The other day I was flipping through the channels and came across Jason and the Argonauts, which was a classic of its era. However, I noticed that my teenage kids didn't seem to appreciate the mastery of Ray Harryhausen's stop frame animated skeletons. Why? Because they said they don't look real! Well, I accept that they don't actually look real, but I still think they're a pretty neat effect, especially considering what the technology he was working with.

But this also sparked me to think about movie effects in general, and to wonder if the digital era has ruined the whole effects movie experience. In the pre-digital era the audience believed most effects, unless they had been done really badly, like those awful Bond back projections. I remember going to see Close Encounters, and virtually gasping when the mothership appeared at the end. Equally I recall the rush of adrenalin when entering the trench on the Death Star for the first time, and when I saw the future LA in Blade Runner, or the mother alien in Aliens.

But now we believe nothing! Even if the effect is very polished and occasionally when it's actually real! A good example of that happening is those Sony Bravia ads that started with the rubber balls bouncing down the street in San Francisco. Most people I talked to assumed it was a digital effect, when it was in fact real. How messed up is that?

But equally, the effects themselves aren't memorable, there are too many, and few of them are grandstand moment in the movie. That's partly the issue of films that are almost entirely effects-driven from beginning to end, where in the past the 'money shot' was held in reserve to have some big impact. But that's also the impact on the imagination behind the effects, which is to make them low-key and inconsequential. Given the amazing technology we now have I'd be more impressed if movies had less effects, but a few really stunning ones that really bring something to the story.

A good special effect can transport you a distant world or magical place, and a poor one can point out how uncomfortable the seat is and that you don't like the smell of burnt popcorn. It doesn't really matter if that's a digital effect, or a model or a matte painting, as it's more about how it's presented. These days they're now used to avoid having to spend money on sets, or location shooting, or deciding what something looks like until all the live action has been shot.

The problem is that they're not 'special' any more. They're mundane and perfunctory like the credits or the incidental music. Where I really want them to be 'special' and unforgettable moments in the movie where the fantasy is enhanced, and not diminished.

So who should I blame for the fall in standards? I'm going to point the finger primarily at directors, who use effects like digital Tippex, to cover up the holes in productions or the cracks in their plot. But also those who design the effects, who choose not to be controversial in their output so it will accepted without alteration.

People don't push the envelope these days with too many deadlines for real creativity. This is a great shame, because with the technology we now have the potential is huge.