As technology becomes more sophisticated, so do the many visual effects we see in movies.  When I was growing up, many non-human or humanoid movie characters would have to be created with costumes, puppets, or stop motion photography.  Now, however, memorable characters can be created through the use of computer generated imagery (CGI), a term with which any fan of fantasy or science fiction movies is undoubtedly familiar.  And over the last decade or so (sometimes earlier), there have been quite a few of those characters.

For the purposes of this article, I considered only CGI characters from live action movies, so as awesome as Wall-E and Mr. Incredible are, they won’t be found here.  Keep reading to see the top 10 CGI characters from live action movies.

10. Draco – Dragonheart

Draco was perhaps the coolest-looking dragon on film up to the time Dragonheart was released, and the fact that he was voiced by Sean Connery doesn’t hurt, either.  What earns Draco a spot on this list isn’t his being a dragon; it’s his intelligence and resourcefulness.  Draco strikes a deal with Bowen, orchestrating a partnership from which both the human and dragon can prosper.

9. The Cloverfield Monster – Cloverfield

Love it or hate it, the oft-described “Blair Witch meets Godzilla” Cloverfield featured one of the more memorable movie monsters in recent history.  As enormous as buildings and able to withstand a barrage of bullets and missles, the Cloverfield monster was able to destroy just about anything we mere humans could throw at it.   In fact, humans were hardly any match for the huge louse-like creatures that lived on its skin.  During the ending credits, if you listen to a sound clip played, you’ll learn that after the Hammerdown protocol, “it’s still alive.”  I was not very familiar with the viral marketing and mythology that surrounded this movie (Slusho?), but does anyone know just where the monster came from?

8. Davy Jones – Pirates of the Carribbean 2 & 3

Personally, I thought that Pirates 2 was abysmal and that Pirates 3 was even worse, but one character I enjoyed throughout was the tentacle-faced Davy Jones.  If only for the visual effect of his dynamic face constantly slithering and contorting itself, Davy Jones breaks into the top 10.  His sword skills and ability to summon the Kraken, though, bump him up to the eight spot.

7. Master Control Program – Tron

Before Skynet and War Games, the scary, self-aware artificial intelligence to fear was the main villain of Tron, the Master Control Program (MCP).  With a penchant for enslaving other programs and stealing data, the MCP could learn, makign it all the more dangerous.  As is the case with most evil intelligences, the MCP sought world domination but was ultimately defeated by Flynn and Tron.  MCP also makes an appearance in Kingdom Hearts II.

6. Starscream – Transformers

Alright, I know you’re probably thinking, “Madison, you moron.  If you’re going to choose a CGI character from Transformers, why not pick Optimus Prime?  Or Bumblebee?  Or even Megatron?”  The reason, dear readers, is because those characters are lame compared to Starscream.  Optimus Prime has no sense of fun.  Lighten up, old man.  Bumblebee is OK, I guess, but he’s not as lethal as some of the other Autobots (and most of the Decepticons).  As for Megatron?  He’s alright, I guess, but it was Starscream that took out the human jetfighters and managed to survive throughout the movie, and it’s Starscream that would stab Megatron in the back without hesitation in exchange for power.  That’s the type of ambition I like to see in a villain, and Starscream’s got loads of it.  Also: his voice.  Pretty good in the movie; orgasmic in the cartoon.  If only Chris Latta could have been available for the movie.

5. Velociraptors – Jurassic Park and Sequels

Most people would argue that the T-Rex is the real star of Jurassic Park – and I suppose there’s some merit to that – but how many people even knew what a velociraptor was before the movie was released?  The raptors in Jurassic Park didn’t look silly; they were living, breathing, and terrifying animals and were brought to life with some of the best CGI ever created.  The high-pitched squeal of the raptors, their pack-like mentality, and the fact that they became so popular that an NBA franshice was named after them vaults these vicious dinos into the top five.

4. T-1000 – Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Allow me to clarify: Robert Patrick played the T-1000, but even if you consider just the liquid metal “phase” of the T-1000 to be a CGI character, it deserves to be included in this article.  The CGI used for T2 was absolutely stunning when the film was released; people were seeing things on the screen that had never been seen before.  Putting aside the technological accolades for a minute, though, the T-1000 is a great character simply for what it is: a literal killing machine that does not need any weapons, is nearly impervious to gunfire, can take the form of any person it comes in contact with, and operates at a higher intelligence than prior Terminator models.  Quite simply, it’s the perfect killing machine, and CGI brought it to life.

3. General Grievous – Revenge of the Sith

Personally, I think that The Phantom Menace is utter garbage (I know I’m not alone), Attack of the Clones is bearable, even decent, and Revenge of the Sith is actually really f*cking good.  Part of the reason I’m such a fan of Revenge is because of the cyborg leader of the droid army, General Grievous.  Grievous is trained in the Jedi arts by Count Dooku and, like his mentor, has a totally bad ass voice.  When Grievous split his two arms into four and started twirling around those lightsabers in Obi-Wan’s face,  I sharted and ruined the movie for everyone in my row.

2. King Kong – King Kong

The CGI on Kong was near perfect; he looked like a giant, living ape, right down to each individual strand of hair.  As king of Skull Island, Kong simply wanted to be left alone, occasionally appearing for a sacrifice in his honor.  So when he’s captured and taken to New York City, he’s understandably pretty pissed off.  Nevertheless, he remains loyal to Ms. Darrow, showing the type of unconditional love that you’d normally receive from the family dog.  Really though, what’s cooler than a giant ape biting off a Tyrannosaur’s tongue? Not too much, and Kong’s combination of being a total bad ass and a loyal, loving companion land him at number to on this list.

1. Gollum – Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Without a doubt, Gollum is the most complex, fully-realized, and intriguing CGI character of all time.  Hell, he’s one of the more interesting movie characters, period.  I remember hearing some buzz that Andy Serkis (who served as the model for Gollum’s movements – Kong’s too, actually) was going to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.  It never came to fruition, but I didn’t think it was such a bad suggestion.  Gollum fit in with “real life” actors and settings seamlessly, and his tragic tale certainly made one of the greatest trilogies of all time even better.  As far as CGI characters go, nobody can touch Gollum.

Honorable Mention: Dr. Manhattan’s Blue Dong

Anyone who saw Watchmen surely remembers Dr. Manhattan’s member, swinging between his legs like a fleshy blue pendulum.  Not Dr. Manhattan, HIS DONG.  That’s what I’m talking about!

Any CGI characters from live action movies you think should have made the Top 10?  Let me know!