Don't mistake me, not all CGV theaters have a 4D plex in them, nor is every theater room capable of 4D. There are only a few 4D Plexs' in Korea (and the world). When Kelly and I wanted to go see a movie in 4D, we would need to travel into Seoul and go to the I'Park Mall in Yongsan to watch. Now, the CGV in WesternDom out in Ilsan boasts a 4D Plex in their theater, making it even MORE possible to watch MORE movies in 4D.
What exactly is 4D? 4D, in addition to the already craved 3D offers a wide variety of other stimulus. These stimulus include wind (highly realistic), smell, sometimes lasers, sometimes bubbles, sometimes water and above all, moving and vibrating chairs. These added stimuli increase the movie going experience to a near maximum. The moving chairs are by far the best feature, as the movement coincides with the story almost bringing you into the movie itself (more than 3D already does). If the camera pans in the frame, the chairs move with the camera almost making it feel as if you ARE the camera. If Sam Flynn is fighting Rinzler in the arena, the seats move violently, and air shoots in your face when the identity disk flies past you. Wild stuff. The most recent movie we watched in 4D, as the reference suggests, (and I watched it twice) was Tron.
The special effects were already stunning in this movie (along with Daft Punk) and the 4D enhanced the movie even greater, making a potential B, B+ movie into an A, A+ movie. It was so much fun. Tickets aren't cheap at 18,000 Won ($16.00), but it is totally worth it, especially if you are already going to pay 16,000 for 3D. Why not pay the extra 2,000 for moving seats?
*Do note that the movie company itself did not create 4D. CGV created the 4D and designed it to go along with the movie.*
We've seen several other movies in 4D, including Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, The Last Airbender (terrible) and Tron. One thing we have realized was this. Pick your battles with 4D. Nothing will ever beat your first experience (ours was Iron Man 2). After we saw Iron Man 2, we thought we could/should go to every movie in 4D (at least I did). That is not true. Some movies that are picked to be shown in 4D can be terrible (i.e., The Last Airbender/Resident Evil). 4D cannot help terrible movies. If you want to go see a movie in 4D, make sure it has potential to be epic, like Tron or Avatar. Moving chairs cannot compensate for a bad plot or even worse acting.
I know some of you say "hey Pete, 4D isn't new. I've seen a 4D movie before." To which I then ask "Where?" to which the common response is "in one of those movie boxes that you see in malls or amusement parks. I've also been to one at Disney World." My next response is "False, this 4D is in an actual theater that seats 100+ people and shows the top movies for the public."
CGV was the first place in the world to show Avatar in 4D. Chances are you didn't see Avatar 4D at Disney or in a 6 seater moving box in a mall. You probably rode a roller coaster through space that ended up in the bottom of the ocean being chased by dinosaurs. I've been on those too, and I can tell you it isn't the same thing.
If you live in Korea and haven't checked it out, do it before it's too late (i.e., before you go home). It's a pretty fun experience.
2 comments:
You omitted the price in won and price you pay when sitting next to people who scream when things snake past their feet. Or who thinks it's funny to sneeze on unsuspecting 4D-goers. But, nonetheless: cool!
This sounds AMAZING! It's like you're tourists from the future.
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