G.I. Joe : Retaliation 3D Blu-ray (2013) [Region Free] [Theatrical Cut only] [GI]

[Zivouhr]

Quick GI Joe Retaliation Blu Ray 3D Review:
100" 3D projector screen. Great brightness/contrast, projection.
3D Layering: 9/10 Medium to strong 3D throughout, with the strongest 3D during the cliffside mountain battle. But even during non-action scenes, the 3D has an absolutely clear pop to it. Just pause the film, and it goes into 2D, then unpause it, and you'll see a noticeable shift into medium to strong 3D layering depending on the shot. Very nice. If it was mild 3D, you'd barely see a difference when it goes into 3D, but that's hardly the case here.
3D Pop Outs: A good number of bullets, enemies, objects, projectiles, particles, staffs, Throwing Stars, and more pop out in this film.
3D Framing: Some shots are perfect for 3D, while others crop off the tops of heads for a closer view of the character, but not necessarily framed with 3D in mind. Even so, there are often foreground, mid and background layers in most shots. So not bad overall.
Favorite 3D Shot: When Snake Eyes and the girl are running alongside the mountain cliff, hopping over enemies in maroon Ninja suits that fly out of the screen.
3D Summary: 9/10 for a solid conversion of medium to strong 3D throughout the film. Definitely not a mild 3D conversion and a fun 3D experience.
It's comparable to Force Awakens' 3D conversion, which has medium to strong 3D layering throughout, which I'd also give a 9/10 for.

3D Recommended? Yes.

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

As much as I'm a huge 3d and 3d Dwayne Johnson fan, I got to say I find that other than a few awesome scenes, the 3d is pretty sad. I do think I'll be watching the extended cut on BR next time.

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Oh yeah that is definitely awesome and other scenes. But is was like for stuff outside of some action scenes, they didn't even bother with a conversion. If it was only the theatrical cut in existence, I'd definitely stick with the 3D over even the 4k, but given I really like the movie itself, and there is an extended cut, and I'm a Rock fan, I will be watching the extended next time. I'll alternate with viewings, eg 3D TC - EC BR - 3D...

The action scenes definitely shine in 3D, I agree, but what specific examples of shots make the rest of the 3D "pretty sad" or not converted from your viewing?

[Jlardonio]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

Oh yeah that is definitely awesome and other scenes. But is was like for stuff outside of some action scenes, they didn't even bother with a conversion. If it was only the theatrical cut in existence, I'd definitely stick with the 3D over even the 4k, but given I really like the movie itself, and there is an extended cut, and I'm a Rock fan, I will be watching the extended next time. I'll alternate with viewings, eg 3D TC - EC BR - 3D...

I think that the movie's story and 3D present in it are great.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

The action scenes definitely shine in 3D, I agree, but what specific examples of shots make the rest of the 3D "pretty sad" or not converted from your viewing?

I wasn't taking notes and it was a couple of weeks ago. But nearly all of the sort of dialog type shots, like say in Bruce Willis's characters house and talking and like no depth so the interiors of the house behind them looked in the same plane

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

I wasn't taking notes and it was a couple of weeks ago. But nearly all of the sort of dialog type shots, like say in Bruce Willis's characters house and talking and like no depth so the interiors of the house behind them looked in the same plane

Okay, thanks for the reply Mobe. I'll focus in on that Bruce Willis house scene next time I watch it.

Very basic camera shot framing of some dialog shots that don't take 3D into account, can lead to a boring 3D shot at times even in medium layering, like if it's just a character standing there in a close up, and the background doesn't have much going on or is blurry for example.

During other non-dialog shots, this movie offers a number of cool 3D moments, like earlier in the film, there is a computer laptop in 3D on a table, with all these other objects and it has solid dimension in medium layers of 3D as one example of non-dialog shots that were well converted into 3D. Overall though, there is a lot to enjoy for medium to strong layer at times even during non-dialog shots from my experience watching this a number of times in 3D.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the stronger 3D moments even so.
As far as a mild 3D film, I need to rewatch Upside Down 3D, which I would consider a very mild to mild 3D conversion most times.

[nitro700]

this is actually 1 of my favorite 3d movies, there's depth in almost every scene and great popouts. its the only movie that makes me flinch more than once even after multiple watches, and using inferior 3d tablets/anaglyph on tv

[Elsinore]

I gave this one 4/5 for 3D. Lotsa action, fun story. Loved it.

[levcore]

Great 3D, terrible movie.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by nitro700

this is actually 1 of my favorite 3d movies, there's depth in almost every scene and great popouts. its the only movie that makes me flinch more than once even after multiple watches, and using inferior 3d tablets/anaglyph on tv

Cool, yes, a fun, entertaining action 3D film with a worthwhile 3D conversion.

