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"Solo: A Star Wars Story" IMAX 3D Review
Last weekend, Solo: A Star Wars Story, released at the box office much to the anticipation of many Star Wars fans. It is the second movie in the "A Star Wars Story" series and the first stand-alone origin story for one of the franchise's classic characters.
Presently, there are plenty of reviews written on the movie already. However, there aren't any reviews on if you should watch it in IMAX 3D. Ergo, this might be the first and only (as of publication) review to analyze if you should dish out the extra cash to see this Solo: A Star Wars Movie with the "IMAX 3D experience."
Before you go and watch the new Star Wars Story...
Despite this being a review on watching Solo: A Star Wars Story in IMAX 3D, it is best to provide some general information on the movie itself.
Solo: A Star Wars Story is set sometime before the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It centers on the origins of Han Solo and how he became the man he is in the franchise. This origin story also shows how Solo formed some of his relationships especially with Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian.
Han Solo is played by a fairly new face, Alden Ehrenreich. The other parts however are filled by some big names. Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones fame plays Qi'ra and Donald Glover a.k.a. Childish Gambino plays Lando Calrissian. Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton play newcomers Tobias and Val Beckett, while Paul Bettany plays the new villain, Dryden Vos. The film is directed by well-known director Ron Howard.
Overall, critics and fans gave it favorable reviews. Solo: A Star Wars Story now sits at an overall "Fresh Rating" of 70 percent (critics) with an overall "Liked Rating" of 60 percent (public) on Rotten Tomatoes. Yet, the film performed below expectations. It only earned $168 million over the Memorial Day weekend against an almost $300 million budget.
If the aforementioned information does not sway you from watching Solo: A Star Wars Story, then go and see it because personally, I thought it was a good movie. As for watching it in IMAX 3D, here is the breakdown -- visuals and sound -- to analyze if you should.
Despite being a Space Opera, not much warrants 3D.
The Star Wars franchise is identified by the sub-genre as a Space Opera. That means it has elements of a soap opera but takes many of its visual queues with science fiction. The book-turned-movie, Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is a prime example of a movie fitting in the sub-genre outside of the Star Wars franchise.
With the above in mind, viewers would expect to see plenty of action and unique settings warranting IMAX 3D. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON! Starting with the action sequence, there is only one that warrants IMAX 3D and that is when the Millennium Falcon runs into the Empire while trying to escape the Kessel Run. The other actions scenes are Star Wars's version of a train heist, a prison escape, a one-on-one car chase scene, and intimate space fights. None of them really stand out among other action scenes in the Star Wars franchise.
Now that action sequences have been a bust to watch Solo: A Star Wars Story in IMAX 3D, it now falls on the visual of the settings. Besides the Kessel Run and all that is included in it, the other settings we get in the movie are space, a desert, party deck or bar on a space ship, caves, snowy wasteland, and an industrialized city.
If such settings sound like deja vu, it is understandable because they were used in previous Star Wars franchise movies. This means almost all of the settings in the movie don't stand out. This is probably the most disappointing aspect on why Solo: A Star Wars Story doesn't do well with IMAX 3D visuals. Other Disney movies, either they be successful or not, have created phenomenal settings to warrant IMAX 3D such as Tomorrowland and A Wrinkle in Time. Why couldn't Solo: A Star Wars Story?
An OST that fits a Space Opera!
When watching an IMAX movie, the sound is actually separate from the movie itself which is played on a double projection. It is just in sync with the movie. Ergo, the sound is much more clearer in a surround-sound format played on a separate six-channel 35 mm magnetic film. If that lingo sounds too technical, it just means it sounds like the viewer is in the movie.
This format fits very well for Solo: A Star Wars Story as each monologue and dialogue, each laser shot, explosion, and smash are heard to audible optimization. However, it truly stands out when it comes to the movie's original soundtrack (OST). The Star Wars franchise has been known for its OST for years. Everyone knows "Luke's Theme" (the official theme song for the Star Wars franchise) or the "Imperial March" which is also known as Darth Vader's theme. Solo: A Star Wars Story hopes to add to the overall classic OSTs Star Wars franchise has introduced us to over the years.
And the IMAX 3D verdict is...
After analyzing both the visuals and the sound for Solo: A Star Wars Story, it is best not to watch it in IMAX 3D but in IMAX 2D. In that format, viewers will get the full widescreen experience and the phenomenal surround sound of an IMAX theater without being disappointed by the lack of any real utilization of 3D in the film.
Also as a bit of a benefit, watching Solo: A Star Wars Story in IMAX 2D also means cheaper tickets. Usually the price difference is about $5 to $6.
I really hope this review helped in you making a decision in watching Solo: A Star Wars Story in IMAX 3D. However, don't take it as law. If you really want to watch the movie in IMAX 3D, then watch it in IMAX 3D. And if you really want to watch it in any other format such as Real3D or Interaction 4D or just standard hi-def, then watch it in those formats. Ultimately, it comes down to what you like and what you are willing to pay because in the end, it is about us enjoying a movie we anticipated for right?