Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva (2022) [No 3D Blu-ray]

[Just_Discovered_3D]

Originally Posted by BleedOrange11

I saw this alone in an empty IMAX 3D auditorium today. The 3D CGI VFX by DNEG/Prime Focus India are the star of the show. The movie itself is like a lesser, overlong Hindi version of Eternals with a greater focus on destiny, romance, and musicality. The screenplay has a lot of heart, but is inherently cheesy and overstays its welcome, needing to be edited down by 30-45min. It would have helped if my theater had paused at the intermission, but I can't really blame them for not wanting to allot more screen time to this 3hr marathon. The subtitles were majorly vertically misaligned too. I really could have used a bathroom and snack break and just a few minutes of quiet to reset and process the sound and sensory overload.

The dazzling colorful 3D effects and constantly circling camera keep the picture entertaining though, and the booming surround mix matches them. The level of cinematic showmanship is far above most films, creating a genuine feeling of "movie magic". It seems like Hollywood directors constantly reign in the VFX to keep them from distracting from "the story", even in cookie-cutter action blockbusters, but this movie goes all out for spectacle to entertain the viewer, similar to Tsui Hark's aesthetic.

Like you would expect from previous DNEG conversions, the 3D depth looks good. As Zivouhr noted, it's peppered with a handful of flat shots. And it did not outshine the shape of Avatar 2's 3D trailer that played beforehand. But the delight of the 3D VFX cannot be understated and are the reason to see this in cinema. There are a lot (and I mean a lot) of particle pop-outs and slow-motion effects, and even some weapons thrown right at the audience. It's nothing you haven't seen before but almost never this generous. Catch this in 3D cinema before its gone and pray to Shiva for a Blu-ray 3D miracle.

Movie - 3.5/5
3D - 4.5/5

This film has an intermission? The trailers made it look like The Eternals to me as well, nice to know that was the proper impression. I can't agree more on the need to trim the runtime as the main reason I haven't seen it yet is because it is just too dang long for when the theaters have it scheduled here.

It's wild how varying 3D reviews are, as the Avatar 2 trailer IMO was the exact same strength as the Thor 4 trailer.

Do these weapons that are thrown right out at the audience come out into the audience for you? So much popout that I see in RealD only seems to come "halfway" out of the screen.