This time around, I watched it for free at SM Mall of Asia's IMAX 3D Theater. Comparing my experience with two different movie theaters with the same movie, the following are what I've learned:
1. Bigger is Better!
SM MOA's IMAX movie screen is bigger than Greenbelt 3D Cinemas’, which I believe, uses Dolby's 3D technology but not all of it I noticed was utilized by the movie. Another big thing is the 3D glasses. I always find it hard watching with the Dolby 3D glasses, as they are too small for me. SM IMAX 3D goggley glasses, though geeky and unfashionable are bigger, surprisingly lighter and provide better viewing.
2. IMAX is 3D
Greenbelt's 3D is a conventional theater converted to screen 3D movies unlike IMAX which is really built for 3D.
3. Better 3D experience
IMAX offers true blue 3D experience. At first, I marveled out how the they have designed the theater. Seating was made in a steep angle to give all the moviegoers as much as possible equal proximity to the screen which is very important when things starts to pop out of the screen.
4. Seating comfort
Talk about bad luck! I have nothing against big people but I suspect my chair was abused by to many Jabba the Hutt’s that it reclines too much than I ask for. The spacing was reasonable to satisfy observation number 3. But overall, Greenbelt scores on this one.
5. Snacks
Not a fan of popcorn but IMAX popcorn tasted better that day. Or maybe because of the flavor... cheese!
6. Piracy
Every time we go to the mall, we usually bring along our trusty dslr. Ayala cinemas have an inconsistent policy when it comes to dslr's. At Greenbelt, one time they allowed me to bring my camera inside as they already realized that dslr's are no compacts and should I cam cord the movie, they'd spot me easily and not all dslr's have video capture capability. After a week, we watched a movie in Glorietta, the unenlightened ones didn't allowed me to bring it inside the theater. On the technical side, 3D movies I believe has a promise of solving the piracy as they could blur out the movies so bad camcorders will be useless.
7. 3D Fidelity
Watching movies in 3D is of course better than 2D but not all the time plus the fact that not all movies are shot in 3D. I noticed that when action goes frantic, sudden blurring occurs with IMAX that I didn’t notice with Dolby 3D. Could it be caused by design limitations of the glasses with respect to the distance of the screen or maybe the projectors itself?
To sum it up, IMAX 3D is the way to go in enjoying 3D movies but the only thing that makes me think twice is the price and location. Greenbelt and Glorietta is much accessible for me.
