A big-budget movie can be clever and amazing. But I think that requires the style and restraint of the director. Otherwise, you can just make the first thing that comes to your mind - which is probably going to be the most obvious thing to come to your (and your audience’s) mind!
But a small-budget movie has to be clever to be any good at all. If you’ve got $300 for props, you’re going to have to come up with something different…and that can lead to surprise and delight because you did something unexpected with the material available.
Again, big budget stuff can be surprising and delightful, too, but I think that requires a ton of willful determination on the part of the artists involved. That’s might be why the successful ones can be pretty forceful personalities. (Not that I think artistic genius and being a nasty person need to go hand-in-hand either. I’m not promoting that idea here. I don’t think that’s the same thing.)