Reviewers in the 70’s/80’s were a hell of a lot different than the younger reviewers that spawned from the internet age. Sci-Fi was generally slated, no matter how good the film, as it was seen as b-movie material and not sophisticated. Reviewers since the late 90’s seem to be more interested in how the film looks when reviewing films like this that how good the actual film is. You see it all the time “the story is a mess, the acting is terrible, but the visuals are amazing…” so they give it a high score.