December 21, 2009Places, TV & Movies

AVATAR at SM North Edsa IMAX 3D – The Real Movie Review

If you haven’t seen AVATAR yet, don’t worry because there are no spoilers here. This is just to give you an idea on the kind of AVATAR experience you’ll get from Dolby Digital 3D theaters (Trinoma, Gateway) and IMAX 3D theaters (SM Mall of Asia (MOA) and SM North Edsa). Should you go with regular Dolby Digital 3D or IMAX 3D? What’s the difference? This will help you decide where to watch AVATAR.

sm-north-imax-avatar-ticket-magnet

My SM North Edsa IMAX “AVATAR” tickets with a free AVATAR magnet

This was my second viewing of James Cameron’s “AVATAR”. I saw the movie first at Gateway’s Digital 3D cinema last Thursday and have already posted my initial thoughts on it here but I will confess that I made a glaring mistake in that article. I need you to ignore everything I said there about Dolby 3D Digital Cinemas offering an experience close to the IMAX 3D experience. They’re not even comparable!

My AVATAR 3D experience at Gateway’s Digital 3D theater:

  1. Hm… these 3D glasses are smaller than the ones at IMAX. Wonder if it’ll be comfortable on top of my own glasses. Wait, is that grease on the lens? Eww! They don’t properly sanitize their glasses!
  2. (movie starts) Okay, I’m really getting a bit dizzy now and I don’t see the 3D effect on some scenes. :(
  3. Too much ghosting. Maybe because this isn’t IMAX or maybe because I have two glasses on!
  4. Blah! Blah! Blah! Enough talk! Where’s the action? Maybe it’s all just hype after all. Glad I didn’t shell out money for an IMAX viewing. Heh!
  5. I still haven’t adjusted to these darn glasses yet! These people must be noticing my discomfort already and are probably laughing at me silently. I hate not having 20/20 vision. :(
  6. (Thanador chase ends) Cool but I think it looked better on the AVATAR day screening last August. Oh man, please tell me that not all the action scenes will be like that or I’m gonna puke.
  7. (wide panoramic shots of Pandora) WOAHHH!!! This Dolby Digital 3D isn’t so bad. I could actually watch here instead of IMAX. Finally adjusted to the 3D glasses. ^_^
  8. This is good! This is really, really good!
  9. They were right. This movie could make you actually cry and feel for blue aliens! Who would’ve thought? :cry:
  10. (movie ends) That was… epic!

And this is how my AVATAR experience at SM North Edsa IMAX 3D Theatre went:

sm-north-imax-avatar-3d-poster

  1. I always forget how huge IMAX screens are! :o
  2. Okay, I’m having trouble adjusting with the 3D again but that’s to be expected… when you have poor eyesight!
  3. Hm… the Thanador chase looks a bit better here but it’s still dizzying.
  4. (Pandora scene) Now, this is THE WAY to see AVATAR! Pandora looks so much more amazing here!
  5. (the infamous love scene) Ooookaaayyy… that never gets comfortable even after a second viewing. :P
  6. So, I’m seeing scenes here that are definitely clearer than at Gateway’s 3D cinema. The 3D effects are more pronounced too. This movie was definitely made for IMAX.
  7. (second half of the film) That’s 400 pesos well spent! I kinda feel bad already for those who chose to save 100 pesos or so instead of watching this at IMAX.
  8. (the last 30 minutes) Yeah! More! More!!!
  9. (the “My Jake!” scene) Jim is a genius to have thought of including a scene like this. It seems awkward at first but later proves to be an effectively emotional scene. *sniff*
  10. (credits) I love you Jim! Bring on the sequel! But no more jittering during the fast scenes, please! I read that shooting at 60fps should fix that problem.

My rating: 9/10

I’m taking off a half-point for the less-than-original story (although it’s still good) and a half-point for all those dizzying scenes. What’s strange is that most of those blurry scenes are in the first part of the film. But the second half had little of those despite having more action. The final battle in particular looked more or less perfect to me at IMAX. So I get this feeling that the 3D in the latter half of AVATAR was more polished than the 3D in the first half of the film.

But there’s no denying that AVATAR definitely looks and sounds better at an IMAX theater. If you want to see this movie the best way possible, IMAX is the only place to go. You’re also missing a lot if you only see this in 2D. The 3D aspect is not merely a gimmick for a landmark in movie-making such as AVATAR.

