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The problem is that a lot of people judge the old effects based on the home video releases, and most likely the original pan and scan ones from the 80s. The video transfers of the time had the brightness and gamma increased so the image would "read" better on tube TVs, causing separate elements which matched well in the theater to suddenly stick out like a sore thumb because the density differences between the elements were magnified.
Go back and watch older mid/late 80s VHS versions of big studio releases, everything is bright and neutral. This is why 90s remasters like the last pre-SE versions of the Star Wars trilogy looked so revelatory (at least to me) - even with the DVNR, the contrast was much improved over the older versions. You could still see garbage mattes and stuff, but it was nowhere near as bad as the old videos.
My point is, people who complain about the effects based on the films looked on home video need to read the old ILM book, they knew full well that video transfers exposed/magnified a lot of their tricks and seams (garbage mattes, partially transparent exposures, etc.) and they were dismayed by it too.
