What Killed Slow Motion In Movies? 

I think slo-mo was executed in a refreshing way with the 2nd gen X-Men films where Quicksilver goes into his speed runs. The slow-motion wasn't used just for the effect of being "cool" (which it certainly accomplished anyway), but it helped drive the perspective of the character in a memorable way, instead of just making him flicker into and out of a scene really fast, saying he "got the mcguffin from X faraway place" like most speedsters in cinema or television. I'm sure it's not the first time slow-motion was used in that way for a very fast character, but it certainly was an uncommon use for the effect, where it is commonly used to dramatize a naturally fast scene.

I don’t think they will let slow motion die. Even if it’s just being used to intensify a scene, it still does that well. It fits it’s purpose, even if it’s being overused. Some director WILL have a unique take, and that is all it will need to start evolving again. Art takes time, sometimes it takes a longgg time.

I was about 13 when The Matrix came out and it was amazing to experience something like that. The movie was wild and was definitely a game changer.

Saying Barbie succeeded because it didn't have slow motion is like saying water is poison because 100 percent of people that drink it will die.

Just looking at the worldwide highest grossing movies of 2023, I think most of them had slow motion in them. Super Mario Bros, Oppenheimer, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Fast X, Spider-Man Spiderverse 2, Mission Impossible 25, Ant-Man 3, John Wick 4 etc.

tbf, Snyder's use of slow motion is pretty innovative, the way he has things slow down, speed up, and slow down again etc

I'm so glad one shot of Dredd showed up in this. It's such a fantastic movie with slow motion at exactly the right moments.

I love the use of slow motion when it works with the story. Slow motion for slow motion sake is as painful to watch as shaky cam. When making videos, I and other creatives will joke about whether to use a star wipe as a transition. All these tropes have a use, well maybe not start wipe, but it's up to the story and show's aesthetic to determine if and when to use slow motion. I mean the SloMo guys RU-vid channel is still pretty popular.

Slow motion is still alive and thriving in Indian cinema (thankfully). Exaggerated entry sequences full of slo-mo swagger and the use of epic slo-mo to hype up key moments during action sequences is very common. RRR, Jawan, Baahubali2, Tiger3 are some recent examples.

“There’s a lot of slow motion. The episodes were running up to eight minutes under. The only way to stretch them out was with slow motion. And we tried to keep the slow motion away from the dialogue as much as possible. Anything without dialogue was considered for slow motion.” - Dean Learner Basically the only quote I think of when watching a Zack Snyder production.

Sam Peckinpah used slow-motion perfectly for shootouts in The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, etc. Peckinpah as a director was highly influential on John Woo's later shootouts in A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, etc. To me, they're the two best directors that utilized slow-motion the most efficiently and artistically for action sequences.

Special mention to the films of Guy Ritchie who's use of both slow motion and fast frames are an iconic director trope. (See Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and the Sherlock Holmes films as perfect examples)

0:02 if there isn’t something about the horrible use of slow motion in Justice league I’ll be very surprised

I don't understand how you can call something dead when it's still be used so much. We have different understandings of the word. Dead, to me, means no one is using it anymore.

Has there been an entire movie filmed in slow motion yet? How can we say it is killed when it hasn't even demonstrated it's full power?

Two words: Zack Snyder

I really hope slow mo isn’t dead. The best use of it that springs to my mind is in Sherlock Holmes 2; because it was actually fairly realistic. Most movies just have two speeds: normal speed and ‘slow mo’, and in the latter, everything, from people to bullets to lightning all move ‘slowly’. But in SH2, there’s a shot where an artillery round is fired through the forest. Everything is silent, almost stationary, people running at full tilt suspended in motion, when the shell passes through the shot almost infeasibly fast. The conveyance of danger, that the protagonists don’t stand a chance in the face of such power, is breathtaking.

God I love the matrix

Slowmo is usually really cheesy and WAY overdone. The only time it works is during heartrenching scenes or in a comical way. It doesn't usually work for me when it's used to make something look cool

Great video, I enjoyed hearing about the history of the effect. Thanks

I would argue that something cannot actively exist without being in a state of change, even if that rate is too slow to observe. Slo-mo is still being used, so there's a chance that every time someone uses it that they will innovate in some way. Kind of like how there are still classical composers and performers that manage to break the mold to this day.

Slow-Mo is awesome when used sparingly and well! Therefore, it will never truly die, it will only stop being overused.

