While I’m probably less harsh on the new films than some, I think this illustrates a bit of a trend as well. As time as gone by, I’ve really come to appreciate how awesome sauce CGI became in my life time. Some films and shows have aged vary differently based on their CGI, meanwhile Jurassic Park is one that has aged pretty well overall.
One of the things that I’ve noticed is that our norms of cinematography have changed with the times. Films like Spielberg’s benefit from a master at the helm, and we’ve more than a few great film makers. But some films as they age, you look at, and scratch your head at how they were filmed. A prime example for me was watching the original Terminator for the first time in some years, and thinking no one including James Cameron would shoot some of those scenes the same way because of how tech has changed. Some have also held up better or worse when you consider the budget, and the era behind those special effects. Some are obviously, because they had to figure out how the heck to shoot the scene at all.
Part of me appreciates how awesome CGI has become. Part of me debates what we will lose whole when generations of film makers come and go in the world it created. Jurassic Park kind of was a perfect storm between the state of technology and production talent. In the future, I’m sure we will continue to have story tellers using the camera with care, but I wonder what we’ll miss out on.