Gore Verbinski Says Modern CGI Looks Worse Because Movies Are Copying Video Games

CGI may be more advanced than ever, but according to Gore Verbinski, it’s also lost something important along the way.

The director of the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy says visual effects in modern movies often look worse than they did years ago — and he believes the reason is Hollywood’s growing reliance on video game technology.

In a new interview with But Why Tho?, Verbinski pointed to the rise of Unreal Engine as a major turning point for visual effects in film.

“You’ve seen the Unreal gaming engine enter the visual effects landscape,” Verbinski said. “So you have this sort of gaming aesthetic entering the world of cinema.”

From Games to Movies — With Mixed Results

Unreal Engine, developed by Epic Games, is best known for powering popular video games like Fortnite and Hogwarts Legacy. In recent years, it has also been widely adopted by film and TV productions for virtual sets and CGI.

Major projects such as The Mandalorian and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania have used Unreal-based technology to speed up production and cut costs.

Verbinski doesn’t deny that Unreal Engine is powerful. His concern is how it’s being used.

“It works with Marvel movies where you know you’re in a heightened, unrealistic reality,” he explained. “But I don’t think it takes light the same way.”

According to Verbinski, tools designed for real-time video games often prioritize speed over realism. That can result in visuals that feel artificial — especially in films grounded in reality — leading to what many viewers describe as an “uncanny valley” effect.

Speed Over Craft

One of Verbinski’s biggest criticisms is automation. He says modern CGI relies too heavily on software-generated shortcuts instead of painstaking, hand-crafted animation.

“A lot of in-betweening is done for speed instead of being done by hand,” he said.

In contrast, earlier CGI-heavy films often took more time refining lighting, textures, and movement to blend seamlessly with live-action footage.

The Pirates of the Caribbean Comparison

Verbinski has seen this shift firsthand through the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

He directed the first three films — The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, and At World’s End — which were widely praised for their groundbreaking CGI. The character Davy Jones, in particular, is still considered one of the best digital characters ever created.

However, the fifth film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, released more than a decade later, drew criticism for noticeably weaker visual effects — despite advances in technology and a much bigger toolbox.

For Verbinski, that decline isn’t about talent or budget. It’s about priorities.

As Hollywood leans further into faster, game-inspired workflows, Verbinski believes filmmakers risk losing the realism and craftsmanship that once made CGI truly magical.