Let's talk real for a moment. Who here is older than twelve and has genuine interest in seeing a 3D movie? Or better, who here really wants to buy one of these pricey 3D televisions because they enjoy this technology? It's the latest thing Hollywood is trying to bleed us dry with and good lord, are we dumb enough to think is enhances anything? AVATAR was a movie that worked the 3D aspect really hard to cover its poor screenplay and it was something different. IMAX technology used in a Hollywood blockbuster. But it was still a bad film and no matter how hard it tried, it still relied on that clumsy, cumbersome technology to exist.
First of all, you need glasses to enjoy a 3D movie. That's a great idea when your vision is 20/20, but for someone like me, who's wearing thick glasses with a -4 vision in both eyes, it's a major inconvenience. Wearing glasses over glasses is uncomfortable and annoying, plus it's also a guarantee that you will see double for the entirety of the movie. My choice is 1)seeing double or 2)seeing a succession of blurry blobs talk to each other on screen. Thank God I'm not hearing impaired, because going to the movies would be a metaphor for death.
But I'm not done with these fucking glasses. Since they have to be mass produced, very little thought is going into their actual design. Common sense would be to make it a thin, wraparound device that you can wear alone or wear over your glasses. But no, they are these big, obnoxious glasses that you have to wear over whatever you need to see. Some models are so cheap that the plastic of the branches cuts into your ear as you're watching the movie. Even moreso if you're wearing 3D glasses over your glasses because you constantly need to readjust them. I almost titled my AVATAR review "Being Vincent Van Gogh".
Have I even talked about the quality of the movies? No, of course. Every series that's been running for too long or not was granted a 3D sequel. The RESIDENT EVIL movies for example, who never worked that well (and never had all that much to do with the video games), was granted a 3D sequel. SAW also. Anybody has anything better to do than watch SAW on Halloween? What about other, less formulaic horror movies? There's some good stuff out there if you look hard enough. Freakin' TITANTIC was dusted off and given a 3D coat. Who gives a shit anymore? The potential audience of TITANTIC 3D is split in betwen people who have watched this movie way too much and people that showed zero interest in watching it for the last fifteen years (category which I fall in). Why would the promise of an iceberg spearing through the screen lure me? What am I? Eight years old.
Not to mention that the "made-for-3D" movies all suffer from a deliberate structure that cuts the actual movie time in favor for visual stunts. You know what I'm talking about here. The now famous "made-for-3D" scene. Nothing's happening in that scene really, expect that something is darting towards the audience in slow motion. SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS had this forest scene where Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Noomi Rapace are running from slow motion bullets for what seems to be forever. I'm sure the stunts were breathtaking in 3D, but I actually watched the movie on a normal silver screen and it looked fucking goofy.
I've went to the movies about five times since 2011. Saw DRIVE, THE DESCENDANT, TAKE SHELTER, THE HUNGER GAMES...and that's about it, I think. And I've watched over a hundred movies last year, easy. I cloister myself home now, abuse of my Netflix membership, go to the video club...shit, I even watch movies on television again. Anything is better than being overcharged for a rubbish, gimmicky technology that doesn't add anything to my viewing experience. I'm not calling to an official boycott here, but I'm not going to throw away my money on 3D movies and I think my reasons are good. Do you?