I see tons of "front-end" developers using fancy frameworks when all they need to finish the job is a template engine.
Here are questions you can use to help you make the right decision on picking the front-end tooling for your product:
Do you have experts on your team for the framework you plan to use?
Frameworks have their advantages but they come with a cost of complexity and caveats. You will struggle to scale your product without an expert on your team to keep the complexity in check.
How hard it is to build similar features with the SSR template engine?
More often than not, a web application feature can be implemented with more simplicity using a template engine and a sprinkle of client-side JavaScript. Fewer configuration files. Fewer lines of code to maintain.
Can we partially adopt the library/framework?
Some types of applications cannot be implemented easily with minimal client-side JavaScript. Ask yourselves which part of your application requires React (or insert another framework here) before deciding to build everything with it.
Again the goal is to maximise maintainability and reduce complexity.
Do we need to build a separate backend API?
Building multiple services come with the cost of maintaining them. If serving your user does not involve exposing public API, chances are you won't be needing a separate backend service early on. Building your product as a monolith with minimal logic in the front end would make it easier for you to ship meaningful features for your user and spend less time dealing with unnecessary complexity.
Building a good product is not about using the bleeding edge coolest tech but rather solving your customer's problem. The key to building a good software product is to keep things as simple as possible and iterate often.