Director Gore Verbinski criticized the widespread adoption of Unreal Engine in filmmaking, calling it "the greatest slip backwards" for visual effects. He argues the game engine's aesthetic has bled into cinema, replacing tools like Maya and creating a less convincing, more artificial look compared to the golden age of CGI.

Verbinski believes Unreal Engine fails to replicate true photo-realism, particularly in how it handles light, subsurface scattering, and skin rendering. This leads to an uncanny valley effect in creature animation, where speed often trumps hand-crafted detail. He acknowledges its utility for stylized Marvel films but not for realistic cinema.

For his upcoming film *Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die*, Verbinski enforces a strict rule: at least 50% of the frame must be photographic. This approach provides a real-world reference for CGI replacements, aiming to keep the visuals honest and grounded, a philosophy he feels is lost with over-reliance on game engines.