We have to understand what the purpose of the Buddha statue is. There was once a time when I thought that the Buddha statues were a bit overdone, until I came to realize how much they are confidence-inspiring objects to be around. For example, in some countries where Buddhism has disappeared some people might think who is this? Who would make something so huge and big and whatever? What did he teach? What is it all about? And this may get them interested in this particular personality.
It depends on how you view things. I believe that if you see the Buddha statue as possessing some sort of supernatural power, then it has actually degenerated from its true purpose. If we don't view the Buddha statue has having any supernatural powers, but as a way to reflect on our greater human potential then I don't think it's a problem. Personally I like to see Buddha statues. I'd much rather see them than other symbols of materialistic cultures like shopping centers. A knife can be used for benefit or harm, and it's how we use it that determines the result. So the object is not good or bad in itself, rather it depends on the right view and the right intention behind how we use an object.