Bigger is Not Better

Everybody wanted to see a movie and the movie selected was Night at the Museum. The reviews were good and the advertisements looked fun. My wife was especially excited that the film was designed for an IMAX theater. Now, for me, movies are an average source of entertainment. I could go several months without seeing one and then might enjoy a couple of them. Mainly, I enjoy attending a movie for the conversation value later in a social setting. When stuck for something to say, it always works to throw in, "Have you seen [insert movie name]? What did you think?"

I also recognize the artistic elements that take place in a film--from literary to drama to background music to visual elements. In many ways, movies combine the best aspects of entertainment and the arts to form an elaborate corroboration of ideas, skills, training, experience, and creativity. Using a myriad of emotional technique, movies can be fun, entertaining, profound, ridiculous, sublime, superficial, frightening, or joyful. The potential for affecting human behavior in both subtle and obvious ways is astounding and I am thankful for the opportunities we have to experience this complicated and amazing art form--the film.

So we loaded up the car and headed to a city to experience Night at the Museum on IMAX; but it turned out not to be an IMAX theater. Instead, it was an OMNIMAX theater. Of course, neither term meant much to me one way or another until I actually entered the obelisk and discovered the difference. We waited in a long line to insure we could all sit together since it was "first come, first serve" situation rather than assigned seating. Finally, the doors opened and we entered only to be totally awestruck by the sheer size and magnitude of theater. We made our way up to the seats by climbing several levels of stairs and settled into fairly comfortable seats without much legroom (which I find typical of most theaters).

The screen was dome-shaped and seemed to cover an eternal space up, down, right, and left. The curved view gave me a sense of being in outer space or in another universe without an ending or beginning. As though I had been dropped in a spacious prison located on a planet whose purpose was to surround me with unending false visual sensations that had no lasting value. I was trapped but decided to retain a sense of optimism that my movie adventure would be entertaining and enlightening.

And so it began. Like everyone, I was entranced with the movie world that engulfed me in both sound and pictures. That sensation lasted approximately 3 minutes at which time a mental queasiness overtook my every being, and I realized that the next hour and half would feel like a 2x4 was knocking on my skull with a constant dull thud as I expended some effort to try to survive this movie. For one thing, I could not see all the action at once. It was too close and too wide. For another, the sudden scene changes left me spinning and unable to process what had just happened. Furthermore, my neck quickly ached as I looked up and down and sideways at all the action on the screen.

It was similar to a roller coaster but without the openness and without the moments of reprieve and mostly without the fun. Like a whirling trap from which there is no escape and no end and from which there is only mental anguish and pain. All in all, it was an awful experience that I do not wish to repeat. Adding to my consternation was the awareness that everyone else, including my family, loved it. The theater was full of joy, laughter, excitement, and energy.

So my conclusion is that while this OMNIMAX may be a positive thing for most, for me it is not. Bigger does not make it better. Only different and in this case, worse!