For all the potential it has to be a great movie, it also has the same potential to be a bunch of visual noise.
I agree, this is the problem with a lot of recent movies. I'm all for visual delights and big effects, and I wouldn't want a movie made with the technology of 60 years ago, but... said technology has advanced. We've all seen the wonders of CGI. Sometimes I watch a movie and they start off right away with a big action or chase scene where you go through a lot of stunning visual sheningans and it's almost like the director is telling you "Look! look! do you see how awesome is that? can you believe it?"
...yes, I can believe it. I've seen the same thing in a movie two weeks ago. I know there's nothing that cannot be done by now. The main focus should be on the story, if the story is bad and the script is worse, even the most visually beautiful movie will bomb.
The story has to come before anything. Like in prog metal, I don't need to see someone shred like there's no tomorrow if the song itself is bad