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Bolt 3D Fails To Wow

by User Not Found | Feb 23, 2009

2009 is the year of 3D cinema, so I went along myself at the weekend to see one of the year’s first 3D blockbusters, Bolt.  I’m not trying to become a film reviewer, so I won’t pass judgment on whether anyone else would enjoy the film for its content. For what it’s worth the younger members of our party came away with grins on their faces, but then anything involving cute dogs or rotund hamsters is likely to please kids, however weak the storyline.  It’s only a sample of one, but the child who had already seen the film in 2D seemed fairly nonplussed by the depth-enhanced alternative. I couldn’t get a straight answer on which she preferred, which I took as less than wholehearted support for the decision to fork out an extra £2 a head (£1.50 for children) for 3D.   The ~20% uplift in per-head income is why studios and cinema chains are ramping up the 3D hype. They’ll justify some of the increase by pointing to the glasses given to each attendee. I’m not sure why we were allowed to walk away with these: possibly so that we can be charged over and over again for glasses at each new film; or possibly because of some obscure health and safety regulation. In any case, it seems a waste to use them only once, and I somehow doubt the entrance fee will be reduced for those bringing them back again.  Perhaps I’ve just seen too many 3D demos, but I’m not sure that’s the whole story. I really didn’t get the sense of any wow factor coming from the rest of the audience. 3D directors are having to strike a difficult balance between artificial “pop out of the screen” effects and merely adding a little depth to the 2D version. I suspect, once this initial wave of releases is over, that audiences will go back to looking for the best stories, whatever digital clever stuff is layered on top. Twitter: twitter.com/dmercer15 Add to Technorati Favorites submit to reddit
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