That is where I disagree. A critique is when you or a group analyzes a piece of work, trying to understand the meaning, what you like or dislike and why you like or dislike it. I used to hate this and used to think like you, where everything you need to know is from the first moment you look at it you make your decision. Wrong. Like a PSD an image has layers. Not just what you look at the moment you see it, but there are many other factors involved in trying to understand the image for meaning. Artists intent, how aspect of the foreground and background play to the image's tone, the linear composition and color palette in regards to how it makes you feel or how it contributes positively or negatively to the image.
That is why my first response to Chris' image was so brash, all that stuck out was the hue/saturation extremes. But then I looked at it, examined how it made me feel, looked for his intent other than "hey that looks cool" (which i think it does) and saw that the over saturation creates a wild looking effect that almost looks, as i stated earlier, radiation-esque and creates an almost modern looking photo.