You probably know what greenbaiting is, right? Like when they put hybrid engines in an SUV? Or when they put 20% post-consumer content in paper plates and call them "eco-plates?" Tonight, I think I experienced the same thing in technology and entertainment. I went and saw Superman Returns at the Tuttleman IMAX in Philadelphia.
The movie was great, but I wasn’t so hot on the IMAX. This wasn’t my first IMAX experience, but it was the first time I’d seen a traditional movie on one, as opposed to some nature film or whatever.
I’m not really sure the movie was shot on IMAX tape. It definitely, definitely warped at the edges throughout the movie. This distracted me the whole time.
The lower corners noticeably did not fit on the screen. They had it too wide. No one would have objected if they would have pulled it in a few degrees. it still would have been huge.
I also found that during some of the really chaotic scenes where a lot is happening yet the director shoots in close so you can hardly tell what, you really couldn’t tell what with the IMAX. In fact, the screen almost seemed to black out during the really chaotic close stuff. Again, distracting. I will also be interested to see it in a regular theater and see if anyone ever looks blurred. Many parts of the scene often appeared blurred at times. Again, possibly another effect of projecting at a level the original film had not been meant for.
The biggest problem, though, was that there really was hardly a good seat in the house. The seats were far too close to the enormous screen. I was turning my head through the whole thing and I could never see take in the whole screen at once. And my seat was roughly in middle. I feel very badly for anyone further down.
At the start of the movie, they run a little text across the screen and everyone laughed because no one could really read it. It was too big and we were all too close.
In the end, I wish I would have seen it at a normal theater. I feel like I was suckered in to see it on the super-high-tech screen.
Overall, though, it was a great film. Then again, I know I’m a sucker for big heroes and heroics. I like being a sucker for that, though.
