It's hard to imagine they were caught off guard by the scale of this production. Concept art was worked on for months before filming had even started -- a look at any of those grand shots would tell you it required a large canvas and huge amounts of work to bring it to life.
The press who were invited on set months ago, remarked that they were impressed by the glorious shots of all the GLs and Oa. Reynolds himself was lured into the production by the infamous room of concept-work filled walls. But they are all shared one question: could this be done in live-action?
So it's clear to me they knew their work was cut out for them. But it's very hard to foresee how it's all going to turn out until the last day of post-production when everything is in place.
Regardless of my disappointment, I don't think it's going to be a dealbreaker. I Am Legend had one of the most intrusive and appalling CG work I've seen in a blockbuster, but it wasn't enough to deter audiences from paying to see it. Of course, that was a Will Smith vehicle. But GL has a fresh product, sci-fi setting, likable star, and the superhero factor behind it. IF it's a solid flick, it will do just fine in the summer.
