Special Effects
Special visual effects have been a part of films since the early days of movie making. Films like King Kong, The Wizard of Oz and The Ten Commandments were revolutionary in their use of stop-motion animation and innovative optical effects to convey fantastic creatures and places. George Lucas' Star Wars advanced special effects even further: massive battles in space could now be captured on film. More recently, the field of computer generated imagery has meant that anything could be created, from liquid metal robots to dinosaurs and even gigantic tidal waves. The following are not the best films with special effects, but the films with the best special effects.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
A champion of pioneering special effects, James Cameron's liquid metal T-1000 is an incredible creation, able to flow like water and re-form itself into almost anything. The reason why it still looks so amazing is that its metallic features don't look computer generated, unlike many other CG effects, which often look unnatural compared to the surroundings. The scene where the T-1000 oozes into a helicopter is brilliant. Full review.
Starship Troopers
Paul Verhoeven's gory adaptation of the Robert Heinlein novel about a future war between humans and a race of destructive bugs contains the most seamless marriage of CG and normal imagery to date. Daylight scenes are usually problematic for CGI technicians, as they highlight the oversaturated computer colours, but here they're blended perfectly. The mass assault on a space outpost is breathtaking in its scale and intensity.
Contact
Robert Zemeckis used CGI to great effect in Forrest Gump, intersplicing Tom Hanks with various famous figures from history. Here, in Contact, he uses the same technique to put Bill Clinton into the film. While that and the spinning space travel machine are highlights, there are many subtle uses of CGI and other effects which aren't as attention-grabbing.
What Dreams May Come
Very depressing film is notable for its incredible depictions of both Heaven - all lush fields, soaring clouds, warm colours - and Hell - dark, tumultuous, foreboding, haunting. Deserving Oscar winner ahead of films like Armageddon.
Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace
The ultimate CGI film, with some 90% of the images computer generated. Wonderful landscapes - dense forests, deep swamps, city planets, and a completely CGI-choreographed battle between two massive armies. Full review.
Jurassic Park
While Terminator 2 and, to a lesser extent, The Abyss, were the first films (Willow had one brief morphing scene) to showcase the wonders of CGI, Jurassic Park was the film that brought dinosaurs back to life. The most gasp-worthy scenes are at night, when the T-Rex looks alive. Full review.
The Abyss
The first film to show an extended sequence with CGI, the alien water creature that enters the underwater platform is an amazing creation. Its ability to morph showed how fluid and flexible CGI could be. The rest of the effects are top-notch as well.