I really liked "Slo-mo" in the new Dredd movie, because yes that is a drug that makes you see things in slow motion, but I really like it because in a lesser movie, it would've been cheesy, and most likely a power up for the hero to go all Hardboiled on the bad guys, but in Dredd, is a hinderance, the fact that you gain hiper sensitivity and see everything in slow motion doesn't mean you gain higher speed, so there's no advantage, and the villain MaMa, instead uses it for torture, because a quick death like being thrown out of a building feels like a nightmare when it takes several minutes in your mind instead of seconds and you are able to feel the impact on the ground, also the double down with the highten sense when the movie goes into a full saturate image to show you really the effects of the drug, a really original take on slow motion but also communicated really well with shooting techniques, man, that movie was really underrated.

it's not. overused for sure. it's as fundamental film making as a cut or a pan. 25 years ago we were wondering if action scenes had too many cuts because of the music video generation.

I feel that the current usage of slow motion is not just to make a moment seem more dramatic, but also more understandable. It seems like a lot of cinematic fights use lots of cuts (for various reasons) and turning one or two of those cuts into slow motion allows viewers additional time to understand the flow of a fight and feel like the fight was filmed in fewer takes even if it is somewhat unearned. I don't think this time of slow motion will go away. However, odds are that sooner or later a film will have a Matrix-like moment and then it trigger a new generation of gratuitous use of slow motion.

As long King Zack Snyder is well, alive and making movies, slo-mo will live.❤

The only time I think slow motion is unwarranted is when characters are already doing something slowly or even at a regular speed. When they are doing something quickly though like neos bullet dodge or quick silvers scene it makes sense . Or when there's so much info on screen that the slow motion is required to take it all in.

Simple answer: Zack Snyder 😊

Slow motion can’t die. If it dies then wide shots, close ups, or forced perspective can die. Slow motion isn’t a style to live or die. It’s a a film technique that can be used of misused.

0:30 oh yeah there we go already

I always referred to slowmo shots as "Snyder sequences". 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch, Batman v Superman... It would be great to get an accurate number for what percentage of his movies are in slow motion. I'd bet on 50%.

Hugo is a good film that also has some good filming sequences like showing the filming of trip to a moon Some of the silent film actor directed their films or some of film like Chaplin and Keaton so seeing some those clips with Keaton was awesome

Excellent video!

The use and non-use of slow motion in Godzilla Minus One was astounding!

I remember Zack Snyder using slow motion a lot in Watchmen but it was a bit ridiculous sometimes

I recall a quote from Dr Who Confidential when it was decided to use a slo-mo sequence in the new Who and, I think it was RTD that complained, “The trouble with slow motion is just that it’s so slow…” I agree entirely with the maker of this video that the effect is used waaaaaaay too often (says me, typing waaaaaaay in slow motion…).

The slow motion scene at the beginning of killers of the flower moon was my favorite shot of the entire film

Great video.

Oh, that slomo side shot in 300 was epic, seeing those impacts, the force and deliberation. That wasn't to mimic Matrix

& as the years go by, the slo-mo will never die. you're going to see it's our destiny because you've got slo-mo in movies

John Woo...no wonder he is a mastermind of slow motion, his last name is in perpetual slow motion :) Wooooo

Unfortunately its still abused on my fav type of superhero, the Speedster. I would like to see them go FAST for once.

In my village, 90s kids used to refer to slow motion clips as 'matrixed'

Quicksilver's sequences in X-Men: Days Of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse are the only two exemples of slow motion used creatively in the last decade, at least as far as I know

Love a bit of slow motion. I’ve started to watch some Bollywood action films and they absolutely love a slow motion scene or power stance! RRR and Jawan!

Just wait, Rebel Moon about to bring it back.

You might say the technique is evolving... ...in _slow motion._ No, I will _not_ see myself out. That was Gold.

Please make a full video on what the MCU can learn from Barbie cuz you hinted at it but I think it needs more fleshing out because you were fs on to something with that point!

Now in contrast, is the rise of shaky cam, make audience don't know what really happens, but it's so much cheaper.

Great vid Thank you

Zac Snyder would like to have a word with you

Loved the way slowmo was used in Dredd

"Man! I LOVE slow motion!" Johnny Bravo

I don't think it's slow motion is dead for everything... When used thoughtfully it works. Just like the Barbie example that has no slow motion, Oppenheimer did have it but it was put to good use

alot of the time when i see slow motion these days, i imagine Po from Kung Fu Panda's ass landing on Tai Lung, that's what it feels like, except the ass is hollywood, and the face is creativity

I think when it's tied to a movie mechanic it's still very potent. I can see how some people think of it as being overdone however.

I remember the feeling that the way action movies are made is getting really tired. It was after watching second Downey jr. “Sherlock Holmes” movie. That was a bunch of “bullet time” shit with very thin essence.

Love your channel! I think this is the first take I disagree with tho. Slomo is a staple visual storytelling technique. Even you just laid out it’s extensive history and prominent use. I don’t think it has an expiration date at all.

7:15 why does that van feel like a nod to the mystery machine?

