OVP: Best Visual Effects (2018)
The Nominees Were...
Dan DeLeeuw, Kelly Port, Russell Earl, & Dan Sudick, Avengers: Infinity War
Christopher Lawrence, Michael Eames, Theo Jones, & Chris Corbould, Christopher Robin
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles, & JD Schwalm, First Man
Roger Guyett, Grady Cofer, Matthew E. Butler, & David Shirk, Ready Player One
Rob Bredow, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan, & Dominic Tuohy, Solo: A Star Wars Story
My Thoughts: One of the most overused phrases with the Oscars is "they would've won in any other year." Every year this one get trotted out as if every year somehow has the best field ever, and it's rarely the case. In fact, in some cases (like this lineup), there were no obvious frontrunners, and none of these films would have been heavy favorites in a different year, including the favorite. That's because the movie that everyone expected to land a nomination, Black Panther, was somehow not included. Black Panther is on a minute list of films with heavy visual effects work to score a nomination for Best Picture...and then miss for Best VFX. Putting aside the fact that the Visual Effects were not the film's centerpiece (they were just okay), this left this race totally upended, and a genuine surprise over who would ultimately win.
It's worth noting, of course, that the character of Black Panther is still represented here, albeit in a different movie. Avengers: Infinity War was the second Avengers film to score a nomination for Best Visual Effects (to date, no MCU film has won this trophy, though they'll definitely be gunning for it in 2021 with four contenders). The film's visual effects are huge (that budget is bananas), but most of this is stuff we've been to before. The Thanos' snap effect is chilling & well-done (it was spoofed for a reason), but this is one somewhat simplistic effect in a movie brimming with options. This is better than Black Panther's effects, but I don't quite subscribe to the "more is more" mentality of this nomination.
First Man proves this better than anybody. Oscar has gone to the outer space well repeatedly over the past decade, but it is a place rife for creativity. The moon sequence, where Ryan Gosling's Neil Armstrong has to leave the bounds of earth before he can finally move on from the death of his daughter is such an emotional scene, but it needs the effects to feel fully transportive-if we think for one second that Gosling is on a sound lot in Atlanta we're just not going to buy this. The effects artists pay attention, never overshadowing the work being done by the astronauts, but also putting the film & the actors centerstage. It's truly great supporting effects.
Christopher Robin is not a film that has a lot of supporting effects, as many of its characters are central stage (and imaginary). Sometimes when this happens, the visual effects artists become a bit too preoccupied about trying to replicate something real, and there's an uncanny valley effect that happens; Disney is notorious for this with movies like The Jungle Book or The Lion King where the CGI becomes flat it's trying so hard to be real. This isn't the case for Christopher Robin-we aren't meant to believe these figures are true-to-life, and in the process they are allowed to be something else you don't get from those other movies: beautiful. These wonderful, detail-rich stuffed animals inhabit the film well & stand out as genuinely lovely. I liked this movie, but I think this is one of the classier VFX nominations that the Oscars has done in a while, and I salute it.
Solo: A Star Wars Story might be the most traditional gigantic visual effects feast here. We get to see robots & flying saucers, including the particularly fantastic L3-37 (as truly impressive as pretty much any robots within the series) all come to life here. Solo doesn't have some of the messy politics of Rogue One (bringing actors back from the dead), and it also isn't trying to be something that Star Wars isn't-there's artistry here (the Kessel Run sequence is fabulous), but it also has fun with its effects. There's a wryness in this movie that (think of a scene like the Speeder Chase), had the acting emulated it, this would've been a great action-adventure classic.
That wryness would've been served much better in Ready Player One than what Steven Spielberg ultimately achieved. There are times when it's impossible to distinguish between "I liked the film" and "I liked the effects" because the effects are so intertwined with the success of the actual movie-that's the case for Spielberg's picture. Though The Shining sequence is splendid (by far the best scene in the movie), the rest of the movie lacks that technique, oftentimes valuing "more effects" over "skilled effects that aid the story." Ready Player One certainly required a lot of technical skill, but it's also the kind of movie that gains nothing from its onslaught of CGI.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Visual Effects Society splits its nominations between effects-driven films (the ones that generally 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). This year the effects-driven films went with Avengers: Infinity War as their victor over Christopher Robin, Ready Player One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Welcome to Marwen, while supporting favored First Men against 12 Strong, Bird Box, Bohemian Rhapsody, and Outlaw King. The BAFTA's went with Black Panther as their winner, here over Avengers, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, First Man, and Ready Player One. Oscar did have a shortlist this year, so we know that Ant-Man and the Wasp, Black Panther, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Mary Poppins Returns, and Welcome to Marwen were the finalists, and while there were a lot of people at the time that thought Marwen would make it, I'm still thinking sixth place was Black Panther, which I bet would've won had it been nominated.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I stand behind Oscar's decision to skip Black Panther (it won't be on My Ballot either). However, I think that Avengers would also have been a smart skip, particularly if they'd gone for the most ingenious work of the MCU in 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn't live up to the cheekiness of its predecessor, but its effects are game & spritely, and a total winner for this category.
Oscar’s Choice: In a genuinely close race, First Man's classy nature made it the victor over silver medalist Avengers: Infinity War.
My Choice: I'm also going with First Man. Good effects should be both beautiful and story-building, which this movie has. For second place, it's a coin toss between two completely different films. I'm going to just give it to Solo over Christopher Robin because I think it does more with more, but both are doing the Academy proud. I'll finish with Avengers and then Ready Player One.
And those are my thoughts-what are yours? Are you siding with both Oscar & I with First Man, or are you inclined to go with a different entry here (and if so, which one)? How do you think Black Panther was overlooked here despite its Best Picture citation? And what's it going to take to get an Oscar for Best Visual Effects to the MCU? Share below!
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