The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Weird Rhino CGI Explained By VFX Artists

VFX artists discuss The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Rhino and break down the CGI used, explaining what could have been done to make it look better.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2's Weird Rhino CGI Explained By VFX Artists

Visual effects artists are explaining the weird Rhino CGI used in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. The superhero film premiered in 2014 and followed Peter Parker/Spider-Man, played by Andrew Garfield, in his attempts to protect New York City from Electro and the Green Goblin. It also alluded to the formation of the Sinister Six with the reveal of Paul Giamatti’s Rhino in the closing minutes. The actor appeared early in the film as Aleksei Sytsevich, a hired killer for the Russian Mafia who Spider-Man apprehended and sent to prison. However, he was eventually broken out and armed with an electromagnetic suit, later taking to the streets in a fight with Parker as the villainous Rhino.

At the time of The Amazing Spider-Man 2‘s release, audiences noticed that when it came to the character of Rhino, the CGI used to reveal Giamatti inside the suit ended up being more distracting than terrifying. Beyond that, the suit itself was heavily critiqued for its size and mechanics, deviating from the artificial skin usually seen in the comics to instead appear as a giant mech suit. Though Sytsevich was only briefly shown as Rhino, even Sony admitted that the character’s introduction was lame when 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home featured Garfield’s Peter Parker mentioning the villain in a disappointing flex.

In a recent episode of Corridor Crew’s VFX Artists React series on YouTube, visual effects artists Wren Weichman, Clinton Jones, and Joe Farrell broke down Rhino’s CGI in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Farrell described it as “a classic example of decisions happening afterward,” where they end up creating shadows that weren’t in the original shot. Weichman noted that adding the suit’s head contraption around Giamatti’s head blocks the sunlight, to which Farrell explained that alterations get made despite having concept designs. The problem that results is that filmmakers end up “asking the compositor to make that head sit in a completely different thing” with the lighting changed. He stated that the head is so bright that “it doesn’t reflect the brightness of the CG render.”

The original concept art for Rhino in the 2014 film featured a different suit. While still very much more mechanical than his traditional look, it might have been a more appropriate design for the character. Like Weichman, Jones, and Farrell noted in the video, it is difficult to even imagine how someone would fit inside the suit used in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Instead of having Aleksei Sytsevich’s head placed below that of the rhinoceros’, the concept art simply gives the character a helmet to wear.

It is certainly possible that changes were made while shooting, but as these visual effects artists pointed out, there were ways in which the film could have made Rhino look better. With the increase in the popularity of Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker following the release of No Way Home, conversations surrounding a potential Amazing Spider-Man 3 have been had more and more by fans. If brought to fruition, it would be interesting to see if the Sinister Six made an appearance and, if so, how Rhino would compare to his portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.