Originally Posted by srinivas1015

Almost every conversion that comes out these days looks as good as or BETTER than native titles. One might say that it's blasphemy to convert older movies like Jurassic Park but I don't see what the problem is if a movie is framed and shot with 3D conversion in mind .

In fact, converting a movie instead of using 3D rigs has a few advantages too. For one, the offset of light reflected into the two cameras isn't a concern. You see this phenomenon in quite a few native titles where the reflected light off of objects looks a little 'off'/weird/appears to be on two different depth planes as a result of each camera in the rig capturing reflected light from a slightly different angle and then both images imposed on one another. I noticed this a lot in Dredd and Resident Evil Afterlife. I can't remember the other titles.
Converting also offers a lot of freedom. Once a native title is shot, the inter-axial distance between the two cameras in the rig is final and no amount of post production work can adjust the degree of spatial dimension.
It's much easier for the DP to light the sets too. Not to mention giving the director and cameraman to do the camerawork without being restricted by the bulky rigs.

With all these benefits and a final product that looks as good as a native title, I can see why many filmmakers opt to take the conversion route. It's not an afterthought as most directors and storyboard artists frame and do the camerawork with 3D in mind.

Parallel Rigs, Fusion Rigs or Conversions - All are effective ways to get a good three dimensional image. (Parallel rigs are in fact slightly inferior as the degree of how close you can get the interaxial distance between the cameras, especially for close ups, is quite limited due to the nature of the setup.)

An older quoted post, but good points about some benefits of a 3D conversion and its potential. 2D films can be shot with 3D in mind for a conversion later on. Though this film wasn't always framed ideally for 3D with some of the close ups, it does have a lot of 3D shots great for 3D as well as a good number of pop outs and a few slow motion moments, like when Storm Shadow throws his throwing stars at Snake Eyes. The movie Black Adam, would have been great for a 3D conversion, but sadly never got one.
There have been converted shots that look like they were natively filmed in 3D with the advancement of stereo 3D conversion software, that allows soft or blurry edges of objects to be given volume and its own 3D layer in more modern 3D converted films.
The other advantage, is that filming in 3D, while ideal and a potential time and budget saver, definitely has a learning curve that should be understood before filming begins on the set to save time and money. Filming in strong 3D is ideal most times, but depending on the camera rig and size of it, sometimes not easy for certain types of shots. Hansel & Gretel opted for a conversion for the forest shots, mentioning that the 3D camera rig would be tough to move around in a tight forest with trees everywhere. Even James Cameron had some shots converted in his Avatar 1 movie. Not sure about Avatar 2 yet.

Originally Posted by levcore

Great 3D, terrible movie.

How did you like the action scenes though, in terms of being an action movie?

[levcore]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Cool, yes, a fun, entertaining action 3D film with a worthwhile 3D conversion.



An older quoted post, but good points about some benefits of a 3D conversion and its potential. 2D films can be shot with 3D in mind for a conversion later on. Though this film wasn't always framed ideally for 3D with some of the close ups, it does have a lot of 3D shots great for 3D as well as a good number of pop outs and a few slow motion moments, like when Storm Shadow throws his throwing stars at Snake Eyes. The movie Black Adam, would have been great for a 3D conversion, but sadly never got one.
There have been converted shots that look like they were natively filmed in 3D with the advancement of stereo 3D conversion software, that allows soft or blurry edges of objects to be given volume and its own 3D layer in more modern 3D converted films.
The other advantage, is that filming in 3D, while ideal and a potential time and budget saver, definitely has a learning curve that should be understood before filming begins on the set to save time and money. Filming in strong 3D is ideal most times, but depending on the camera rig and size of it, sometimes not easy for certain types of shots. Hansel & Gretel opted for a conversion for the forest shots, mentioning that the 3D camera rig would be tough to move around in a tight forest with trees everywhere. Even James Cameron had some shots converted in his Avatar 1 movie. Not sure about Avatar 2 yet.


How did you like the action scenes though, in terms of being an action movie?

I love the mountain ninja scene, everything was forgettable action wise imo. I'm a big fan of the first movie and this one lacked the ott action and fx of that one, apart from that mountain sequence!

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by levcore

I love the mountain ninja scene, everything was forgettable action wise imo. I'm a big fan of the first movie and this one lacked the ott action and fx of that one, apart from that mountain sequence!

Thanks Levcore. The mountain action scene was definitely the most memorable, I agree.

[Mobe1969]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Okay, thanks for the reply Mobe. I'll focus in on that Bruce Willis house scene next time I watch it.

