FANFLASH: Is the 3D Experience Worth It?

By Jordan Tunney
April 1, 2009

A few weeks ago, I went and watched My Bloody Valentine 3D. And it was a terrible film. But some scenes in 3D were actually pretty entertaining. That got me thinking, is 3D really worth it? Considering the movies in 3D coming up this summer, we will discuss the 3D event and whether it has a place with good film making. Movies are meant to be entertaining. If a film were made strictly to be informative or educational, it wouldn’t sell. Some movies do play more towards being entertaining or informative, but they have to have some reason for you to stay in your seat. What has always attracted me to movies has been their ability to use mystery to keep me entertained. If we all carefully examine movies, we see the sloping action, the failure, and the redemption all stories tell. But most of us aren’t going into every movie expecting The Dark Knight or The Shawshank Redemption. Sometimes, we just want something to keep us entertained for 90 minutes. Insert 3D.

I’m not going to go far back into the history of 3D film; I am going to stay relevant. And what better place to start then with Superman Returns. This was the first movie I saw in 3D at my local IMAX Theater. And I felt a bit like Clark Kent, taking my glasses on and off. Nothing starts off a great action scene like the drawing of green glasses flashing on the bottom of the screen. And once your glasses are on, you get treated to a mediocre sequence. So rule number one about 3D: if you are 3D, stay 3D till the credits. It’s like being in an argument with your girlfriend, don’t start it unless you’re going to finish it.

Say what you will about its use of motion-capture cinematography, Ray Winstone’s voice work, Angelina’s golden booty, or casting George McFly, but Beowulf had some awesome action. It stayed full 3D, which was nice since it never really broke the “illusion” of being in that extra dimension. However, it did break another 3D movie rule. Rule number two states: if you want good looking 3D action, stick with real people. I’m pretty sure that’s why God made us like this and not like animated Barbie dolls (sorry Robert Zimeckis).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix worked well in 3D. Although it was still not fully in 3D, at least the 3D portion was at the end and dampened the amount of up and down.  Another decently made movie with 3D was Disney’s Bolt. It almost broke the third 3D rule: no John Travolta in 3D, but playing an animated dog made it passable.

Now, My Bloody Valentine 3D was a terrible horror film. The acting was atrocious, script was a mess, premise was laughable, and had obvious plot twists. Having said that, the 3D in the movie was quite entertaining.  I sat back as the killer got each of the hicks one by one in gruesome fashion, and from time to time found myself cheering at the 3D gore. MBV3D was shot to be in the 3D format, and perfectly achieved a great violent, bloody 3D experience.

Recently, Coraline had stunning visuals in 3D, mostly because of the interesting design and stop-motion filming. In the style of Nightmare Before Christmas, stop-motion filmmaking combined with 3D will be interesting to say the least. Though I haven’t had a chance to check out Monsters vs. Aliens, there has been a lot of mixed reviews on the 3D experience of the movie. This summer, moviegoers will be treated to several 3D movies, including Up, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and news suggesting Toy Story is coming back for 3D treatment and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen having select scenes in 3D. Fans of 3D have a lot to look forward to this year.

What are your thoughts on the 3D experience? Is it worth paying the extra admission price to see a movie in 3D? Leave us your thoughts below.