Guy Explains Why Movies Don’t Look As Good As They Used To

Have you ever watched a film made in the last year and wondered why it sometimes looks like an Instagram video? Or, similarly, have you revisited a film from, for example, your childhood and been pleasantly surprised by how well it holds up visually. There is a reason for both things.

A content creator going by the wonderfully expressive “Sassy Grilled Cheese” went viral when he broke down why movie studios seem to now make films that look a lot worse than in the past. He posted side by side shots of different films and shared how everything from lighting to basic styling has seemingly gotten worse.
More info: TikTok

Modern films have a distinct look to them that not everyone is a fan of

Cameraperson operating professional video camera with headset, capturing footage for modern movies in a studio setting.

Image credits: Caleb Oquendo / Pexels (not the actual photo)

So one man made a video breaking down just what has gone wrong

Man wearing glasses speaking in a video about why modern movies appear millennial gray and look visually dull.

Image credits: sassygrilledcheese

Video explaining why modern movies look ugly, focusing on millennial gray lighting and its impact on visuals.

Two scenes from movies in 2006 and 2025 showing changes in color grading reflecting millennial gray trend in modern movies.

Image credits: 20th Century Studios

Screenshot from a video explaining why modern movies look ugly with millennial gray color grading and lighting differences.

Screenshot showing an explanation of lighting issues in modern movies contributing to millennial gray and an ugly look.

Two women dressed in black in a vintage setting, illustrating the concept of movies being millennial gray in color tone.

Image credits: 20th Century Studios

Screenshot of text explaining how modern cameras capture scenes differently than older film cameras, impacting movie visuals.

Three women in elegant black dresses at a formal event, illustrating millennial gray tones in modern movies.

Image credits: 20th Century Studios

Example of modern movie scene lighting comparison showing why movies are millennial gray and appear visually flat today.

Text excerpt discussing the lack of proper color grading in modern movies making them look neutral and less vibrant.

Two stylish women wearing sunglasses, representing modern movies with millennial gray tones and a sleek aesthetic.

Image credits: 20th Century Studios

Text discussing styling choices in modern movies and how millennial gray tones make films look plain and cheap.

Screenshot of text discussing brutalist modern architecture contrasting with a classy, ornate character, highlighting why movies are millennial gray.

Text explaining how movie studios minimize spending and modern cameras reduce the need for movies to look good, linking to millennial gray movies.

Image credits: sassygrilledcheese

Film crew operating professional camera on outdoor movie set, illustrating why modern movies look ugly with millennial gray tones.

Image credits: Lê Minh / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Camera technology might be making our films look worse

Modern movies have gotten worse at looking good, and that might sound strange given all the technological advances we’ve had in recent decades. But if you’ve ever watched a film from the 1970s and noticed how rich and textured it looked compared to something shot last year, you’re not imagining things. There are several fascinating reasons why newer films often lack the visual magic of their predecessors.

The biggest culprit is digital cinematography replacing traditional film stock. When movies were shot on 35mm or 70mm film, each frame captured an incredibly detailed chemical image with a natural grain structure that gave it texture and depth. Film also handled highlights and shadows in a particular way that felt organic to our eyes. Digital cameras, even expensive ones, capture images differently. They can struggle with high contrast scenes, often blowing out bright areas or crushing dark details into muddy blacks. The dynamic range of film, meaning its ability to capture detail in both bright and dark areas simultaneously, was phenomenally good, and digital technology is only now catching up after decades of trying.

Then there’s the color grading issue. Modern films often get processed with heavy digital color grading that pushes everything toward orange and teal palettes. This started as a stylistic choice to make skin tones pop against cool backgrounds, but it’s become so overused that many contemporary films look like they were all painted with the same brush. Older films had color palettes determined largely by the film stock itself and practical lighting choices, which meant more variety and often more naturalistic looks. The Kodachrome stocks of the 1960s and 1970s produced colors that still look stunning today, with a warmth and saturation that digital grading often fails to replicate convincingly.

Young woman adjusting camera lighting setup in a dim room while others sit around, illustrating modern movies millennial gray look.

Image credits: Su WenHsiung / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The way crews light and shoot movies also plays a part

Lighting, as the above video discussed, has changed dramatically too. Classic Hollywood cinematographers spent hours setting up elaborate lighting schemes with practical lights, flags, and diffusion. They created depth and dimension through careful manipulation of light and shadow. Modern productions, pressed for time and budget, often rely on flat, even lighting that’s easier to fix in post production. The problem is that you can’t really fix lighting after the fact. What looked three dimensional and moody on set in a 1940s noir film looks flat and television-like in many modern productions that plan to grade everything digitally later.

