Friday, February 10, 2012

3D Star Wars Ep. I - The Review

I just got back from seeing Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace 3D. For the purposes of this review, I'm not going to review this as a film, per say (what could I say that would be new?). I'm going to review it as an experience. My goal is to answer the question, "Is it worth seeing the 3D version of Phantom Menace?"
First of all, the 3D is of mixed results. The quality of the 3D is fine - it's not dark or blurry like I've seen in other films. But it's not spectacular either. You can definitely tell that the film wasn't made for 3D. The 3D effects feel underused. I took my four year old son with me to see it and I warned him ahead of time, "Don't be scared - it may look like there are things coming at you." But that doesn't happen it all... at no point do things seem to "pop" out of the screen at you. Things look more layered, the background looks deeper, but you don't have starfighters zooming out at you or even laser fire coming your way. The action is still contained on the screen which diminishes the value of the 3D. Of course I know the film wasn't made with 3D in mind, but that's the point I'm making, isn't it?

I'd say most of the value in the re-release is for the existing fans, both young and old. Like I said, I took my four year old son and I've got to say he was THRILLED! He's watched all of the movies and the Clone Wars cartoons and loved them. It was great to be able to take him to the theater and let him have the experience of watching the movie on the big screen. For older fans it is always a treat to see Star Wars on the big screen. But I don't think many new viewers will be going to see the 3D movie... if you haven't seen it by now, why would you pay movie theater prices to see it when you could watch it cheaply (or for free) from many other sources?

Ultimately, if you're a fan of Star Wars, go and see the 3D version, if for no other reason than you could then speak intelligently about it as a fan. 

1LR Review - 16 out of 20 - It's a Hit! 

No comments:

Post a Comment