3D films have become the norm in today’s society. Nearly every other film that is screened theatrically is available to view in 3D. With extra charges on top of the usual price of a cinema ticket, is the 3D bubble about to burst or is this just the beginning of future 3D filmmaking?
In 2009, James Cameron’s AVATAR was hailed as the advent of 3D cinema, a film that would change filmmaking forever. The film’s story never captured my imagination enough to go see it in 3D, and the general consensus seemed to be that it was good film, but not great, even if it did go on to become the top film of all time, grossing £94,025,632
3D moves came and went, such as the humorously titled Piranha 3DD, a fun horror about flesh-hungry piranha fish chasing down their bikini-clad prey, and Dredd, who’s slo-mo drug scenes and Judge Dredd ass-kicking action shots reportedly looked pretty damn good in 3D.
Personally, I’ve never had an interest in 3D. The whole prospect of watching a feature film in it seems daft, unless it’s an interactive screening where not only is the film shown in 3D, but the seats vibrate and move too. I have, however, seen a movie in 3D at the cinemas. It was back in June 2012 at my local Cineworld Cinemas for the anticipated origin story of Alien… Yes, it was Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, and there I was at the first 2D showing of the film, except a slight hiccup meant that we were all upgraded to 3D instead at no extra charge. Though I never had an interest in paying to see something in 3D, I felt that maybe it was time I experienced it, if only once. Unfortunately, Prometheus in 3D offered very little to change my opinion. The only section that stuck out was as properly benefitting the 3D usage was the spaceship control panel scene with Michael Fassbender’s David. I subsequently went to the cinema again to watch the movie in 2D and it didn’t look much different from its 3D counterpart.
After that experience, I’ve never been compelled to see anything in 3D since. That is, until now…
Earlier this year, a certain Alfonso Cuaron’s space thriller GRAVITY popped on my radar that I thought, “hmm, this premise is bloody scary! Not to mention the isolated emptiness of space. Imagine what it’d be like in 3D!”.
After the film opened in the UK last weekend, reports have been flooding in on the use of 3D, even from our own news editor and reviewer, Matt Wavish: “Without a doubt Gravity is the best space film in decades, and forget Avatar, THIS is how 3D should be done”
“To see this film in 2D would spoil your enjoyment, and seriously damage the excessive amount of work that went into making this visual treat.”
Creating a tale which is set outside of our ‘reality’, or rather ‘what we are used to’, is where, it seems, 3D can flourish. Cuaron’s Gravity appears to work well in 3D due to the story’s location in space. Would a 3D dinosaur movie, like Jurassic Park, or cyber film a la The Matrix (glasses worn inside the Matrix) work just as good? Time will only tell.
As I pack my 3D glasses and book a ticket for GRAVITY, this may be the first 3D film that I am actually looking forward to seeing. And who knows, it may change my opinion on 3D forever.
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