Star Trek has been a huge success thus far, due in no small part to it's rip roaring action, fantastic special effects, spot on characterizations of familiar characters, and so forth. The film deserves every accolade thrown it's way, and while it's not perfect I've found that most criticsm I've read has been petty at best and shouldn't be enough to detract from what is at it's core just a plain ol' fun popcorn movie.
In fact, the film has been such a huge success that it broke all IMAX records for an opening weekend with a crazy $8.5M. Thats more than 10% of the film's opening take, which is pretty phenomenal, and beats out The Dark Knight's record of $6M. So why are there people complaining about that? There are people out there who have a bone to pick with IMAX, because they say the IMAX theaters aren't big enough! Waaahhhh!! Or in the immortal words of Christian Bale: "La dee daa!!"
"Actor" Aziz Ansari, currently sucking ass on the laugh-free environment known as Parks and Recreation on NBC(it's the most painful 30 minute window on Thursday nights) bitched about paying $5 extra to see Trek on a smaller than expected screen. Seriously? A whopping $5? What were you planning to do with that extra fiver, anyway? I guess you could get five junior bacon cheeseburgers. It's an extra two blocks in your cab ride home, I guess. Who gives a fuck? Seriously. This is what people have to bitch about?
My local IMAX is at AMC Hoffman in Alexandria. It's one of the screens he's whining about. It's not the IMAX you'd find at a fucking museum, but who the hell thinks it's going to be? It's at a Multiplex, for the love of Pete! When I saw Eagle Eye there last year, there was some dorky little putz in front of me who kept whining THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE MOVIE that this wasn't IMAX. "It's half an IMAX". Did that make the movie any better or worse whatsoever? No. Was it larger and sound better than the piddling screens just a few feet away? Yes. Substantially so. And that bamma got in to that movie for free! This Ansari dude probably makes enough to not make people laugh that he can afford to buy out the theater all to himself, and he's whining about $5.
The simple fact of the matter is that IMAX doesn't have to set a standard size for their screens. The larger ones average 76 x 97 feet. Fucking monster screen. Those behemoths are there to show space shuttle missions and shit. I don't even think I want to see a movie on those big boys.The multiplex versions, which have been slowly creeping into theaters over the last few years, are around 28 x 58. Still huge, and if you're a stickler for having the most thorough theatre experience possible more than worth the $5 extra you'll pay for superior sound and picture quality. And if you're not, shut up, pay less, and go see that shit in auditorium 22 in the back corner of the Multiplex. You'll be a happier person for it, and I won't have to read your pitiful blog written through your tear soaked eyes.
