Why The Matrix Resurrections "looks cheap".

A Matrix Resurrections criticism I've been seeing is that it looks cheap, and as much as I adore the film I'll admit I see where they're coming from. My instincts (honed by a BA in film studies) told me it had something to do with the color grade, lighting, or something else about the "look" of the visuals that didn't align with typical blockbuster movie expectations. Cause it looked far less "produced" than many other movies of today.

Then I remembered hearing that Lana made an effort to use natural lighting where possible, and THAT is it. For expediency's sake even daylight outdoor shots in big budget movies have complicated artificial lighting setups to make sure everyone and everything is lit in a polished way at ALL times. Lana didn't do that in Resurrections which creates, by contrast, an "unpolished" look. Paradoxically this production decision likely cost more money in the end as WB had to pay people to sit around and wait for the sun to be just right for what visuals Lana wanted. I could argue how this was a great decision and fits the narrative, tone and theme of the movie but that's neither here nor there. The only point I want to make here is the movie looks "cheap" as the result a deliberate decision by an artist who knew what she was doing.