What you disagree with? Because that's exactly what the OP said: “I believe CGI is getting worse even as the tech advances.” (the tech being CGI tech, and the first reference to CGI meaning "CGI as applied by most current films/directors").
The live action Speed Racer film also got blasted at release for overuse of "cheesy" techniques that mimic the cartoon source material rather closely. It's become a cult classic, though.
A lot of this is predominant tastes preempting the discussion. American pop culture has focused for quite some time on achieving high detail and realism in photographic treatments, so when the trend is bucked for any reason it gets dinged as being not serious.
I kind of like the "90's FMV game" look to it, myself. Though it probably won't make me watch the film.
The movie is worth it just for that part, which I rewatch every couple of months on its own.
Worth checking out interviews with the (now Oscar® winning) cinematographer Greig Fraser.
The scene with the Sardaukar floating down into the abandoned science station was supposedly one of the more challenging shots:
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8228w-XzV4
They could only shoot the scene between 10:31 and 10:53 so that the shadow is in the exact place that they wanted it. It was all natural lighting (the sun) because artificial lights (HMI) couldn't give them the look that they wanted.
Just an obsession, inspired by the Beatles and later bands "use the studio as an instrument", that often worked to the detriment of traditional musical skills, and is part of what turned the focus from songwriting to production, that enabled today's "just scroll through presets".
But at the end of the day, you still need good direction and editing that involves understanding the limitations of doing things on the computer vs. in camera. I think this video about Dune provides great examples: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIKupTibxKQ. One example provided is that using green screen can sometimes result in "flat" unrealistic lighting because the camera doesn't expose the image the same if representative lighting isn't used to actually capture the shot.