Nordling here.
I don't know how good TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON is; I see it on Monday, in 3D. I'm cautiously looking forward to it. My main issue is with the 3D and how it will be displayed in the theater. Most press screenings the theater has the best possible presentation and even then the screen can run dark - my GREEN LANTERN screening was fairly murky, while my KUNG FU PANDA 2 screening was practically perfect. But Michael Bay and Paramount Studios have been making the rounds to theater owners and chains, urging them to make sure they present their film at the highest possible bright levels, according to the New York Times.
Bay is an ardent defender of 3D, which is funny considering his stance on it more than a year or so ago. But James Cameron (of course) convinced him of the quality of the technology, and now Bay's a convert. My issue is that with Bay's style of filmmaking, 3D could be especially blurry. Looking at his catalog, there's not a shaky-cam shot or flash edit that Bay didn't love, and my one hope with the new film is that because of the technology Bay's calmed down a bit with the seizure-cam and actually shot something coherent. So far, the trailers have me happy in that aspect. I admired that one tracking shot in particular in the trailer as Bumblebee catches Sam falling from a building - no shaking apparent in that and it looked amazing.
But I like the idea that Paramount and Bay care enough about their film's presentation that they are approaching theaters directly on how to project their film. If the audience is going to pay that extra coin they should get the best experience possible. I'm not against charging more for 3D if the theaters make the viewing experience worthwhile. I hope the managers take notice and take a little pride in their work - otherwise 3D may be dead before it really gets started. Numbers aren't looking good for this summer's 3D box office and it's obvious that Bay wants TRANSFORMERS to turn that trend around. We'll see next week.
Nordling, out.