Slow motion is also fascination. Example: Water in slow motion shows so much the eye can’t see in realtime. It is an artform in itself. It also adds to the composition on screen. And marvel/DC is full with slow motion, because super heroes probably can see shockwaves, fire, lightning etc. That way we can see through the eyes of the superhero?

The Jackass intros are the best examples of slo-mo since the matrix

Funny thing that the Bourne Trilogy I don’t believe used slo mo. It’s a matter of preference to a creative.

oh nice, new video

I remember after The Matrix released every movie in the early 2000's copied it's bullet time effect which became overused and very stale after a while and didn't serve the purpose of the narrative, it was just like you know this cool effect here it is again but with no emotional impact.

It depends, if you want people watching your action movie in theaters you need to make some scenes in slow motion or they won't appreciate it. If it goes straight to streaming then anyone can repeat, freeze or simply slow down the scene they want.

Well said.

It's one of a filmmakers tool, so it can never be dead, same as any other tool

I kinda get what youre saying here but, idk, i dont think its dead. Sure it can be gimmicky sometimes but a lot of the times it does add drama and depth too. Slo-mo allows the viewer to take in more of the detail on screen. Thus building a bigger connection with that moment. its why im more a TV show person than a movie person. a long running show i can get super invested into for extended periods of time, learning all the details as i go. Movies are such a quick moment comparatively, that slowing it down sometimes help take it in better.

Brian De Palma needs to be mentioned in this video

Slomo can be used well when it enhances the plot. But a lot of bad slomo is used in place of plot development. Marvel uses it a lot because they don't have much real story in place these days, need that fight scene to last longer - otherwise you'll notice the lact of plot

Just imagine how long The English Patient would be if it had slow-mo....

The only place Slow-Mo is alive & well is in Wes Anderson movies, where it’s not abused to death & is always tasteful.

i watched entire this video in slow mo and it was epic. only minus, you sounded like you had a stroke entire duration

What is animated movie at 0:35?

Dredd, like the Matrix, slo-mo was part of the story. Absolutely love both!

Yes. Its not dead. Just look at the magnificent scenes with Quicksilver in Days of Future Past and Apocalypse

SloMo in Dredd is awesome 😁👍

slow motion will never die…

I'm surprised there was no mention of Van Damme and John Woo with Hard Target on gratuitous slow-mo. I feel like a whole quarter of that movie is unnecessary slow-mo.

My brother started watching Indian movies. It's filled to the throat choking brim of just so much slow motion.

Just a correction, the guys name is Sergei Eisenstein

A: Zack Snyder......

Slow motion is not dead. It is however overused. Most filmmakers use slow motion in situations when it isn't necessary but it makes a scene look cool. They want to have their own Matrix bullet time moments. That is where the problem with the use of slow motion in films comes from. In the Matrix, slow motion had a purpose. It was an element of the universe in which the characters existed. In films that came after the Matrix, slow motion has no purpose. It simply looks cool.

I miss when slow-motion was used more sparingly like during a complex sequence or a death-defying stunt. Animated movies abuse it way too much.

I dont think slow motion is dead, but movies in general are due for a new breath through to put them ahead of television.

I really wouldn't say Slo-mo is dead. But surely creativity has been lacking. I really like how it is used in Deadpool, further showing his nature and abilities.

Has slow motion replaced the "repeat the scene in different angles" shot?

Everything is CGI now.. everything. Actors to scenery.. so slow mo of all that gets suuuper expensive.

2:58 can someone name that movie please?

7:14 no it doesn't,it looks like Speed Racer

before watching the video i read the question. first thing that came to mind was Michael Bay.

Beating the trend out of an audience.

I don't think slomotion is 'dead' per say but I think it's so overused that it's lost all it's effect. As you mentioned the reason it was so good in the matrix was it fit into the story.

8:02 fin.

Slow-motion was once used to draw out a scene to heighten suspense, to great effect. Being perpetually used for gratuitous shots does not draw out suspense, and has become so formulaic to the point of becoming a cliché.

Is funny how every now and then someone says that's something that's older than must of us is "dead". "James Bond movies are dead", or "western is dead", something like that. When reality show us time and time again that the reason all those things survived for so long is because at any given moment someone with the right talent can make it reemerge. James Bond movies aren't dead, western isn't dead and slo-mo,one of the first tools invented by cinema isn't either.

04:38 - There is a spelling correction its JOHN *GAETA*

Not dead !!! But everything comes down to how it’s used or if something can get reinvented. Sure we may be at a saturation point of this version of the slow mo trend. But its power is undeniable especially if used well. Over use of anything can be bad or over sensitizing.

Black Adam felt like it was 80 minutes of slow motion. It's the main reason I disliked that movie. It's used for the very same effect every time too so it loses every meaning

Wait, is nerdstalgic Adam Raguesa!?