Why I’m Done with 3-D

I recently saw Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in 3-D because, well, why not? It has been a while since I’ve seen a film in 3-D. The last film I saw in that format was Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), which was outstanding that way. I will say that 3-D has come a long way since I was a kid, which was when 3-D entertainment could only be achieved by wearing itchy cardboard cutout glasses. Not only that, but the picture was also only seen through the blue and red lenses. That would sometimes produce a purple picture if you can see through both eyes. I remember that being a chore and I couldn’t understand the draw of 3-D entertainment for years.

I decided to look further back in my collection of ticket stubs (yes, I keep my ticket stubs) and see what other films I’ve seen in 3-D. I came across Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, which I remember being excellent in that format. The film itself was a bore (yet again, my wife disagrees). This was back in 2010, and it renewed my appreciation for 3-D entertainment.

More examples of my 3-D experiences include 2010’s Clash of the Titans, Iron Man 3, The Great Gatsby, Star Trek Into Darkness, World War Z, Edge of Tomorrow, and The Martian, just to name a few. I wondered why I limited these movie-going experiences to 3-D because all of these looked fantastic. It may have been because I didn’t want to pay the extra three dollars to wear glasses the whole time. Maybe it could have been because I thought 2-D was just as effective.

As I settled into my “viewing mode” to be ready for the 3-D experience of Fallen Kingdom, I noticed the start of the film was very blurry. Rubbing my glasses like a window washer on a high rise didn’t help. I know that 3-D movies are blurry to an extent, but only if you are not wearing the glasses! Just as I was getting up to head to the lobby to complain, but a few other people got up in unison and beat me to it. A couple of minutes later, the film was in a sharp 3-D focus. I was relieved…to an extent.

After the movie, and when I wasn’t thinking about how to shape my review of it, I was thinking about the first five minutes. It led me to wonder why I spent almost $35 for a movie where my wife and I couldn’t tell what was going on in the first scene. It also led me to think that 3-D may be more bother than it’s worth.