So for those who have already seen the movie, how was your AVATAR experience? 3D or not, I’d like to hear it. :D

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  1. “Jim is James Cameron. I think that’s his nickname because some people call him that. But wait, isn’t Jim really the common nickname for James. I mean, look at James Tiberius Kirk.”—-gay

    joelo delgado on June 30th, 2010 at 4:07 pm #
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  2. Does In Imax Glass They Give The 3D Glass After Watching?? Or In Dolby Digital Because in dolby digital in alabang town center you need to bring it back to the staffs

    hoey on March 15th, 2010 at 4:24 pm #
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    • As far as I know, no 3D cinemas here in the Philippines (including IMAX) let you take home the glasses. I don’t think they can afford to just give those out to people. :P

      Patrick on March 16th, 2010 at 10:55 pm #
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  3. Who is Jim?
    Are you gay? you sound gay when you write. 8O

    Joelo Delgado on February 8th, 2010 at 4:49 am #
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    • Jim is James Cameron. I think that’s his nickname because some people call him that. But wait, isn’t Jim really the common nickname for James. I mean, look at James Tiberius Kirk.

      And I’m straight. I don’t even know how anyone could write gay. :lol:

      Patrick on February 8th, 2010 at 12:07 pm #
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  4. We will be rewatching Avatar tomorrow at SM North Imax. Thanks for your review! Is it okay if I quote this post on my Tumblr page? I’m trying to get more friends to come with us.

    Jenn on January 14th, 2010 at 9:18 pm #
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    • Sure. Just link back to this original post so I’d know where people reblog it. :D

      Patrick on January 14th, 2010 at 10:39 pm #
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  5. Hi can you please suggest me which row should i choose in SM NORTH EDSA IMAX

    Patrick Joseph T on January 11th, 2010 at 6:58 pm #
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    • I was seated at row H in my screening there and it was an okay row. I suggest you get seats starting from that row to the top but not too high or far from the screen. And of course, get a seat as near the center of the row as possible. This is important. If you get a seat near the edge of the rows, you’ll be watching the movie from the side and I heard the 3D effect is not as good when viewed from there.

      Patrick on January 12th, 2010 at 12:14 am #
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  6. has the imax in sm north edsa improved since you saw hp6 last july?

    btw, where do you think is the best place to watch this? imax north edsa or imax moa?

    chris on January 11th, 2010 at 12:11 am #
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    • I don’t know what exactly you mean by improved but I’m guessing you’re talking about the premises itself. Well, they added seats in the lounge and more posters but there are no LCD screens yet. It also doesn’t smell anymore like a renovated theater.

      However, if you mean the movie experience. Can’t compare really because HP 6 only had few minutes of 3D and Avatar as you know is all 3D. But the picture and sound is IMAX-worthy so it’s all good.

      Patrick on January 11th, 2010 at 10:01 am #
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  7. :( sad. we went to moa today and didnt get anything free. like magnet or poster. and to make matters worse, all tickets up to 11pm screening was sold out .. we ended up buying for next sunday. no freebie at all. why? hehe.. do they give it upon buying the ticket?

    sunshine on January 3rd, 2010 at 10:39 pm #
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    • I think it was a limited promo also in MOA just like what they did at SM North. At SM North IMAX, you get the magnet for every two tickets you buy. And yeah, the seller handed it to me along with the tickets.

      “all tickets up to 11pm screening was sold out .. we ended up buying for next sunday.”
      That’s to be expected now especially because of the MMFF period. At least you were able to get better seats, hopefully… :-)

      Patrick on January 4th, 2010 at 12:44 am #
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  8. Hi! Could you please post here (or somewhere) the picture of that avatar magnet? Actually we watched at MOA and they gave me a poster. Unfortunately I left it at the seat. I was unable to see how it looked like.

    intel_inside on January 2nd, 2010 at 9:15 pm #
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    • Hi! That’s the Avatar magnet right there in the picture with my IMAX tickets. :wink:

      You got a free poster in MOA?! Wow! 8O

      Patrick on January 3rd, 2010 at 2:04 pm #
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      • Yeah I got one. But sadly I didn’t even see it because it was rolled. :(
        Is that a real magnet? Sorry I can’t picture it out. :)

        intel_inside on January 3rd, 2010 at 4:50 pm #

      • The whole thing isn’t really a magnet. Underneath, it’s got those thin magnets on the four corners sticked to it using some adhesive. Yeah, it’s a cheap excuse for a magnet but hey who am I to complain? It’s just a freebie. Right now, it’s on our fridge. :D

        Sorry to hear about the poster. I would have preferred a poster instead of the magnet.

