IMAX - The Ultimate Movie Experience?

Now that the Harry Potter movie review is over, I wanted to share my take on IMAX and IMAX 3D. First, I think the basic idea of these huge screens and 3D movies is great, but I'm not sold on the execution yet. I felt like in the case of Harry Potter, the 3D just made the final sequence harder to follow while adding very little (if anything at all) to the experience. I would rather have seen the film without the 3D.

As for the IMAX theater itself, I'm not even sure about that yet. I think its great to see some of the scenes and scenery on these vast screens, but, when the action ramps up, I feel like it can be very hard to follow. I think this is especially true if the theater is packed (as it always seems to be), and you are forced to sit away from the center of the theater. In those cases, you are constantly forced to shift your focus around the huge screen instead of being able to take in the whole scene by just looking straight ahead. I noticed this was the case during both Harry Potter and Spiderman 3.

I'll give IMAX another chance or two, but I still think I may prefer a newer, more traditional theater with a large screen, good sound system and stadium seating.