Very basic camera shot framing of some dialog shots that don't take 3D into account, can lead to a boring 3D shot at times even in medium layering, like if it's just a character standing there in a close up, and the background doesn't have much going on or is blurry for example.

During other non-dialog shots, this movie offers a number of cool 3D moments, like earlier in the film, there is a computer laptop in 3D on a table, with all these other objects and it has solid dimension in medium layers of 3D as one example of non-dialog shots that were well converted into 3D. Overall though, there is a lot to enjoy for medium to strong layer at times even during non-dialog shots from my experience watching this a number of times in 3D.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the stronger 3D moments even so.
As far as a mild 3D film, I need to rewatch Upside Down 3D, which I would consider a very mild to mild 3D conversion most times.

I guess I was more surprised at my feelings as I'm not one of the depth fanatics, and I think Tron Legacy and BR 2049 are great. I guess it was just this one if was finding the experience so uneven it was the first I'd taken my glasses off to check. So I was feeling like a lot of scenes the most they did was perhaps a minor full frame shift left right

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Mobe1969

I guess I was more surprised at my feelings as I'm not one of the depth fanatics, and I think Tron Legacy and BR 2049 are great. I guess it was just this one if was finding the experience so uneven it was the first I'd taken my glasses off to check. So I was feeling like a lot of scenes the most they did was perhaps a minor full frame shift left right

I see, thanks Mobe. Stereo D handled the 3D conversion of GI Joe Retaliation, and while they're not perfect with all of their projects, overall, there are plenty of positive aspects to their 3D conversion work here.

I'm a major fan of Tron Legacy the movie (saw it 3 times in theaters) but was disappointed by the mostly mild 3D layering even so. It's still better than no 3D at all, but it could've been an amazing 3D experience if they pushed the 3D into the medium to strong 3D realm. At the same time, others enjoy the milder 3D of Tron Legacy, with different preferences for 3D.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

Quick GI Joe Retaliation Blu Ray 3D Review:
100" 3D projector screen. Great brightness/contrast, projection.
3D Layering: 9/10 Medium to strong 3D throughout, with the strongest 3D during the cliffside mountain battle. But even during non-action scenes, the 3D has an absolutely clear pop to it. Just pause the film, and it goes into 2D, then unpause it, and you'll see a noticeable shift into medium to strong 3D layering depending on the shot. Very nice. If it was mild 3D, you'd barely see a difference when it goes into 3D, but that's hardly the case here.
3D Pop Outs: A good number of bullets, enemies, objects, projectiles, particles, staffs, Throwing Stars, and more pop out in this film.
3D Framing: Some shots are perfect for 3D, while others crop off the tops of heads for a closer view of the character, but not necessarily framed with 3D in mind. Even so, there are often foreground, mid and background layers in most shots. So not bad overall.
Favorite 3D Shot: When Snake Eyes and the girl are running alongside the mountain cliff, hopping over enemies in maroon Ninja suits that fly out of the screen.
3D Summary: 9/10 for a solid conversion of medium to strong 3D throughout the film. Definitely not a mild 3D conversion and a fun 3D experience.
It's comparable to Force Awakens' 3D conversion, which has medium to strong 3D layering throughout, which I'd also give a 9/10 for.

3D Recommended? Yes.

Your 3-D review is the polar opposite of that of the review on this site. And I’m glad to hear that. You and Okie have talked me into picking this up. Just snagged it new with lenticular off eBay for $13.94 shipped!

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Your 3-D review is the polar opposite of that of the review on this site. And I’m glad to hear that. You and Okie have talked me into picking this up. Just snagged it new with lenticular off eBay for $13.94 shipped!

I think like most of our buddy Z's reviews, the scores are way too optimistic, but it is a solid conversion with very decent audio. I bought a used copy for a couple of dollars. But after watching it, I would have been happy even if I had spent a little more and I can see myself watching this again.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

Your 3-D review is the polar opposite of that of the review on this site. And I’m glad to hear that. You and Okie have talked me into picking this up. Just snagged it new with lenticular off eBay for $13.94 shipped!

The mountain action scene really shines with some strong 3D moments. Along with the Snake Eyes vs Storm Shadow fight in the temple mountain. Great stuff there.

Originally Posted by cdx47

I think like most of our buddy Z's reviews, the scores are way too optimistic, but it is a solid conversion with very decent audio. I bought a used copy for a couple of dollars. But after watching it, I would have been happy even if I had spent a little more and I can see myself watching this again.

