I thought I’d write a very brief update as last night I went to see the film for a second time, but this time in IMAX 3D (my first viewing was in standard 2D).
My wife (quite rightly) questioned the sanity of me driving the twenty-plus miles to Crawley Cineworld on a Tuesday night to pay to see something I’d seen less than a month ago, which is something I’ve never done before. My reasons were two-fold. Firstly, I’ve seen numerous comments on social media that the IMAX version is breathtaking and the way to see the film. Mark Kermode’s review on Five Live also extolled the virtues of watching it in IMAX.
Secondly, while I’ve seen IMAX at places like the Science Museum in London, I’ve never see a ‘proper’ cinema screening in that format. It’s something l’ve been meaning to do for a while and, given what I’d been hearing, I thought it made sense to try it with Star Wars while it’s still out.
For me, bar a few moments, the 3D element didn’t really add anything (the effect works well in ‘deep space’ scenes and flame embers in one sequence looked good). However, I have to agree that the IMAX format is perfect for this type of action film. The landscapes looked even more vast and it felt extremely immersive throughout. It’s certainly not vital but, if you do have an IMAX cinema near you, it’s worth paying the extra on this occasion.