3D Movie Reviews

Titanic 3D

This is James Cameron's re-release of Titanic in 3D to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the day it sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic. The original film was shot in 2D and had to be converted to 3D in its entirety. This was a highly anticipated release because of Cameron's attention to detail and the excellent theatrical experience of the original movie.

Among the 3D films we have seen so far, this was indeed the best 2D-to-3D conversion ever made. All 3D scenes were rendered extremely well and there were very few moments where I could tell the difference. The movie was comfortable to watch, with the right amounts of depth budget. The only flaws I noticed were certain cases where close-ups of faces did not have any depth detail. There was a significant effort made for most faces, especially the ones that were very close, but not ones that were a little further back. Nevertheless, this was minor and I highly doubt that most of the audience will be able to tell the difference.

This was clearly a high-budget conversion process, and overall this is the best converted movie. Whether even at this level the conversion process can be a substitute for shooting in 3D is not clear at this point. However, I believe that there is something natural in movies that are shot in 3D that cannot be captured during conversion, given that there is a limit on the amount of time and money that anyone is willing to invest to take care of every detail such as a single piece of hair waving back and forth with the wind, or subtle changes in facial expressions when a person talks. However, this movie sets a new standard for the quality of converted 3D movies, and shows that they can reach a very high level of theatrical experience.

Rating: 4 stars

John Carter

This is another film based on the Marvel comic series John Carter. The story takes John Carter to Mars where he tries to save a civilization from attack using his supernatural powers. Most of the film takes place in a desert-like setting with spaceships, palaces, creatures, and other fictional tribes. The film was shot in 2D and converted to 3D during post-production.

The movie had quite a few scenes conducive to 3D viewing, ranging from rock formations and rivers in the desert, warships and warriors, and close-ups of one-on-one dialog. Everything that was rendered via 3D computer graphics was done well, and the depth representation of 3D scenes was pretty good. Action shots were not too difficult to see, and although I always question the wisdom of showing action scenes in 3D with a lot of depth, the movie did not try to overdo it. The film was easy to watch in 3D and did not have many 3D viewing violations. The only noticeable problem was in the one-on-one shots, where the faces of the actors were flat and you could not see much detail. This is unfortunately true for most 3D conversions. Overall, this was a very good conversion film, but I still do not think they can reach the overall experience of a naturally shot 3D film.

Rating: 3 stars

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

This film is based on the Jules Verne novels The Mysterious Island and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. It was shot in native 3D. This film is unique in that it offers a good 3D experience by blending natural scenes of nice tropical environments with computer generated scenery.

The movie overall had a correct depth budget and was comfortable to the eyes. The native 3D shots were very realistic and provided the right degree of immersion. However, shots of people and faces appeared flat in some cases and could have been done better. In a very few scenes, it was evident that native 3D did not work out perfectly and they had to instead convert the clip from 2D to 3D and accept the typical flaws created by the conversion process. Also, there were a lot of panning sequences that were difficult to see. The movie had the typical problems found in any action scene, where there is a general blurring of depth and things are moving so fast in front of you that you cannot really enjoy the scene. Overall, this is a good 3D production, but it does not reach the quality and experience of Hugo.

Rating: 4 stars

Ghost Rider 3D: Spirit of Vengeance

This is an action movie based on the known Marvel comic. In terms of 3D creation, this is an interesting production since it is not a typical 2D-to-3D conversion. The directors had planned to shoot and release the movie in 3D, and by having this in mind they took several steps during shooting that allowed them to create a somewhat better 3D experience compared to a straight conversion. One of the techniques used, which was apparent in some scenes, was capturing the set in a way so that they could create better 3D in post production and place characters in the scene using computer graphics.

Overall the conversion was OK. Definitely better compared to some early conversion releases. Nevertheless, I do not believe the movie created a truly immersive experience for the audience. In quite a few parts of the movie the depth was so shallow that I wondered whether it was shot in 2D and then pushed back behind the screen to appear 3D. Some scenes where the directors captured the set so they could create better 3D at the end, provided a good 3D experience. There were a lot of action scenes, which are always very difficult to properly capture in 3D. These were not any better than any other movie, and they were difficult to watch. In general, it was an interesting production since it was a conversion, but there were some techniques used to create better 3D composition in some scenes. I think it is still an open question whether the general audience can tell the difference between a converted and natural 3D production. I believe however, that if a movie is shot in both 3D and converted from 2D to 3D using the techniques used in this film, the audience will be able to tell the difference in the end, and the shot-in-3D version would definitely leave audience with a better feeling and experience.

Rating: 2.5 stars

The Lorax

This is a 3D animated series based on a book created by Dr. Seuss. Animated films in general are much easier to create in 3D, since pretty much everything is done in software using computer graphics. Nevertheless, 3D needs to be created the right way and it should be part of the artistic creation and storytelling. The Lorax in general had quite a few good elements of 3D cinematography. Lots of colors and some good 3D effects, but we have seen films with more exciting and more interesting 3D content. The parallax budget was appropriate throughout the film, so it should be comfortable for the audience to watch and enjoy the movie. Regarding the final score, we need to emphasize that creating an animated 3D movie is much easier compared to ones using captured images of real scenes.

Rating: 4 stars