My scores tend to be a bit forgiving, as I grade on a School Grades theme where I hardly ever grade below 5/10 unless it's really bad 3D or almost 2D. I give a few 5/10's, like the very mild Upside Down 3D, but am glad to give some great conversions like Infinity War 3D, a 10/10.

Mostly based on if they have the minimum of mostly medium 3D layers, which is about a 6 to 7/10, and then above that with strong 3D moments, 8/10, more strong 3D, 9/10 and plenty of strong 3D, 10/10.

Of course many conversions might not compare to the classic filmed 3D, but I'm judging the conversion by other conversions for the most part.

[WaverBoy]

Originally Posted by cdx47

I think like most of our buddy Z's reviews, the scores are way too optimistic, but it is a solid conversion with very decent audio. I bought a used copy for a couple of dollars. But after watching it, I would have been happy even if I had spent a little more and I can see myself watching this again.

I just watched it, and I think he’s spot on the money. One of the best 3-D conversions I’ve seen, pumping up the stereo to the max when it really needs it, like that astounding ninjariffic cliff jumping mountain battle, and those lovely popouts that you see all too rarely in modern 3-D films, like StormShadow’s shurikens. And, it’s one helluva entertaining over-the-top action spectacular, ridiculous but super fun, with a great cast, sealed by the always wonderful Jonathan Pryce in a dual role. Extremely glad I picked this up, and would highly recommend it to all 3-D buffs looking for some tasty stereoscopic action hokum.

[cdx47]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I just watched it, and I think he’s spot on the money. One of the best 3-D conversions I’ve seen, pumping up the stereo to the max when it really needs it, like that astounding ninjariffic cliff jumping mountain battle, and those lovely popouts that you see all too rarely in modern 3-D films, like StormShadow’s shurikens. And, it’s one helluva entertaining over-the-top action spectacular, ridiculous but super fun, with a great cast, sealed by the always wonderful Jonathan Pryce in a dual role. Extremely glad I picked this up, and would highly recommend it to all 3-D buffs looking for some tasty stereoscopic action hokum.

I don't remember having an issue with the review itself, just the score. But Z has explained the rationale and while I still disagree, at least I now have a basis to understand.

[Just_Discovered_3D]

Originally Posted by cdx47

I think like most of our buddy Z's reviews, the scores are way too optimistic, but it is a solid conversion with very decent audio. I bought a used copy for a couple of dollars. But after watching it, I would have been happy even if I had spent a little more and I can see myself watching this again.

While it's more of an early Dwayne Johnson Stereotypical Movie than a GI Joe film, I still don't have any real negatives about it. The 3D is better than many, though perhaps its neat lenticular is more 3D than much of the film. My hangup is that it's trailing TMNT: Out of the Shadows by quite a bit in terms of 3D.

If I say TMNT OotS is an 8, then this becomes a high 6.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by WaverBoy

I just watched it, and I think he’s spot on the money. One of the best 3-D conversions I’ve seen, pumping up the stereo to the max when it really needs it, like that astounding ninjariffic cliff jumping mountain battle, and those lovely popouts that you see all too rarely in modern 3-D films, like StormShadow’s shurikens. And, it’s one helluva entertaining over-the-top action spectacular, ridiculous but super fun, with a great cast, sealed by the always wonderful Jonathan Pryce in a dual role. Extremely glad I picked this up, and would highly recommend it to all 3-D buffs looking for some tasty stereoscopic action hokum.

Cool to hear you enjoyed the 3D! That Cliff scene steals the show for the movie, along with the 3D combat of Snake Eyes vs Storm Shadow ninjas. A nice medium to strong 3D conversion overall. A fun action movie, agreed. Thanks!

I'm sure you've heard they're planning a potential GI Joe vs Transformers live-action film, which hopefully also gets a 3D conversion.

Originally Posted by cdx47

I don't remember having an issue with the review itself, just the score. But Z has explained the rationale and while I still disagree, at least I now have a basis to understand.

Thanks. Yeah, my grading is subjective for the scoring, while I try to be objective and accurate with the 3D strength in a film as much as possible for mild, medium to strong 3D ranges observed.

Originally Posted by Just_Discovered_3D

While it's more of an early Dwayne Johnson Stereotypical Movie than a GI Joe film, I still don't have any real negatives about it. The 3D is better than many, though perhaps its neat lenticular is more 3D than much of the film. My hangup is that it's trailing TMNT: Out of the Shadows by quite a bit in terms of 3D.

If I say TMNT OotS is an 8, then this becomes a high 6.

TMNT and TMNT Out of the Shadows, really cool 3D scenes in those in the medium to strong range. Prime Focus did some great conversion work with the CGI assets as they mentioned back then for those two films.