Occasionally a bit of a mess, but a visual delight and a huge treat on a big screen. James Cameron is clearly a lunatic. I thought the first act was a little slow and the last hour was thrilling. Somehow, this 3 hour and 20 minute film feels shorter than the 2 hour and 30 minute Marvel fair. The family values theme felt surprisingly authentic, but it didn’t always work in the story’s favour.
This is probably a 4⁄5, but it might need a second viewing to grow in stature. But who knows if I’ll ever watch it again. Which is why it’s a 3⁄5.
As many recommended, we went all out and saw it in DBox with HFR.
HFR is fine, but swapping between 24fps and 48fps is a terrible idea. It’s visually jarring and pulls you out every time. Even the people I know who have no idea said “some of it looked slow and wrong and I don’t know why.” That’s a problem. 48fps itself isn’t a bad idea, necessarily, and only took about two minutes to get used to (surprisingly).
DBox is… well, it’s ok. That being said, give me $8 and I’m happy to kick the back of your chair for you throughout a movie and occasionally shake you violently during an action scene, and it’s more or less the same thing. All the seats are at the back of the theatre, and DBox isn’t more immersive than simply sitting several rows closer up.