It's the middle of July, which means moviegoers are right in the thick of the summer movie season. A number of blockbusters have already come and gone; like Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory, and The Secret Life of Pets, and there are plenty more still to come. One of the biggest is definitely Ghostbusters, which hits theaters in every format imaginable on July 15. So given the action-packed nature of the film, that is, ghosts being blasted with lasers, does that mean you should see Ghostbusters in 3-D?
Maybe. To be honest, the film probably not a "must-see in 3-D" film on par with something like Avatar. The reason for this is that, like most other movies released in 3-D, Ghostbusters is really a 2-D movie. See, there are two ways to make a 3-D movie: Film it with stereoscopic cameras so that the film is originally captured in 3-D, or film it with regular cameras and then digitally convert the finished product to 3-D. Ghostbusters falls into the second category, which most aficionados of the format will tell you is inferior to something that's been filmed in 3-D; lacking the depth and truth in its effects. However, in spite of being filmed in 2-D and then converted to 3-D after the fact, Ghostbusters has some interesting details in its favor that might actually make 3-D worth it.
One criticism of many modern 3-D movies is that they don't break the plane. They add depth to the film, but things rarely jump out of the screen at the audience. That was a big selling point of 3-D film in the format's two earlier heydays (the 1950s and 1980s, respectively), but it's largely been absent from the current renaissance. But Ghostbusters is an exception. When the characters on screen get slimed, you feel like you're getting slimed, too. The movie also adds to this effect by using a letterbox format that ghosts occasionally float outside of during the film, adding another layer of realism to the movie and making it seem like the theater itself is haunted.
Ultimately, it's up to you whether you want to pay the upgrade to see Ghostbusters in 3-D. For most of the film, the extra dimension won't add much to your experience. But for those few scenes that seem to invade your space or float outside the screen, you might want to consider splurging on the glasses.
Images: Sony Pictures; Giphy
