Disappointing: the only way to see The Force Awakens in IMAX is also in 3D

Yes, it’s Back to the Future Day, but I want to talk about Star Wars.

Like many of you , I’m a big Star Wars geek and I’m excited to see The Force Awakens. I was even more excited to learn that it was being filmed and screened in IMAX format.

And like many of you, I also went online during Monday Night Football right when the trailer hit to try to buy tickets. Regular screens be damned, I went right for IMAX screenings. And not just the “IMAX Experience” but full blown IMAX theaters.

However, my excitement was quickly subdued a bit to learn that in order to see it in IMAX, I’d also have to watch in 3D. Bummer.

Star Wars The Force Awakens IMAX

You see, while The Force Awakens was filmed with IMAX cameras (yay), it wasn’t filmed with 3D cameras. That means that the 3D effects were done in post production. While I don’t care about 3D much to begin with, if I’m going to see a 3D showing I’d rather see one done with real 3D cameras. (Read why I prefer this)

Star Wars cinematographic

Eventually I found and bought an IMAX screening that wasn’t yet sold out (and when their site wasn’t crashing). But I also bought tickets to a regular non-IMAX, non-3D screening just so that I can get the non-3D experience. While I guess I’m ok with that, I was really hoping to see Star Wars in IMAX and not have to deal with post production 3D and 3D glasses.

So here’s to hoping the 3D (and the film itself) doesn’t suck.

When going to the movies, don’t spend extra money for 3D or IMAX without checking the specs first

It’s holiday season so there’s a good chance you’ll go to theaters to enjoy a movie. There’s also a chance you’ll want to see a movie in 3D and/or IMAX. However, you’ll have to spend some extra cash to do that.

As a general rule, it’s not worth ponying up the dough to watch a movie in 3D or IMAX. The main reason is that the movie you’re seeing probably wasn’t filmed with a 3D or IMAX camera. To save money, most of the movies you see were filmed with a regular camera and had the 3D effects added in post production. The main side effect of that is that you’ll see 3D objects in a flat pop-up book type effect (not to mention the other negative effects you get when seeing a post production 3D movie, but that’s a post for another time). Whereas, if it were filmed with an actual 3D camera, you’ll get a much better effect – you’ll be able to see depth rather the the pop-up book feel. Continue reading When going to the movies, don’t spend extra money for 3D or IMAX without checking the specs first