Forget Sora — Kling 2.0 just upped the game for AI video generators and these 5 examples prove it

While OpenAI’s Sora had often felt like the top of the pile when it comes to the best generative AI video tools, there are seemingly fresh models rolling out every day that make it a much closer-fought race than you may have anticipated.

One of the biggest rivals to Sora is Kling, which is now into its second iteration with the helpfully-titled Kling 2.0. The video generator, from Chinese company Kuaishou, is dubbed the “world’s most powerful” model of its kind, and features a fresh interface and significantly more accurate animation than its predecessor.

I’ve been taking a look across social media to see some of the best Kling 2.0 creations so far, from superhero flight to bizarre new creatures. Here are the five examples that impressed me most.

You may like

Animals of spring

This particularly impressive starting point from @karolinegeorges has generated a variety of animals, only something is a little different.

Each has translucent skin, and features an array of small flowers inside them, rendered in impressive detail. I’m not entirely sure why many of them seem to have wings, though, but it’s all pretty beautiful nonetheless — while the eerie music over the top helps this project leave an impression.

The Hail

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. A snail made of hands? A ‘hail’? A ‘snand’?

It’s a bit more nightmarish than the creatures above, but if you can stand to look a little closer, the animation of the legs/fingers as it moves is pretty realistic — kudos to @MrDavids1 for fuelling out nightmares for the next week after pushing a Sora-made image through Kling 2.0.

The skin texture is also impressive.

The Disapproving Girlfriend

I’ve seen memes animated before, but this new version of the “disapproving girlfriend” classic from @blizaine is actually a little surreal.

I’m not sure why Kling 2.0 made the woman in the foreground look so haunted by what she’s seen, or made the “girlfriend” character so aggressive, but it’s a bit unsettling to see it turn the image into what is essentially a scene.

The Space Battle

Looking like something straight from a sci-fi movie or video game, @StevieMac03 has used Kling 2.0 to put together a short snippet of a space dogfight.

Not only is the animation impressive, but the audio of “pew pew” lasers and explosions in the black of space also fit nicely. Add in the subtle movements of the pilots hands on the controls and you’ve got something that looks very slick.

The Flight

This unique clip from @cfryant has an orchestral soundtrack befitting a superhero movie, and makes it look as though the model is flying through a city at speed.

The city itself has the kind of geometry you’d expect from the Mirror World of Doctor Strange, with added flaura and forna adding plenty of colour, but the sheer amount of movement at every moment is impressive.

I’m pretty sure the model’s hair grows significantly in length at a couple of points, mind…

More from Tom’s Guide