3-D Why I Hate It.

[jacey]

Prompted by Benjamin Tate's blog via jpsorrow 

I'm a regular moviegoer - fantasy and SF films most Wednesday afternoons (on the Orange Two-fer deal) if my cinema pal H is available - and so I've seen a few 3D movies in the last year or so... and HATED them. Not the movies themselves, necessarily, though I did find that some of them were more effect than content, but certainly the format. Avatar was the least noxious of the bunch, Tron Legacy easily the worst. We actually walked out of that hlfway through, though the crummy script and boring plot certainly didn't help.

H and I have now declared a policy of always going to the 2D version of a movie if available. Unfortunately our local Cineworld wasn't offering a 2D version of Tron. (We assumed there wasn't one, but apparently there is. Bad Cineworld. No biscuit!) To add insult to injury we not only had to see the 3-D version, but we had to pay more plus an additional surcharge for 3D on the 'free' ticket.

Sorry, Cineworld, but if you're not showing the 2-D version of the movie we'll stay at home in future. 3-D is actively driving us away from movies. We don't get headaches, but we do get eyestrain and find the blurring behind the 3-D visually irrtating.

'Inception' is easily the best movie I've seen for some time, and it had no need of visual gimmicks to support the brian-melting concepts and great images.

What works for me in a movie is good plot, great script, excellent acting and clarity of sound and vision. I'll take quality over gimmicks any day.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

It's the glasses that get me. I already have my own, and the 3D ones are just a pain.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

Agreed. My current specs are quite small, but even so the glasses barely fit over them.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

I couldn't agree more.

There are movie critics who loathe 3D. Mark Kermode rants about them intermittently.

[brownnicky.livejournal.com]

I saw Avatar in the Imex in Sydney and thought it was an amazing immersive visual experience - the plot etc was wildly derivative, but I loved the world. I haven't seen any other 3ds besides Alice.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I didn't think much to Alice, but then I've never been wildly fornd of the book. Things I've seen in 3D include: Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Beowulf, Clash of the Titans, Alice, Avatar and Tron Legacy

Only Avatar didn't make my eyes cross, but I also thought it looked good in 2D on the small screen, too, so I wouldn't have been devaststed not to see it in 3-D. (Absolutely right about the derivative story, but overall it was an entertaining movie.)

Most of the above were guilty of having something leap off the screen directly at my eyeballs - which I do not appreciate. I was deeply disappointed with Beowulf, Titans and Tron for the quality of the overall movie not just because of the 3-D. Alice was a bit 'meh' and Journey to the Centre of the earth really didn't need 3-D at all. To be honest I preferred the original 1950s version, anyway, with James Mason and Pat Boone.

You can't take a mediocre movie and turn it into a good one by adding 3-D, but you can take a mediocre movie and turn it into a terrible one.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

3D just doesn't work properly for me because I have one very dominant eye and just peripheral vision in the other. It sort of works, but it doesn't really add anything significant. I therefore haven't bothered going to any 3D films, though I have always had the feeling that they were more about the gosh wow special effects than plot, characterisation and pacing.

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I am so please that 3-D wasn't an issue when some of the great movies of our time were made. Imagine Lawrence of Arabia in 3-D (The 'reveal' scene of Omar Sharif coming out of the desert on the camel.... starting from way back... and ending in your lap. Ouch! no thanks!)

I just hope they aren't ever tempted to remaster the Lord of the Rings movies in 3-D. (Even presuming that such a thing is possible.)

[lapswood.livejournal.com]

I've only seen one non IMAX 3D film so far and that was 'Avatar' which I liked a lot. I was planning to see TRON Legacy in 3D before Christmas but the heavy snow on it's opening weekend put pay to that. I've got second thoughts now after the bad reviews it's been getting. I didn't get to the cinema much in 2010. Just time and finding a regular buddy to go with.

I think Hollywood is determined to shove 3D down our throats right now so 2D versions of some movies may be harder to come by. I personally feel that the choice should always be there and I think I would mostly prefer to see the 2D presentation for cost wise. I can't say I hate 3D yet but things may change! :0/

[birdsedge.livejournal.com]

I sincerely advise saving your money by NOT seing Tron Legacy. I enjoyed the original Tron movie, but this new one was a complete waste of time. We left halfway through, despite having paid premium rates for the 3-D we didn't want and wouldn't have had out of choice. I don't think I've ever walked out of a movie before. I even sat through 'Dragonballs' - and that's saying something.