        Patrick on January 4th, 2010 at 12:38 am #

  9. plsss post contact number for this theater..
    i cant find it.

    jaasaria on January 1st, 2010 at 6:23 pm #
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  10. Ok ang iyong blow-by-blow reactions. Thanks for the comparative review. I saw it at SM North IMAX, pero sa front row. Aray. Never again!

    Apology Grove on December 31st, 2009 at 1:07 pm #
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    • Thanks Diego. Yeah, make sure you’ll get decent seats at IMAX or don’t bother buying tickets at all. :-)

      Patrick on January 2nd, 2010 at 12:37 pm #
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  11. dude why in Sm MOA i get tickets but doesnt have avatar magnet??? no souvenir? why??

    EphraimGauna on December 26th, 2009 at 6:50 pm #
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    • It’s a limited time promo. For every 2 IMAX tickets you buy, you get an AVATAR magnet. I watched it in SM North IMAX. I’m just not sure if IMAX MOA also had this promo during the first few days of screening AVATAR.

      Patrick on December 27th, 2009 at 12:07 am #
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  12. guys don’t believe that other 3d theaters don’t use glasses because it really the reason why the cool effects exist.
    watch it on youtube:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozTH2zIKwC0

    andy on December 24th, 2009 at 7:49 pm #
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    • Hi andy! Thanks for the really informative video. I know bits about how IMAX 3D works but never really researched on it in detail. :D

      Patrick on December 26th, 2009 at 1:43 am #
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  13. no 3d glasses used in korea!

    they asked me why do we use here?
    they simply watch 3d movies without using any 3d glasses! more cutting edge screens they have… :cry:

    laya on December 23rd, 2009 at 12:17 am #
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    • 3D without any glasses? Are you sure? How do they do that? Holograms? Wow! 8O

      Patrick on December 23rd, 2009 at 12:54 am #
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  14. nice review.this helped me since i’m looking for the best theater to watch AVATAR on 24th or 29th. i couldn’t find show listings on 24th for IMAX 3D. :? are they still showing on 29th in 3D?

    galatheya on December 22nd, 2009 at 2:43 pm #
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    • I read about that somewhere too. Could be that SM’s IMAX people is having issues with MMFF’s opening. I think MMFF is threatened by AVATAR. Can’t blame them. :lol:

      Patrick on December 22nd, 2009 at 6:36 pm #
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  15. Thanks for your review, was the movie in full screen? I wondering if its just the regular 3D version put on the IMAX screen and not the real IMAX version at IMAX resolution? You mentioned before the screen at MOA is bigger than North Edsa.

    Andre Marcelo-Tanner on December 21st, 2009 at 12:53 am #
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    • If by “fullscreen” you mean to say that the movie occupied the whole IMAX screen, then yes. It did use the entire screen at SM North Edsa IMAX. No black bars or anything like that.

      I don’t know about the specific resolutions though. There’s this issue in the States about these digital IMAX theaters which they call “LIEMAX” or “fake IMAX theaters”. Frankly, I don’t buy into this controversy. I’ve seen movies in both SM IMAX theaters and both give similarly immersive experiences. The main difference is just the screen size, as far as I’m concerned.

      Patrick on December 21st, 2009 at 1:15 am #
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      • Thanks, I saw it, it wasnt the whole screen, but definitely not letter box and quite big, im guessing its a large format but not their largest. Did not find much difference in the Greenbelt 3 3D viewing vs the IMAX 3D. You can get just about the same experience if you sit near the front in Greenbelt 3. Also was very crowded and the food service people were so slow in handling the crowd wanting to buy food before the movie started.

        Andre Marcelo-Tanner on December 22nd, 2009 at 8:05 pm #

      • Hm.. that’s interesting. I think Greenbelt 3’s 3D cinema is also in Dolby 3D. And I still remember the Dolby 3D cinema of Gateway having much darker pictures than what I saw at IMAX. Well I guess it’s just because of the bigger IMAX screen or maybe it has to do with the setup of the projector. Really, there’s so many factors that could make even Dolby 3D cinemas give different kind of experiences to audiences. But I’d still pick IMAX bigger screens any day. :D

        Patrick on December 22nd, 2009 at 11:54 pm #

    • imax theaters in the philippines, as they said,
      use older version of technology in 3d cinemas! :evil:

      why, sm?why oh why? :evil:
      isnt it too unfair for us (pinoys) who really treasure and brag imax experience but foreign viewers just laugh at the 3d glasses for we still use it?!!!

      laya on December 23rd, 2009 at 12:24 am #
      Reply
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