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Behold!
The best f#cking thing ever!
(The greatest robot fight unfolds on screen)
This is the definition of incredible
Robots and guns
Kung Fu
Flying motorcycles
Awesome stuntwork
And a Tarzan gunfight!
If that doesn't convince you
It also stars Tony Leung
This is I Love Maria
Or as the Chinese title goes
"The Invincible Iron Maria"
In this 1988 Hong Kong sci-fi action comedy
A terrorist group sends out one of their killer robots
To assassinate a former member
Thanks to the help of an engineer
They are able to reprogram Robot Maria
And with her protection
Evade and survive against the terrorists
Now, obviously, I love this movie
And for one reason alone:
The astonishing practical SFX
If this movie is remade today with CGI VFX
It would have none of the charms
I don't think I'm alone on this, though
A large part of the internet seems to think that practical effects
Are more charming than CGI
Why is that?
Today, using this movie as an example
With no evidence and only my anecdotal perception
Allow me to make a few guesses
And you can tell me if you agree
Let's take a look at I Love Maria
And find out what makes its special effects so special
[What Makes Practical Effects So Special?]
[Chapter One]
Here's a question:
Why do we love magic tricks?
Certainly, the fantasy of levitation is part of it
But I think there is more
Because should someone claims their psychicpower is real
Then they are no longer a magician
They become a charlatan
"I think that Mr. Hydrick is merely, to accomplish this effect"
"Blowing both on the page and on the pencil"
We love magic not because it's real
But because it announces itself to be unreal
We love to be perplexed:
"How did they do that?"
I, and apparently the Nolan brothers
Believe that "movie magic" operates on the same logic
Here is a simple special effect shot
If done with CGI, this shot would be short and uneventful
But as a practical shot, it is shown in its full glory
It lasts long enough for the audience to become aware of it
It announces its presence as a magic trick
And challenges you into thinking about its solution
It's not paper
It deforms in a way similar enough to metal
The more you think about it, the cooler it gets
We love it because we know there is a trick
A trick that has a simple but clever explanation
By the way, I think it is foam rubber?
How does this robot move?
How did they pull off this rocket punch?
At every corner, there is a trick that perplexes you
"How did they do that?"
The same question, however, is rarely applicable to CGI
For one thing, VFX is complicated
Not knowing where the difficulty lies
Makes it hard to appreciate
At the same time, CGI is also way too versatile
You've seen one, you've seen them all
It all feels like the same magic trick being used on repeat
This problem is further compounded
By how CGI is used in modern blockbusters
Its flexibility encourages filmmakers to paint with broad strokes
So that they may adjust things in postproduction
As a result, the VFX and the stories aren't always cohesive
A classic example is actors not knowing what they are looking at
And their acting suffers because of it
That's why the best VFX are often the ones
With a lot of preproduction ahead of time
Like Dune and its sand-screen
Or Avatar with its VFX halfway done before filming began
On the other hand, practical effects haveto be shot in-camera
The director is forced to plan ahead
No broad strokes allowed
Thus, the effects are often critical to the film's vision
They are cohesive parts of the experience
This close-up shot of a bent steel bar
Is a character-building moment for Maria
It shows her strength and her intent to kill
It is filmed, edited, and presented with directorial intent
It feels like a precise performance
A magic trick
Such showmanship is often lacking in VFX
By the way, if you are interested in I Love Maria
You'd be happy to know that Hong Kong actually made
A whole lot of sci-fi effects films in the 80s and 90s
Wicked City
Robotrix (yep, that's what it's called)
And perhaps the most high profile of them all
Sixty Million Dollar Man, starring Stephen Chow
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[Chapter Two]
Here's another question:
Say, if I'm able to create a replica of the Mona Lisa
A perfect copy down to its molecular structure
Does that mean the copy holds the same artistic value?
To art theorist Walter Benjamin
The answer is "no"
To him, our collective concept of "Mona Lisa" points to a single painting
Uniquely exists in space and time
This existence gives it an "aura" that cannot be replicated
Bestowing the original a perceived value
Though Benjamin was a classic case of a snob
His description of how we perceive value in art is insightful
So, to balance things out
Allow me to explain this with the least snobbery thing in film:
Explosions!
Have you ever been thrilled by a CG explosion?
I haven't
Not because they don't look real
Although they often don't
Even if the simulation is flawless
I still think it is inherently inferior
Because it lacks the aura of a unique existence
The thrill of knowing an actor worked with an explosion on set
To create this stunning sequence
Brings to it a value beyond what is shown on the screen
Because it's a physical event
This shot has an aura that engages your fantasy
Not the fantasy to be in the story
But rather, to be on the film set
Seeing the explosion happened
And how the actors act in front of it
Seeing a digital Spider-Man dodging explosions may be fun
But seeing Jackie Chan dodging an actual fireball is exhilarating
In other words
When I'm watching a special effect sequence
I'm not watching what the characters can do
I watch them to see what the filmmakers can do
The notion of Tony Leung acted opposite to this steaming colossus
Is more fascinating than any digital recreation
In a way, it is the same reason people buy vinyl records
(No, the sound is not better)
Although Benjamin would not consider it to be uniquely present
The physicality of a record
And the fact that the copy belongs to you
Adds to it a perceived specialness
As our lives get increasingly digital
Physical experiences may become more and more valuable
[Chapter Three]
But, in the end, the reason we love practical effects
May be a lot simpler
When I say "we"
I don't mean everyone
To us, the viewers of this channel
Who are overwhelmingly likely To be curious about the filmmaking process
This looks fantastic
But to a general audience
You know, the ones who don't watch black-and-white movies
Because they are old and boring?
To them, this no doubt looks antiquated
I mean, the cast iron robot barely moves
It's the steam that gives it an illusion of movement
It requires a lot of creative angles
Just to get this robot to throw a punch
While we marvel at the ingenuity of the filmmakers
There are also an audience who simply do not wish to be reminded
That they are watching a movie
Why would you settle with this
When you have this
It all comes down to a difference in expectations:
For those of us who are familiar with practical special effects
We watch movies expecting the effects to be special
But perhaps, to those who grew up with digital effects
VFX is not something they specifically look forward to seeing
Like costume design, set dressing
Like color, cinematography, and sound design
VFX is there to dress up the story
Not meant to be the selling point
It is something that comes with the movie
You aren't there to see the CGI
You are there to see a T-Rex
But to people like us
We are here to see the special effects
Not the shabby robot
People who care about cinema the most
Are most likely to talk about films
They are also the same people who would wonder
"How did they do that"
That, in turn, created the false consensus
That the Internet thinks practical effects are better
In the end, the question may not matter to the vast majority of filmgoers
[Conclusion]
I know I didn't actually talk about the movie that much
I mean, Look at it
With a robot inspired by Metropolis
And costume inspired by Blade Runner
This movie is a work of art
Do I really need to say more?
Spectacles are everywhere these days
But few have impressed me like that one single dinosaur
Or that tour around the space station
Perhaps what we crave isn't special effects or visual effects
But creativity
For practical effects
The creativity happens behind the scenes
With clever bespoke solutions
Bringing impossible things into reality
And for computer effects
The creativity comes from the original concepts
The unexpected fantasy
Maybe that's the ultimate reason why I Love Maria is so incredible
The film is a gallery of creative ideas on and off screen
Robots and guns
Flying motorcycles
It is full of wonders
Like seeing a magic trick
Seeing the original Mona Lisa
Seeing an actual robot
In all these scenarios, I think
What truly captivates us
Is the human ability to create something original