MovieChat Forums > Rambo (2008) Discussion > Bad CGI gunshot wounds and blood

Bad CGI gunshot wounds and blood

posted 8 years ago by ddt_eagleeye
5 replies | jump to latest

I really liked this movie, had some really good action in it. But what I don't get is the usage of bad-looking CGI blood and gunshot wounds. That seems to really become a nasty trend, American Sniper i.e. did the same thing. And it's not just like you could see the CG when pausing a scene and deliberately looking for it, it is blatantly visible even during the action and fast edits. Like the production was running out of time/money and the intern did the effects the last minute on photoshop.
What happened to the good old bloodpacks going off under the actors' clothes? Why is there such a disregard for practical effects these days? I know they are time-consuming and debatably more expensive than CG, but hell, they just look so much better. If anyone, I hoped Stallone would know that.

[–] FirstBlood1982 8 years ago

In this case you're seeing bodies being obliterated to the point where bones are visible underneath the skin after shots, bodies getting blown right in half and splattered, etc...

It's rather difficult to do that completely practically.

I think they handled it pretty effectively.

+++by His wounds we are healed. - Isaiah 53:5+++

[–] ddt_eagleeye 8 years ago

I know what scenes you mean, but that wasn't actually what I meant. I meant the "normal" gunshot wounds from handguns, assault rifles and such. Right now I'm watching the Expendables Trilogy again and they're doing the same thing here. Just blatantly bad CGI. Like the bad guy at the end of Expendables 1 who gets shot by Stallone and knived by Statham at the same time you can easily tell it's CGI... bad CGI. Clearly visible even with the night-time and generally blurry and foggy cinematography.
Look at a Tarantino movie, for example Django Unchained or Inglorius Basterds. Did he use CGI at the Candyland-shootout? No. Every single gunshot wound was done practical and there were LOTS of them.
I would understand if some younger director decided to do it all in CGI, maybe he lacked the time, the experience or the money. What I didn't expect was a seasoned actor and director like Stallone, with all his assets and knowledge of filmmaking, taking the easy route. I always thought Sly was a practical guy... maybe I was wrong about that.

[–] yesanything 8 years ago

I rather liked the battle at the end, dare I say it sort of reminded me of the Saving Private Ryan D-day Invasion scene.

~~the coins in the jar are for charity,~~
~~the coins in the tray are for sharing~~

[–] paulkersey-31019 8 years ago

Agreed sly wants to clearly pump out product lil most studios , he did cg in expendables to the same ugly effect. Just ruins it totally, its not throwback at all.

[–] Gruesome28 (102) 3 years ago

I heard it was all squibs and no CGI