I love movies with spectacle but spectacle can be a performance, it doesn’t have to be a creature.

Abrams distinguishes between “spectacle” as mere visual effects and spectacle as something generated by human performance. The line argues that cinematic awe doesn’t require monsters, explosions, or digital creatures; it can arise from actors, staging, and emotionally charged moments that feel large in consequence even if they are physically small. Implicitly, it’s a defense of character-driven filmmaking within blockbuster genres: the most memorable set pieces often work because the audience is invested in the people at the center of them. The quote also reflects a broader aesthetic preference for practical, embodied elements—faces, bodies, timing, and tension—as the core of what makes spectacle meaningful rather than ornamental.