Comment by iamben | Hacker News Reader

Comment by iamben | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

For me it usually comes down to the 'is it worth it?' Avengers was worth it - you knew it was going to be great in 3D, explosions, cinema sound, Iron Man, etc. Whilst I begrudged paying £16 (~$26 US) for me and the girlfriend (before even thinking about drinks / popcorn) we were always going to see it in the cinema.

Compare that to a film that doesn't excite me (or most of the general population), and all of a sudden I'd rather wait for the movie on Netflix or whatever, because then £16 is better spent on a takeaway and watching from home.

I know films are different strokes for different folks, but the cinema is really overpriced if you're in the 'shall we / shan't we' category, so I can understand people just thinking - I'll pirate it and save the money (or spend it on dinner) and watch from the comfort of my home - the risk to reward is so much lower.

I'm not saying that's right - just with the cost as it is you need a great (or mass appeal) product to get bums on seats. Or you have lower the cost in cinemas and make going to the cinema the experience ("we can choose a film when we get there") rather than people just going to see something in particular.

EDIT: Regardless, great article on TF ;-)

> you knew it was going to be great in 3D

Quick off-topic question. Is the 3d version worth it here? Usually most 3d films is 3d just because, but make no real good use of it. But being 3d just adds an extra unnecessary eye strain.

This is why I watched the Avengers on 2d. But is this one of those rare movies (like avatar) where the 3d version is actually better? If so, I might go back and watch it again.

I saw it in 3D yesterday (begrudgingly, as I hate 3D, but the theater I went to only showed it in 3D). The 3D is used to pretty good effect for the most part (ie: it's not 20 minutes of normal footage and then a gratuitous 3D shot of something being waved at you), and I found that about an hour into the movie, I didn't notice it.

What I thought was odd was that there were things in 3D that were just part of the background (like there was literally a scene or two where the railing on a walkway was jutting out in 3D).

If you've already seen it in 2D, I really don't think you missed out; but if you liked the movie (and I thought it was very very good) and were going to see it again anyway, the 3D doesn't ruin the experience.

I love 3D, but with Avengers the 3D actively hurts the experience in places, and adds little.

It's a post-conversion- it was shot 2D and 3D added in post. This almost always results in useless 3D at best.

Um, to be honest, if you saw it in 2D I wouldn't bother going again. FWIW, I enjoy a 3D movie but I don't think anything here was ground breaking or epic. There were a couple of good 'that piece of whatever is coming straight at me' moments, but nothing major.

That said, if you're a fan of 3D, haven't seen it and are deciding whether to see it in 3D or 2D, I'd still recommend it with the silly glasses.

I also watched on 2D because 3D movies give me headaches, but several friends told me that the 3D stuff there is almost avatar-like good. I am tempted to watch it again.

As far as I know, to date only 2 films have actually been filmed in 3D, Avatar and Sanctum. Which is probably why the 3D is done well.

> Whilst I begrudged paying £16 (~$26 US) for me and the girlfriend

Does this mean that you only had to pay $13 per person? In Sweden, a single ticket sells for $20.

Cost of living in the Nordic countries is very high.

Here are the prices for tonight in a large mall-cinema in West London:

2D: http://booking.myvue.com/Home/My-tickets/cinema/westfield/ui...

(£8.90/£7.50 adult/student)

3D: http://booking.myvue.com/Home/My-tickets/cinema/westfield/ui...

(£12.05/£9.80 adult/student)

It does, yeah (although doesn't include the price of 3D glasses). This was at an out of London cinema, thankfully. In the center of town you can easily pay $20+ pp.

Are you paying that right across Sweden? If so, how awful :-(

$20/£12.20 was for the 3D version (where you can borrow glasses - do you have to buy yours?). I checked, and in smaller towns the price seems to be $17.50. The 2D version (which isn't available everywhere) is only $16/£10. That's actually not much more expensive than the UWest London prices reported by mseebach.

Glasses cost about 80p per person. You also pay extra for the privilege of seeing something in 3D, but prices for everything are generally cheaper outside of London.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com