We were invited to watch the FIRST ever 4D movie in the United States at the Regal Cinemas in Downtown, Los Angeles. The movie was “Captain America 2- Winter Soldier” and it was the most immersive cinema experience we have ever experienced.
WATCHING a movie is so yesterday when you can FEEL a movie today! Captain America is a fitting movie to watch in 4D, since he’s a character from the past who is trying to keep up with the times. The 4D movie experience, uses NEW technology to flesh out good OLD storytelling conventions.
The South Korean Company, CJ 4DPlex, is bringing 3D movies with 4D technology to the United States where people will be able to connect with a feature film using all five senses. Imagine watching a 3D movie with 4D effects like chair motion, flashing lights, smells, wind, water, bubbles, fog, and air blasts!
When bullets flew by us in 3D, we felt the air whizz by our head and even smelled the gun powder. Explosions were followed by flashes of light and smoke coming from the front of the theater. Car chases were bigger, hand to hand combat kinda hurt my back, and experiencing Captain America jump out of a plane was… breezy.
Overall it was an amazing experience, like a Disneyland simulation ride, but instead of 5 minutes of stimulation, it lasted for 2 hours. Leaving the theater left us somewhat fatigued, since the only rest we had was during the brief dialogue scenes.
Would we recommend experiencing a 4D movie to our friends? OF COURSE! Would we do it all the time, probably not. Only for the major blockbuster summer movies like Transformers or a big Super Hero movie. Bringing small children under 6 years old to a 4D movie is not recommended. Why do we say this? Our chairs were moving so much, that we dropped our popcorn and the overall experience frightened my 5 year old child. I think it was too much for her to handle for the whole duration of the movie. We also would not recommend this movie if you are pregnant, or not able to handle the rigor of being jolted around for 2 hours.
The cost of going to a movie with 4D effects is $8 more than seeing one in 3D, which comes to around $25 per person. If you’re a family on a budget, this may not be the best bang for your buck since you can rent the same movie, a couple months, later for only $1. With that said, we hope that 4Dx catches on and the prices eventually go down. It definitely heightens your movie going experience and could really add to the already fun atmosphere of the opening night of your favorite action movie.
Below is the interview on CNN discussing our 4D experience.