Movie-going is still popular in Taiwan amongst students and young people, but it’s been quite a while since I went and sat in a movie-theater. Though, about six months ago, we went to see the 3D version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
The screen was huge (as befits IMAX), the sound effects loud and dramatic. The design of the theater created quite a good atmosphere to watch 3D movies, but it seems few films are made entirely in 3D. Typically, only several scenes are filmed in 3D, while the rest was filmed in the more normal 2D. But to watch the 3D scenes we had to wear special glasses for those scenes.
Having seen several 3D movies over the year, I didn’t find the effects in the Harry Potter movie that amazing, extensive or dramatic. Nor did I find the movie that great. I’m told that there were only 20 minutes of 3-D images in the entire movie. And perhaps that’s the greatest drawback of 3D movies: sheer lack of content even within supposedly 3D movies!
It seems that it’s going to take a lot more technical wizadry to drag viewers out of their home theater chairs and get them back to the theater!