George Lucas (ca. 1997-2003)--1/5

It's somewhat surprising to realize that the earliest films to use CGI are some of the best. Take Spielberg's "Jurassic Park," for example. Its digital dinosaurs impressed back in 1994 and they still hold up today. The same goes for the T-1000 in 1992's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." The aspirations for the directors were limited by the technology at the time. Early CGI was perfect for inorganic and other simple (read: hairless and clothes-less) surfaces.

In both cases, the digital effects in these two films were spared for practical effects whenever possible. The "Terminator 2" scene of the T-1000 thawing and reforming was created by tilting a flat surface covered in liquid mercury. The famous shot in "Jurassic Park" of the T-rex looking into the SUV used a giant robotic head.

Pretty much anything can be created with a computer today. But directors need to have the attitude that the sky is not the limit. George Lucas, of course, is the main culprit here. In his rush to create everything in a computer, he's lost touch with an artform that he pretty much created.

It takes some suspension of disbelief, but the original trilogy's Muppet Yoda has the weight and presence of a real creature. Any sense of artificiality can be dismissed. On the other hand, Episode II and III's digital Yoda is a soulless exercise in reaching for that real thing. It's baffling to watch digital animators waste time trying to get his ears to wiggle like a twenty-year-old puppet.

(Something effects-laden like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" or "Sin City" can be excused. The digital effects create a unique look for the film. They're not trying to be realistic.)

Peter Jackson gets it. He uses every option available for getting effects on the screen. Yes, "The Lord of the Rings" is CGI-heavy, but it's used only when absolutely necessary. Most of the establishing shots of locations are of real models. They are accentuated by CGI to fill in gaps and to connect seams.

Guillermo del Toro's style is even more pure. For all its retro innovation, "Hellboy 2" almost gets distracted by its menagerie. Better that than Lucas's digital farting space-camels.

Things bode well for del Toro's upcoming "The Hobbit."