I love movies. I love the act of going to the movies, almost as much as I love the actual films. I enjoy old art houses and the newest state-of-the-art cineplexes equally. Some movies are meant to be seen in small intimate showings. Some are meant to be seen on gigantic IMAX screens. While other movies work better simply on a projector at the park. I even still go to the drive-in on a regular basis. However, my favorite way to watch a movie, is to have the seat that I am sitting on rumble, tilt, and twist, along with the story I am seeing on-screen.
The oldest stories were told with oral tradition, where people would tell great tales over the camp fire. Filmmaking has made storytelling a visual medium. As technology improves over time, it is inevitable that the next improvement in storytelling is tactile. I recently got the opportunity to watch Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, in a D-Box motion seat and it was like being on the ultimate theme park ride for the length of the movie.
When the movie opens it is quiet and still, even as Simon Pegg pops up in the foreground and begins his banter with Jeremy Renner. Not until Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt appears that you feel the gentle rumble of plane propellers in the distance. By the time Cruise is hanging off of the plane, you feel as though you are taking off with him as the D-Box chair mimics the feeling of being on the runway and taking off, while subtly tilting you forward. While in no physical danger, it gives you the sensation that you are holding on along with Cruise.
They also don’t overlook the finer details in the motion programming, which contributes to the immersive experience. (You can also manually control the intensity of the motion and vibration as well.) The smaller moments such as having the chair mimic a pan during an establishing shot, help set the mood. Or when Ethan Hunt is trapped in a box, you feel the pounding of his fists in desperation slowly fade out, which makes his situation even more visceral and dire.
It may seem as though D-Box is a gimmick, but every time in film history that a new innovation is introduced it is given that familiar, yet lazy label. It has been six years since Avatar showed the true potential of a three-dimensional movie. It has been over two decades since 3D movies were seen through red and blue lenses. To put the long history in perspective. The first 3D stereoscopic film was screened in 1922! So it is laughable when people say that 3D movies are “just a fad.” Advancements in storytelling are crucial and as long as we stay away from Smell-O-Vision, it is all for the better.
Every time a new element is introduced to the medium, there are skeptics. No need this time. Picture, sound, and now feel. This…chair…is the future. Now I wouldn’t suggest seeing Pitch Perfect 3 in D-Box, but the next action spectacle that involves car chases, dynamic action, explosions, horseback riding, flight, motorcycles, basically anything that looks really cool on screen and seems interactive…will be the perfect movie for a ride. See you at the movies…
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