Marvel season is starting earlier this year, as Black Panther has finally arrived in theaters. And with a new superhero film comes a new superhero vision dedicated to giving you the best of your 3D dollar. Which is where we here at CinemaBlend love to step in and help you answer that $3 question -- to 3D or not to 3D?
Now if you're looking to see how we felt about Black Panther as a movie experience, you should read our official review. But if you're curious about if you should shell out some extra ticket money for a pair of glasses, or if you should be investing that extra money in Vibranium futures, then you're in the right place. Without further delay, here's what we thought about Black Panther in 3D.
Most superhero films are a natural fit for 3D conversion, and Black Panther is certainly no exception. While the film doesn't show off its 3D nature all of the time, there are select action set-pieces and even some dramatic beats that take full advantage of the third dimensional space. Overall, the film definitely has business entertaining a 3D exhibition, but it's not pushing any new boundaries in the medium.
There are aspects to Black Panther's 3D conversion that work fantastically in execution, especially when it comes to the film's brightness factor and depth of picture. But with a lack of eye-popping thrills, and some sections that aren't as fluid as most of Black Panther tends to be, the planning and effort going into the film's conversion loses a couple points. It's not enough to be abysmal, but it's not exactly a home run either.
With a film like Black Panther that exceeds in depicting hand-to-hand combat, as well as warfare on a wider scale, you'd think there would be more aspects of the picture that'd jump out at the audience. Unfortunately, save for a couple of moments like the South Korean car chase, or a couple of ritual combat scenes here and there, the film comes up short in the department that throws stuff at the audience for a thrill.
Despite lacking some projectile imagery in its 3D conversion, Black Panther does have some pretty amazing depth to its third dimensional visuals. There are crisp lines of delineation between characters and their environments, as well as characters and their scene partners, and it helps keep the action visually clear. The lush scenery of Wakanda, the action packed streets of South Korea and everywhere in between are all fleshed out with beautiful detail.
It would lying to say that Black Panther's brightness factor was something that was a prevailing worry walking into the screening. With a darker color palette and the darker skin tones of the film's cast, the natural dimming effect of a pair of 3D glasses could have washed out the images. And yet, there is enough compensation throughout all of Black Panther that not only are the vibrant colors and darker tinted scenes totally watchable, but they're also a sight to behold in crystal clear vision.
Throughout the entire proceedings of Black Panther, there are moments that the audience may want to remove their glasses in order to give themselves a 3D break. During such breaks, it's easy to notice a good amount of blurring present with the image being shown on the screen, which is usually a good indicator as to how much the image has been manipulated for 3D affectation. With that in mind, there are a lot of close ups that single out specific characters or aspects as a sort of 2D anchor. As such, there are whole aspects of multiple scenes where there's a non-blurred asset in the midst of some seriously blurred goings-on.
If you're prone to illness watching a 3D film, you're not going to have that hard of a time watching Black Panther with the additional enhancements. While that's absolutely true, there are moments that the 3D aspects are a bit blurred due to the motion being exhibited and/or the cinematography at work.
If you're going to see Black Panther in 3D, it's certainly not a waste of money. With a beautiful picture and some of the best handling of brightness that's been seen in 3D films as of late, it's an adventure that doesn't dim behind the 3D glasses. It's missing a little bit of that 3D oomph, so it's not a must-see in the third dimension, though it's still a solid night out.
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