Computer generated imagery deserves some blame as well. While CGI can create impossible shots, it often lacks the physical presence of practical effects. When a spaceship in a 1970s science fiction film was an actual model photographed with real lights and a real camera, it existed in the same physical reality as everything else in the frame. Modern CGI spaceships sometimes float unconvincingly in digital space, with lighting that doesn’t quite match the live action elements. Our brains pick up on these subtle inconsistencies even if we can’t articulate exactly what feels wrong.

The shift to streaming and smaller screens has also influenced how films are shot. Cinematographers now know many viewers will watch on phones or laptops, so they avoid the kind of wide, detailed compositions that rewarded big screen viewing. Shots are tighter and simpler. The careful choreography of deep focus shots where foreground and background both tell part of the story has given way to shallow focus close ups that look fine on small screens but lack visual interest.

Not every modern film looks bad, of course. Directors like Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson still shoot on film and insist on practical effects and thoughtful cinematography. When you watch their work, you can see the difference immediately. The texture is there, the colors feel real, and the images have weight and substance. This proves the problem isn’t that we’ve somehow forgotten how to make beautiful films. It’s that the industry has largely chosen speed and convenience over the time intensive craft that made older films so visually stunning. Economics and changing viewing habits have pushed filmmaking toward approaches that prioritize efficiency, and something valuable has been lost in the translation.

People shared their agreement with many of his points

Comment on TikTok influencer ring light look compared to modern movies showing millennial gray color grading style.

Screenshot of a social media comment stating movies are millennial grey now with 11,000 likes.

Comment on modern movies looking gray with realistic hair, explaining why millennial gray film style appears unattractive.

Comment reading Everything looks cheap now by Danielle Carlson, relating to why modern movies look ugly.

Comment discussing the need to bring back color and joy to visuals as modern movies are millennial gray and look dull.

Comment on YouTube short saying Looks like a YouTube short with 1839 likes, discussing modern movies millennial gray look.

Comment on social media saying movies look like commercials, highlighting the modern movies millennial gray aesthetic trend.

Comment from user tomtorresparis discussing the millennial gray trend and movie aesthetics in modern cinematography.

Comment from user Rarefindofthemind expressing nostalgia for the cozy ambiance of 80s and 90s movies in a social media post.

Comment on a social media post about modern movies looking gray and ugly, mentioning the ring camera filming style trend.

Screenshot of a social media comment discussing modern movie lighting and its effect on visual aesthetics in millennial gray films.

Comment by user Stee discussing how modern movies shot digitally look bad compared to older film, highlighting millennial gray trend.

Comment on a social media post explaining that movies have become plain, gray, and minimalist in the last 10 years.

Comment on social media discussing CGI and advanced tech failing to improve the look of modern movies, highlighting millennial gray trends.

Screenshot of a social media comment by Aron stating everything looks sterile, relating to movies are millennial gray now.

Comment by Michael Kirreh questioning the lack of strong lighting in modern movies discussing millennial gray visuals.

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Comment about Netflix causing modern movies to have a too bright, millennial gray look affecting their visual style.

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Comment discussing how modern movies look ugly, with a focus on millennial gray aesthetics and profit-driven production.

Comment discussing how modern movies prioritize speed and trends over craftsmanship, leading to millennial gray visuals.

Comment from videographer explaining how modern movie grading is requested to be flat, bright, and gray, affecting cinematic quality.

User comment about modern movie lighting ruining the look of most mainstream movies, reflecting on millennial gray trend.

He added some more details later

Young man wearing glasses discusses why modern movies look ugly in a viral video about millennial gray film style.

Image credits: sassygrilledcheese

Text about why modern movies look ugly and the impact of lighting choices on movie aesthetics in millennial gray films.

Text excerpt discussing why modern movies look ugly, focusing on art direction, budget, and millennial gray aesthetic.

Text explaining why modern movies look ugly and discussing the shift in movie revenue and streaming trends.

Young man wearing glasses and a white shirt discussing why modern movies look ugly with millennial gray tones in a video.

Image credits: sassygrilledcheese

Text excerpt explaining how investors' focus on big-name celebrities affects movie budgets, illustrating why modern movies look ugly.

Text excerpt discussing job instability in movies and the decline of steady work in modern film productions.

Film crew shooting in a studio with green screen backdrop, illustrating why modern movies look millennial gray and visually dull.

Image credits: Onur Burak Akın / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Text excerpt discussing lighting techniques in modern movies contributing to the millennial gray look and visual style.

Text excerpt discussing changes in movie industry and actors, highlighting modern movies millennial gray look and streaming impact.

Text discussing indie studios surviving while big studios burn, related to why modern movies look ugly in millennial gray.

Image credits: sassygrilledcheese

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