it feel like our current world (and though women can give birth, it is surprisingly accurate how it catches other advances in technology).
Oscar’s Choice: One of those wins that probably happened with like 80% of the vote-a slam dunk for Pirates of the Caribbean.
My Choice: Easily it's Pirates-this is a landmark in this category, and the sort of win that takes it sixty seconds into a character stepping onto the stage. Behind it I'll go with Poseidon over Superman Returns, but I do want to reiterate-there isn't a bad nomination here, even if there could have been better ones.
And those are my thoughts-what are yours? Everyone is on the same page that Pirates won this right...like, who else do you pick? If they'd put Children or Pan's on the shortlist, would those have made it? And considering previous entries/originals for these films, is 2006 the first Oscar category ever that all three nominees had had films from their series nominated in the same category before? Share below!
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