You make a great about big-name directors having more sway. However, even Martin Scorsese had to cut his running time for WoWS. Auteurs like Spielberg, Peter Jackson, and Cameron don't have unlimited access to studio money. There are limits.
In the case of Counselor, my issues rest mostly with the writing. The direction and cinematography was fantastic but the plot was atrocious (IMO). Is it possible that Ridley and the studio system made massive rewrites to Cormac McCarthy's script and the end result was the mess thrown up on the big screen? Certainly possible. But notice that I said I blame "Cormac more than Ridley" Unless Ridley had more to do with the final script than Cormac, I stand by what I said.